Plan Post 1/9-1/13

So, I’m back. It’s a new term; the fate of where I’ll be writing next year is officially in someone else’s hands, and my only class (besides the music classes that feel as natural as going to bed at night) is all internet work, no attendance policy. This means that if I conjure up some self-discipline, the rough draft of this baby should be on its feet by the end of winter break!

Before I get too excited, I need to explore some of the obstacles facing my project. I have a thesis, but no real way to integrate the creative and academic aspects of the topic in a way that I see fit. I believe that the poems and compositions that I include need to be able to stand alone rather than merely be illustrations of the theory. Luckily, what I’m waxing poetic about in the academic part comes largely from my own experiences as a reader, writer, and musician. I would like the project to be more than a random smattering of things related to my three concentrations; to use the words pounded into my skull fall term, it needs a center of gravity. I suppose I can hope that one magically pops up, but I never seem to have that sort of luck.

The other obstacle is focus. My analysis I’m doing is decidedly queer, but does that limit me to queer-identified subjects? Queer-identification is somewhat antithetical to some aspects of what I’m trying to do, but key to others. Really, what I am looking at is identity categories overall, not just queer identification. I need to think about this more, listen to more Antony and the Johnsons and read more Adrienne Rich.

As for reading goals this week, I would like to:

Finish the poetry (p. 91-161) in Adrienne Rich's Poetry and Prose

Read through Chapters 1 (Songs of the Sirens) and 2 (A Music of One's Own) of the Peraino book (p. 11- 110)

My writing goal is to take inventory of what I have in my Gipson binder and evaluate the kind of revisions that need to be made. Also, think about gaps in the project. Free write about what I would like the end result to look like. I also need to be doing some more creative writing. I need to borrow a new book of writing prompts to get me going...I've been using the same exercises for the past two and a half years and they don't spark my own ideas in quite the same way as they used to.

I also need to be composing. This is tricky because I compose best without distraction. I don't have Finale on this laptop, and it seems ridiculous to buy it when I can use it over in Langroise for free. It's just that every time I go to compose in the lab, a million distractions present themselves. I need to learn how to ignore them.

I am going to go submit some poems to the National Undergraduate Literature Conference!