Liz began this session of Writing the Land by introducing the poem “13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens.
Writing Exercise
I would like for us to compose our own poems featuring different ways of looking at a creature one is familiar with
You could choose a pet or a creature commonly seen in Toronto (i.e. pigeon, black squirrel, sparrow, starling, seagull, hawk, racoon, opossum, etc)
In Wallace Stevens’ poem he describes the blackbird as being in several situations/locations (i.e., in verse I the blackbird is “among twenty snowy mountains”, in verse II there are three blackbirds in a tree, in verse VI the shadow of the blackbird appears across a window filled with icicles, in verse XIII the blackbird sits “in the cedar-limbs”).
The blackbird(s) are also active in various ways throughout the poem flying or passing over elements of the landscape, walking around people, and crying out.
Think about how and where your creature of choice appears in the cityscape (or the landscape of your own memory). How does the creature move? What deeper feelings and associations does this creature conjure for you?
Try to write at least 5 short stanzas featuring different visual/emotional perspectives on your creature (try for at least 3, if you are able to write more please do so!)