111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 3703791732 'Out in the dark' An exploration of and creative response to the process of poetic composition with reference to Edward Thomas and a self-reflexive study Judy Kendall A thesis submitted to the University of Gloucestershire in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities September 2005 Abstract Research through practice into the actual process of composing, such as William James on automatic writing and thought processes, or Sigmund Freud on creative writing and the unconscious, is rare, and needs extension and updating. This study builds a new theoretical framework for critical and practical work on imaginative composition by investigation of Edward Thomas's composing processes and complementary analysis of the processes of writing my own poetry collection. Thomas's emphasis on fragmentation of thought, hesitancy and silence in the content and form of his poetry, positioning him on the borders of Modernism, reflects essential aspects of his composing processes, as documented in his notes, letters, prose and poetry. The creating and revisiting of my own works-in-progress and final collection, in the light of the study of Thomas and in dialogue with readers, reveals further insights into poetic composition. Chapter One examines the point at which poems emerge and the influence of external writing conditions. Chapters Two and Three look at absence in the composing process in ellipses, aporia, gaps and unfinishedness, and in the art of submission as it is used in composing. Chapter Four investigates distraction, non-logical connections and physical and temporal disturbances in composing. Chapter Five shows the importance when composing of sustaining a flexible and exact attention to immediate perceptions and thoughts. The thesis concludes with an original poetry collection resulting from the documentation of my composing processes during the research period. These poems reflect and refract many points made in previous chapters, offering practical eyidence of them. The principles of poetic composition established in this thesis are also more generally applicable to the composing of poetry. Similarities observed in composition processes in other art forms and in the writing of this thesis indicate that these principles also apply to other creative and academic disciplines, providing areas for further research. 2 Author's Declaration I declare that the work in this thesis was carried out in accordance with the regulations of the University of Gloucestershire and is original except where indicated by specific reference in the text. No part of the thesis has been submitted as part of any other academic award. The thesis has not been presented to any other education institution in the United Kingdom or overseas. Any views expressed in the thesis are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University. Signed Date .M~.~ 3 Acknowledgements I should like to thank the University of Gloucestershire for providing me with a studentship for three years; my supervisory team, Dr Shelley Saguaro, Dr Alan Brown and Professor Simon Dentith of the University of Gloucestershire for their patient advice and support, and Professor Philip Gross of the University of Glamorgan for his tactful and astute responses to the poetry; also, Lorna Scott and Caro McIntosh of the University of Gloucestershire Archives; the staff of the Oxford University Bodleian Modern Papers Room; and Battersea Public Library Local History Department. Thanks are also due to Dr Steven Earnshaw for his much-valued collaboration and feedback on the digital work; Dr Martin Randall for his inspiring energy and contributions both to the poetry and the theory; Geoff Caplan for structural advice and feedback on the printed poems; Barbara Dordi, Galya Marakova, Mary Ann Mooradian and Siobhan Wall for their responses to the digital and printed poetry, Tracey Gutteridge for her feedback on the collection, and George Kendall, Alex Lipinski and Eleanor Kercher for additional images. I am also grateful to the late Myfanwy Thomas for her permission to make use of unpublished material on Edward Thomas; the Edward Thomas Fellowship; Richard Emeny; Anne Harvey; Dr Chris B. McCully; Diana and Felicity Kendall; Dilanee and Amali Bunter; Sue Bartlett; and Linda Yeaton. 4 Contents Introduction A practical study of the composing process 7 Appendix A 20 Chapter One Starting-points: how poems emerge 21 The Physical Context 22 notes from the environment 22 the vernacular of birdsong 30 Connecting with Oral Literature 36 returning to the old lore 37 re-inventing the anonymous and the dangers of appropriation 44 language of the land 51 Conclusion 58 Appendices B - C 61 Chapter Two Absence I: ellipses and aporia 65 Ellipses . 