As part of one of our Lectures/Briefings we discussed the idea of Creative Writing and what constituted Creative Writing. I am not someone who tends to use too many words within my work or indeed feel confident enough to feel I can write. I've never written a poem, don't know how to create a Haiku, although now I've looked at the definition maybe I should try.
(Haiku (or hokku)
A Japanese verse form most often composed, in English versions, of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. A haiku often features an image, or a pair of images, meant to depict the essence of a specific moment in time. (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/haiku-or-hokku)
We also discussed work by several artists who use creative writing as part of their practice: Sinclair Beiles (https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2015/04/sinclair-beiles-poet-of-many-parts-and-places.html), David Bowie and his cut up paper technique, possibly helped by Brian Eno... , The Oulipo poets who looked to push the boundaries of the written word. 'Oulipians are into literary bondage. Their fetish is predicated on the notion that writing is always constrained by something, be it simply time or language itself. The solution, in their view, is not to try, quixotically, to abolish constraints, but to acknowledge their presence, and embrace them proactively.' (https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/jul/12/oulipo-freeing-literature-tightening-rules), Erica Scourti (https://www.ericascourti.com/), Zong! by NourbeSe Philiphttps://www.nourbese.com/poetry/zong-3/, a oem all about the ship that threw 150 people (slaves) overboard and the subsequent law case about who lost their 'property'. It describes an argument going back and forth, not once considering the people lost as people. Benjamin Zephaniah, one of the countries leading poets and written word artists, in particluar his piece 'Talking Turkeys' coming from Vegan's point of view but also how he writes being dyslexic.
Talking Turkeys
Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas Cos’ turkeys just wanna hav fun Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked An every turkey has a Mum. Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas, Don’t eat it, keep it alive, It could be yu mate, an not on your plate Say, Yo! Turkey I’m on your side. I got lots of friends who are turkeys An all of dem fear christmas time, Dey wanna enjoy it, dey say humans destroyed it An humans are out of dere mind, Yeah, I got lots of friends who are turkeys Dey all hav a right to a life, Not to be caged up an genetically made up By any farmer an his wife. Turkeys just wanna play reggae Turkeys just wanna hip-hop Can yu imagine a nice young turkey saying, ‘I cannot wait for de chop’, Turkeys like getting presents, dey wanna watch christmas TV, Turkeys hav brains an turkeys feel pain In many ways like yu an me. I once knew a turkey called…Turkey He said “Benji explain to me please, Who put de turkey in christmas An what happens to christmas trees?”, I said “I am not too sure turkey But itÕs nothing to do wid Christ Mass Humans get greedy an waste more dan need be An business men mek loadsa cash’. Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas Invite dem indoors fe sum greens Let dem eat cake an let dem partake In a plate of organic grown beans, Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas An spare dem de cut of de knife, Join Turkeys United an dey’ll be delighted An yu will mek new friends ‘FOR LIFE’.
We discussed other forms of writing an artist would undertake; an Artist's Statement, a CV, A Proposal, Funding Application, Press Release or a Residency Application. These, I felt I could manage as it would be more of a structured form of writing but to create something more creative I would need to approach it in a different way. We were tasked to undertake a piece of Creative Writing, so I challenged myself...
I took a copy of the Daily Mail I had been given to use as scrap paper (an apt phrase) and had the idea of cutting through the whole paper to see what it would look like and what it might reveal. I originally thought about cutting a heart shape but that just felt far too graphic and could give the wrong impression of what I was looking to do or find.
I was left with a paper with the centre cut right the way through and whole pile of squares from the paper, I wanted to see what sort of language they used and take some of the words out of context to see if it gave a tone of the actual paper. I looked through the cut out shapes, just seeing what caught my eye, whether it be a word or a phrase. It had to be the whole word, I couldn't make up anything (these were my rules, that I made up...). It wasn't until I wrote them all down and started to list them that you get more of a flavour of the sort of language used.
I wasn't concerned if they were editorial, advertising or headlines, I just noted them down and then listed them in no particular order. The result is some sort of DADA poem or nonsense but it does also reveal a sense of the type of words used and the sort of angle editorially this paper uses. If it was printed in caps I kept it in caps, some of the sentences or phrases were truncated which although makes them incomplete it also adds a further element into what may have been the rest of the sentence.
I chose a typeface sympathetic to the medium, I didn't want it too fancy of expressive so went for a typewriter sort of font. I wasn't sure if I should range the text left or centre. It felt neater and each line could have it's own space by being centred. I did consider making the square larger, which would have given me more words but felt it needed to look like it was the centre, the core of the paper.
I went on to do the same with a copy of The Sun. Another publication that seems be quite rotten through the middle. This one I named 'The Heart of the Sun', just playing with the words to make it fit the publication. The cut was the same size and position as the one on The Daily Mail.
Same size cut, roughly the same amount of pages but notably more images and larger headlines. They seem to have to shout more or tell the story with pictures.
I have been interested in the language of both these papers for a while and shocked at not just what they say but how they say it. Headlines and approaches that are repeated in the public domain.
The Daily Mail has an average daily circulation of the printed version of 910,630 (Latest period certified: October 2021 - Circulation (average per issue) -
SOURCE: https://www.abc.org.uk/product/2115
The Sun currently do not publish their circulation figures, but the last recorded ones were: The 1,210,915 (March 2020). - SOURCE: https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/most-popular-newspapers-uk-abc-monthly-circulation-figures/
That is a lot of newspapers being read by a large proportion of the country.
I have wanted to do something else with these papers since I was looking for headlines to use as part of my Alta Ego Mask (https://carldurban.wixsite.com/website/post/alta-ego-or-2-faulty-shh-it-s-a-secret) it was only when I was going through them I got a flavour of their style, aggressive approach to subjects, sensationalistic editorial style and the hypocritical nature of their journalism.