On Eavesdropping

Posted on September 4, 2003 in Book of Days Encounters Poems Writing

Note: This is part of a series based on exercises from A Writer’s Book of Days. It’s something of a rebellion against the Friday Five and similar tupperware content memes.

Today’s topic: You eavesdrop on a conversation. What do you hear?

I urge the writers who attend the Wednesday groups that I facilitate to eavesdrop. In this way, I contend, you will learn how people truly speak and find material for your work.

I am inspired by the example of William Carlos Williams to attempt to set fragments of conversation that I overhear as poetry:

19

“Would you

like it — for here —

or to go?” The lemon

popsicle woman reads and stretches.
“To go”.

20

“They just

left.” “Oh they left

already?” I nod, note

the biblical accent and her

sharp nose.

21
“Do you

have it?” “Yeah, I

have it.” “OK, because

I don’t have it.” They leave, sandals

clopping.

Most books have their protaganists speaking in complete sentences. So much conversation, however, is exchanged in fragments, choppy speech, and stutters. I listen for these, for the way that people go round to a phrase that they found particularly provoking or expressive, repeating it so that there is no mistake that they have talked. I’m looking for the real voices, the real life that people lead.

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Bill Hopkins at Prairie Point joined us for one day. I hope he will join us again.

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• Shameless Agitator
  
• Joker on the Run

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Want to participate? First either get yourself a copy of A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves or read these guidelines. Then either check in to see what the prompt for the day is or read along in the book.

Tomorrow’ topic/prompt: The time between dusk and dawn.