The weather’s been unsettled lately—lots of heat, rain, and the type of humidity that prevents sleep. This unease has found its way into the work, as can be seen in the latest poem, The Last Bus. That piece is the ‘hinge’ that begins the descent into darker territory I mentioned in the last update. The dark side of counter/field has evolved over time, from the cold and impersonal System Voice pieces, to the observational and place-based Under The Bridge, and mythic/procedural, as in the Revenant piece.
Where precisely the field extends next is anyone’s guess, but it’s safe to say that the descent will be a fairly deep one, given the dominance of lyric pieces in recent months. In other words, a change in the weather is warranted.
The blog itself is in a pretty good place, in terms of its architecture. I’m quite happy with the way it’s set up at the moment. The interminable back-end work of fixing previous mistakes and omissions seems to be finished, freeing me to get back to reading and craft studies.
I’m not far off finishing The Art of Syntax and, once I’m through that, I’ll be working on expanding tonal range, voice modulation, risk, and other adjacent capacities. I imagine that means the poetry will change substantially (as it has been doing), and counter/field will expand into new territory. I’m excited about it but, as always, learning new things requires hard work and focus.
I’ll keep posting as usual. Wednesdays are for poems, and Saturdays are for prose—often updates like this (though I do like to keep my options open). The chaotic summer storms are approaching and I, for one, am looking forward to them.
Thanks for reading,
Stef.