68 ... in drafts 68 ... in completed work 75 ... as a measure 80 Aporia 84 ofpresent absence 85 of language breakdown 87 of uncertainty 90 offore- and background 92 Conclusion 95 Appendices D - F 96 Chapter Three Absence II: gaps and unfinishedness 99 Mind the gap 100 .. that really exists 101 : as a 'sob-filled pause' 108 : as shreds and patches 112 U nfinishedness 116 beyond finishedness 118 coming out offinishedness 122 into strangeness and looseness 125 suspended 132 Conclusion 135 Appendices G - H 139 5 Chapter Four Dislocation 142 Temporal Dislocation 142 in completed works 143 in the composing process 149 Dislocation and Thought 157 stopping thinking 157 too much thinking 166 distraction 170 tangential awareness and the reader 177 Conclusion 182 Appendices I - K 184 Chapter Five Divagations 188 The Focus 188 Thomas's development of divagations 189 mechanical processes 190 directed attention 196 control and flexibility 202 The Frame 209 beating the bounds 209 enveloping perspectives 212 spiralling 216 lack of conclusiveness 218 Conclusion 221 The Drier The Brighter 223 Bibliography 269 6 INTRODUCTION A practical study of the composing process a mighty struggle with intangibles I Edwin Morgan In his lecture in the Manchester Poetry Centre's 1988-1991 series, Douglas Dunn observes: Accepted wisdom would have us believe that when a poet sets out to explain his methods of working, the risk that is run is nothing less than the possible killing of his gift. I feel inclined to agree. Having accepted the invitation to participate in this series, I now find myself in a state of funk. 2 Along with the seventeen other poets contributing to the series, Dunn was sent, as preparatory guidelines, a number of questions relating to his awareness of his craft. Typical of these questions were the following: 'How conscious are you of metrical considerations in your work?'; 'Are you conscious of manipulating the syntax of your poems to achieve particular effects?'; and 'Do you ever consciously choose, say, native words (and native word-formations processes such as compounding) over LatinatelRomance - or vice-versa?' The reactions of most of the poets taking part reveal an overwhelming sense that essential to their craft is their lack of awareness of it. Edwin Morgan, for example, records that 'to many of the questions my answer was "I don't know", with the even stronger rider "And I don't want to know!'" 3 Strong Words: modern poets on modern poetry, published in 2000 and edited by the poets W. N. Herbert and Matthew Hollis, also focuses on examination of the composing process. It is comprised of selected or commissioned statements on poetry by seventy-four twentieth-century poets, ranging from William Butler Yeats and Ezra Pound to contemporary writers such as Gwyneth Lewis and Paul Muldoon. In the introduction, the two editors record their purpose as attempting 'in each case to find the illuminating moment in a poet's prose, the point at which they reveal something of their own process'. The choice of the verbs 'attempt', 'find' and 'reveal' suggests that, I Edwin Morgan. 'The Poet's Voice and Craft', in Chris. B. McCully. ed .• The Poet's Voice and Craft (Manchester: Carcanet, 1994), pp. 54-67 (p. 56). 2 This series was held at the University of Manchester and later published in book form as The Poet's Voice and Craft. Douglas Dunn, 'Writing Things Down', in McCully, The Poet's Voice and Craft, pp. 84-103, (p. 84). 3 McCully, introduction, p. viii; also, Edwin Morgan, in McCully, p. 54. 7 as in the case of The Poet's Voice and Craft, details of actual processes of composing are not directly accessible. The poets' statements in Strong Words also emphasise the inaccessibility of parts of the process of poetic composition. Brendan Kennelly, for example, refers to poetry as 'an attacking force born of a state of conscious surrender', turning 'the whole self into a river of uncertainties', in 'an act of rebellion against the poet himself'. In addition, inaccessibility as an aspect of composing is implicitly recognised by the Strong Words editors in their title for the introduction to the book, 'Writing into the Dark'. This title suggests inaccessibility as an aspect not only of the composing process but also of the compositions produced, and, by implication, the experience of reading them. The 'dark' is interpreted here by Herbert and Hollis as 'a necessary space in which the poem can do its work', since 'no good poem ever steps fully into the light or becomes completely accessible, but remains, instead, almost infinitely approachable,.4 From 2000 to 2001, as part of a master's thesis in creative writing at Lancaster University, I worked with W. N. Herbert on developing a collection of my poetry, 'Joy Change'. This process involved Herbert questioning me about aspects of my craft and composing processes.5 In common with other writers, I experienced a degree of resistance to such invitations to explore my composing processes: I did not know and I did not want to know. However, gradually over this period I became fascinated by my own adverse reactions, by the evident resistance experienced by so many poets when asked to comment on their composing processes, and by the apparent importance in the composing process of just such a lack of awareness.