AN OPEN LETTER:
REGARDING AN ARTICLE BY KATHLEEN ROONEY
ENTITLED: BASED ON A TRUE STORY. OR NOT.
ON THE POETRY FOUNDATION . ORG WEBSITE
Dear Readers and Writers at The Poetry Foundation Site,
I appreciated reading THE COMMENTS here as much as The Article.
My name is Joshua Triliegi. I Publish an Arts and Culture Magazine.
As a younger man, I wrote and read much Poetry. Preferring the free form aspect of it,
the anything goes. I loved the freedom and never thought twice about fact or fiction.
The imagination of it all, that is the attraction, depending on the author. Usually, there
is an unspoken code in the Literary World : If It's Charles BUKOWSKI, most of it did
happen, to a certain extent. If its Kerouac, Ginsberg or Burroughs, same thing goes,
same rules apply.
But much of poetry and fiction for that matter, depends highly on the inner workings
of the mind, imagination and the like. In fact, many times, Poetry and Fiction are the
exact opposite of what has happened in a writers life. The Poem, The Novel, The
Short Story is a reprieve from some negative events.
of the mind, imagination and the like. In fact, many times, Poetry and Fiction are the
exact opposite of what has happened in a writers life. The Poem, The Novel, The
Short Story is a reprieve from some negative events.
I had shunned fiction for decades. Then suddenly drank it down like water in the
desert. Joyce Carol Oates, Oscar Hijuelos, Richard Russo : fiction is a justified
way of dealing with events in life. Taking a memoir and combining characters,
twisting events to create a One - Two - Three Act structure of some sort is part
of the game, part of the magic, it is part of the ART.
desert. Joyce Carol Oates, Oscar Hijuelos, Richard Russo : fiction is a justified
way of dealing with events in life. Taking a memoir and combining characters,
twisting events to create a One - Two - Three Act structure of some sort is part
of the game, part of the magic, it is part of the ART.
Life itself is messy. Poetry and Fiction, Lyrics and Playwriting takes that mess
and makes it a digestible meal. Otherwise its flour, salt, etc ... Wether it happened
exactly so, is maybe not the most important aspect of a written work of art. Does
the writer take us somewhere ? Is it exciting, startling, passionate, dangerous,
beautiful, triumphant, depressing ? If the answer is yes, than the writer has done
their job and is ready to go home for a good day behind the pen.
and makes it a digestible meal. Otherwise its flour, salt, etc ... Wether it happened
exactly so, is maybe not the most important aspect of a written work of art. Does
the writer take us somewhere ? Is it exciting, startling, passionate, dangerous,
beautiful, triumphant, depressing ? If the answer is yes, than the writer has done
their job and is ready to go home for a good day behind the pen.
Recently I started a FICTIONAL - EXPERIMENTAL - Project. I was to write a
chapter a day for three weeks without taking any notes whatsoever. No notes.
I had decided to build it as the days passed. We publish what I wrote on blogs
in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles on a daily basis. One Chapter a day,
the pressure mounted as I led up to the project, I really had no idea what would
happen. People were going to read it daily as it was. I took the John Updike edict,
"Three pages a day before lunch." and added a little super drive to it. Like lifting
weights in public.
chapter a day for three weeks without taking any notes whatsoever. No notes.
I had decided to build it as the days passed. We publish what I wrote on blogs
in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles on a daily basis. One Chapter a day,
the pressure mounted as I led up to the project, I really had no idea what would
happen. People were going to read it daily as it was. I took the John Updike edict,
"Three pages a day before lunch." and added a little super drive to it. Like lifting
weights in public.
On the first day of the project, while riding to work on the public transportation,
I was hassled by a man who had been recently released from prison. By the
time I got to my office, ninety minutes later, I had already imagined an entire
life for the man and spent the next three weeks ' imagining ' what life was like
for him and his family. The altercation occurred, everything else was the magic.
Or so I am told. Yes, we steal from our lives, our friends lives, things we know
to be real. But does it matter really ?
I was hassled by a man who had been recently released from prison. By the
time I got to my office, ninety minutes later, I had already imagined an entire
life for the man and spent the next three weeks ' imagining ' what life was like
for him and his family. The altercation occurred, everything else was the magic.
Or so I am told. Yes, we steal from our lives, our friends lives, things we know
to be real. But does it matter really ?
I am directing a Documentary about my grandfather's exploits, it is a full on ' this
stuff happened documentary '. But, I also have a series of poems, essays and a
Novel that is very much a Fictionalized version. Stephen crane wrote about the
Civil War and people loved it. He was born long after it had ended. Imagining
the stories we are told and adding history, details, research, is half of the fun,
at least for me.
stuff happened documentary '. But, I also have a series of poems, essays and a
Novel that is very much a Fictionalized version. Stephen crane wrote about the
Civil War and people loved it. He was born long after it had ended. Imagining
the stories we are told and adding history, details, research, is half of the fun,
at least for me.
