Patrick_Response to Chapter 4

[Sondra Perl]

#391

For a long time I resisted the idea of structure and form in writing. As a poet, my early work began as stream-of-conscious verse, and it had a rambling, ranting quality to it. It was overtly private and personal. While I think it served me well during my adolescence, where it was relegated to private journals, it ultimately lacked an ability to communicate and impact a wider audience. I believe the reason was because I didn’t understand the necessity of form. It was only until I started to do critical writing, when I had to write for an outside reader (my professor), that I actually understood the power of form. It became clear then how a simple structure can allow emotional tensions to resonate in extraordinary ways. For example, a technique like riffing only works when the author already has a firm formal foundation in which to ground the reader.

I think the reason form is so important is because form sets up an agreement between the author and reader. And this develops a relationship of expectation and satisfaction, give and take. In this manner, a reader learns to trust a writer. And trust is a serious currency between reader and writer, especially when one is writing memoir. One of the main reasons a reader is willing to continue reading is because they trust that the author is not going to waste to their time, or leave them feeling dissatisfied or confused.

For me personally, the most helpful part of chapter four is when the author lists a “Repertoire of Forms” (50). These forms offer scaffolding upon which I can deliberately construct my own memoirs, giving shape to memory and to language. These forms seem like practical, methodical ways of participating in the genre, and they clarify the confusion I sometimes feel as I begin a new piece. In short, they help with writers’ block. It takes the pressure off; the writing becomes an exercise in filling the form. And sometimes, that’s all I need to start. Ultimately, my hope is that, through re-reading, a newer, better form will eventually emerge. In the meantime, using the forms offered in chapter four will give me a way to simply start writing—and sometimes that’s the biggest hurdle of all.

[Author]

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