Month: January 2021

One thing that really stuck with me during this reading of Bird by Bird was that it is okay to relate back to your childhood to help your writing. When I read about starting with your childhood to begin writing my mind instantly flooded with childhood memories. Each memory being something different that you could write about. Using these memories can create images in your mind that is easily accessible and ready to be written about. I liked the quote from Flannery O’Connor “anyone who survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of your life.” This is true because the vast amount of experiences that you have been through in your childhood could be used for writing fuel. You do not even necessarily have to take specific examples from your childhood, but you can let them inspire your writing.

After reading the interview about artists books it changed my outlook on what an “artist book” is. When I first heard the term “artist book” I immediately reminisced to my childhood and the stories involved like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I imagine art books being illustrations accompanying the text. But my view point changed when I read about ‘Emissions’ from Susan Johanknetch, the book that they created could be considered art itself before even opening it. It is a two-part art piece one being the visual art of the book and the impression it gives you when you first look at it, but it also gives you the art that is on the inside which is the true meat, the Literature. Two different genres of art that work well together that I have experienced is Led Zeppelin music. The lyrics of some of the songs are poetic in form, and the electric guitar is the other art form.