One of the best things about summer vacation is having time to visit with old friends. Last night, I was looking through some boxes of books and came acorss The Bat Poet by Randall Jarrell. The Bat Poet is one of the friends I turn to when I need to be reminded to be myself.
I love this story. Every time I read it, I see connections I hadn't noticed before. The main character is a little brown bat who struggles through inner conflict trying to find his voice. At first, he imitates the mockingbird, who he admires for her songs, but he soon realizes that imitation is not answer. When he finally decides to express himself in a way that only he can, he begins to discover his own true self.
I've been spending a lot of time this summer trying to find my writing voice. I read writers I admire and try to learn from them. Like the little bat, I often tend to compare myself to others who are more talented and successful. And, at times I even try to imitate them which is always a disaster because I
Oh, Linda! I love THE BAT POET too... now I want to reread it. Thank you for the reminder. You have a beautiful, warm, and honest writing voice. Trust it. xo, a.
ReplyDeleteHooray on your journey to voice, Linda. I just blogged about choosing mentor texts for my current project. YOu're right, imitating doesn't work. But identifying the emotional result, the form, the audience age, etc., but choosing a project that makes me think, "Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do!" works well for me. (I think your post got cut off mid-thought:>)
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