Like a monstrous snail, a toilet slides into a living room on a track of wet, demanding to be loved.
It is impossible, and we tender our sincerest regrets. …
I came late to “Writing Down the Bones,” by Natalie Goldberg (1986)–just this year, in fact. I was enchanted by it, edified and refreshed by its joy and candor. (Read it.)
One of the many things for which I am grateful to Natalie is introducing me to Russell Edson’s poetry. (Click above to read the rest of the poem on a site that has permission to reprint it.) Its allusions and imagery are bizarre, yet weirdly intimate.
And unforgettable.
Do you want your book, your prose, to be unforgettable? Find and read unforgettable writing. Think about what makes it special. Talk about it. Adopt its ideas, if only for an exercise, and write some of your own, “in the style of” the author.
Your uniqueness is not in question. Own it. Learn to express it. Make your writing unforgettable.