Dredging through periodicals, thrift shops, costume and period clothing shops,
museums, music, all feed what we do as artists. " The Girl with The Pearl Earring ',
is a perfect example. Painting inspires story about subject and artist. We are
entertained, enthralled, educated and Tracy Chevalier has done her job.
On to the next one.
museums, music, all feed what we do as artists. " The Girl with The Pearl Earring ',
is a perfect example. Painting inspires story about subject and artist. We are
entertained, enthralled, educated and Tracy Chevalier has done her job.
On to the next one.
When we read the late Oscar Hijuelos' Pulitzer prize winning Novel, " Mambo
Kings Sing Songs of Love ", we figure out pretty quickly that this is a ' version '
of his life, his family. But clearly, he has made it into something. That is the
beauty of LITERATURE: otherwise, it would be JOURNALISM. Like a painter,
we see the light hitting an object a certain way,
Kings Sing Songs of Love ", we figure out pretty quickly that this is a ' version '
of his life, his family. But clearly, he has made it into something. That is the
beauty of LITERATURE: otherwise, it would be JOURNALISM. Like a painter,
we see the light hitting an object a certain way,
but by the time we mix the oils, grab the brush and apply it to the canvas, already
the light has shifted, so we remember, and in the memory, the mind begins to
create, and in the creation thereof is that indescribable stuff that happens when
your characters begin to walk and talk all with a life of their own, its beautiful.
the light has shifted, so we remember, and in the memory, the mind begins to
create, and in the creation thereof is that indescribable stuff that happens when
your characters begin to walk and talk all with a life of their own, its beautiful.
By the time I was into week three of the Experimental Novel project: " They Call
it the City of Angels " Part One, I would show up at the office and there they all
were,my characters, just waiting for me to write down what they were doing.
I found it to be a pleasant reprieve from the journalism that I do for the magazine:
reviewing Art, Theater, Films, music, etc ...
it the City of Angels " Part One, I would show up at the office and there they all
were,my characters, just waiting for me to write down what they were doing.
I found it to be a pleasant reprieve from the journalism that I do for the magazine:
reviewing Art, Theater, Films, music, etc ...
As a writer of poetry and fiction and journalism, the distinction is there, but
when I read the works of my contemporaries, teachers and historical forefathers,
I simply want them to take me there. Wether or not it happened that way is hardly
the point. If it is Poetry, I especially want the freedom to flow with it rather than
wonder about its exactitude in any manner.
when I read the works of my contemporaries, teachers and historical forefathers,
I simply want them to take me there. Wether or not it happened that way is hardly
the point. If it is Poetry, I especially want the freedom to flow with it rather than
wonder about its exactitude in any manner.
With works like, " The Portrait of Dorian Gray" and the genres of works that
followed, fact or fiction has no place whatsoever, just the act of magic is all
that is needed. Does Houdini really escape ? Did it really happen as such ?
Those of us who study these things realize quickly that Houdini was a master
locksmith who spent most of his time learning the mechanics of it all. most of
the great writers we know & love, and many that we have yet to discover, are
doing just that.
followed, fact or fiction has no place whatsoever, just the act of magic is all
that is needed. Does Houdini really escape ? Did it really happen as such ?
Those of us who study these things realize quickly that Houdini was a master
locksmith who spent most of his time learning the mechanics of it all. most of
the great writers we know & love, and many that we have yet to discover, are
doing just that.
Thank you for your time. Feel free to visit The Site and hear AUDIO and or
read the first 22 Chapters of "They Call It The City of Angels".Yes, there will
be a Part Two. The characters are just waiting for me. I can feel them calling
sometimes, somewhere from deep inside the imagination. Let us write, let us
read, let us imagine and let us wonder. Did it really happen ? Well, questions
such as this have inspired us all to have these thoughts, and so, if anything,
that has been a constructive way of getting us to communicate with one another
and that is what matters most.
read the first 22 Chapters of "They Call It The City of Angels".Yes, there will
be a Part Two. The characters are just waiting for me. I can feel them calling
sometimes, somewhere from deep inside the imagination. Let us write, let us
read, let us imagine and let us wonder. Did it really happen ? Well, questions
such as this have inspired us all to have these thoughts, and so, if anything,
that has been a constructive way of getting us to communicate with one another
and that is what matters most.
We are writers, we are readers, we need each other and the world is a better
place because of our work. If anyone tells you any different, well, write them
a letter.
place because of our work. If anyone tells you any different, well, write them
a letter.
Respectfully,
Mr. Joshua A. TRILIEGI
POST SCRIPT ADDITION:
About three weeks later, I ran into the gentleman on the bus again. He apologized
and we became friends, well, we became acquainted. I gave him my card and told
him about the Project. We talked about the importance of writing and he explained
that he was interested. Who knows ? Maybe he will get inspired and write the next
great American novel. I thanked him for the inspiration. And that is the True Story.
