The difference between a cup of tea, a poem and a story.
'Oh Tea' by Grace Nichols.
Although, I'm not madly keen on the above titled poem, it does contain a kernel of something that I recognise as true. Below is a short extract from the poem by Queen's Gold Medal winner 2021, Grace Nicholls.
'Like the heart that hungers for the perfect poem,
the palate hungers for the perfect cup of tea,
not unlike poetry, since the outcome will be
how it wants to be, a marriage of balance and taste (a little more hot water, a bit more milk)
an alchemist, running on pure instinct - ' etc......
I've never thought of comparing a poem with a cup of tea, (although I have compared a hedgehog to a toilet brush); and Grace Nicholls statement, 'since the outcome will be how it wants to be', had me mulling over it. Many complex elements go into the making a poem; the basic idea one is trying to convey; the chosen carriage for the words - iambic pentameter, free verse, haiku, villanelle, a limerick maybe? Then metaphors, similes, adverbs, adjectives, symbols and tropes, carefully dovetailed in; as opposed to a teabag, which just contains a dollop of tea-leaves? Of course, the leaves might be Earl Grey, Lapsang Souchong, Redbush, Green Tea, Black Tea, Oolong. OK pour on boiling water, a little milk? Sugar? Three - oh come on!
Is Grace Nichols asserting that like a cup of tea, the result of your poem (can one extend this to any piece of writing?) is a foregone conclusion; that you cannot escape yourself, or the way that you write? Certainly some crime writers have a style as identifiable as a fingerprint; and some romantic fiction writers have hallmarks as noticeable as lipstick traces on the collar.
But surely, the only way a teabag is going to decide what it wants to be, is if you leave the bag in too long, or too short a time for your taste?
Why I recognise a nugget of truth in the phrase, 'the outcome will be what it wants to be', is that I've just finished a murder mystery/panto for performance later this year, and had to dig like a badger to find the whole story. It was there alright, contained within the first few lines, but the detail lay in a ground mist. In the end it did turn out to be what it obviously wanted to be, and was, I've been told, right.
It would be a little depressing to think that one can't escape oneself, and that somehow or other you will always 'write yourself'; but on the other hand, unlike teabags, you'll never run out of stories! Just whistle.
In the meantime, keep a close eye on those teabags, in case they run feral!
Although, I'm not madly keen on the above titled poem, it does contain a kernel of something that I recognise as true. Below is a short extract from the poem by Queen's Gold Medal winner 2021, Grace Nicholls.
'Like the heart that hungers for the perfect poem,
the palate hungers for the perfect cup of tea,
not unlike poetry, since the outcome will be
how it wants to be, a marriage of balance and taste (a little more hot water, a bit more milk)
an alchemist, running on pure instinct - ' etc......
I've never thought of comparing a poem with a cup of tea, (although I have compared a hedgehog to a toilet brush); and Grace Nicholls statement, 'since the outcome will be how it wants to be', had me mulling over it. Many complex elements go into the making a poem; the basic idea one is trying to convey; the chosen carriage for the words - iambic pentameter, free verse, haiku, villanelle, a limerick maybe? Then metaphors, similes, adverbs, adjectives, symbols and tropes, carefully dovetailed in; as opposed to a teabag, which just contains a dollop of tea-leaves? Of course, the leaves might be Earl Grey, Lapsang Souchong, Redbush, Green Tea, Black Tea, Oolong. OK pour on boiling water, a little milk? Sugar? Three - oh come on!
Is Grace Nichols asserting that like a cup of tea, the result of your poem (can one extend this to any piece of writing?) is a foregone conclusion; that you cannot escape yourself, or the way that you write? Certainly some crime writers have a style as identifiable as a fingerprint; and some romantic fiction writers have hallmarks as noticeable as lipstick traces on the collar.
But surely, the only way a teabag is going to decide what it wants to be, is if you leave the bag in too long, or too short a time for your taste?
Why I recognise a nugget of truth in the phrase, 'the outcome will be what it wants to be', is that I've just finished a murder mystery/panto for performance later this year, and had to dig like a badger to find the whole story. It was there alright, contained within the first few lines, but the detail lay in a ground mist. In the end it did turn out to be what it obviously wanted to be, and was, I've been told, right.
It would be a little depressing to think that one can't escape oneself, and that somehow or other you will always 'write yourself'; but on the other hand, unlike teabags, you'll never run out of stories! Just whistle.
In the meantime, keep a close eye on those teabags, in case they run feral!
No comments have been added yet.
