Recently a friend and I exchanged pieces of written work. I read her poem and she read my editorial on leadership. This is where I "struggle" as a writer, so is my writing for me? for others? If for me how can or should it be critiqued by others? If it is for others shouldn't I want their critique? To share it or not to share it????
Words are so personal - there is so much more there behind what the words say. For example, there is so much of me as a person reflected in those words. But words are "labels" and don't work for me because I'm not just a singular idea or concept. Isn't that true of the words too? Isn't there so much more behind the word? I can write the words and then there is so much more behind them for me and also there is so much more behind them for the readers.....so where is meaning? whose meaning? the RIGHT meaning? is there such a thing as the RIGHT meaning?
I felt this so deeply in college. In one class I had to "interpret" poems. I would write up my analysis only to be told how wrong it was. But wasn't it my interpretation? Can an interpretation be wrong? Wasn't it my prior knowledge and experience that enlightened my meaning reflected in my analysis?
So why share your writing with others? Doesn't your writing have a life of its own once it is shared? But what is that is not the life you wanted your work to have?
Words are so personal - there is so much more there behind what the words say. For example, there is so much of me as a person reflected in those words. But words are "labels" and don't work for me because I'm not just a singular idea or concept. Isn't that true of the words too? Isn't there so much more behind the word? I can write the words and then there is so much more behind them for me and also there is so much more behind them for the readers.....so where is meaning? whose meaning? the RIGHT meaning? is there such a thing as the RIGHT meaning?
I felt this so deeply in college. In one class I had to "interpret" poems. I would write up my analysis only to be told how wrong it was. But wasn't it my interpretation? Can an interpretation be wrong? Wasn't it my prior knowledge and experience that enlightened my meaning reflected in my analysis?
So why share your writing with others? Doesn't your writing have a life of its own once it is shared? But what is that is not the life you wanted your work to have?
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