Thursday, March 12, 2009

This is not a tag. It is also not an origami pelican.

In fact, I am not going to name twenty-five (25!) writers whose work has influenced mine. First because I don't consider that I have enough 'work' to claim influence; second, I mean seriously - 25 fucking writers?! No way.

In any case, how to detect influence? I'm a weather vane like that and if I talk to you long enough I'll begin to sound like you and in that case everything I've ever read influences me.

Finally, what about what one sees or hears? What if the biggest influence in my writing was the films of, say, Bresson (note to self: watch again A Man Escaped) or Buñuel?

Besides, I don't think I could tag 25 people and have them remain friends.

Sorry Aditi. (But y'all should totally read Aditi's blog).

*

Talking about what this post is not, I was chatting with Black Mamba yesterday and the subject of submissions and rejection slips came up. From there we moved by easy stages to origami pelicans*. I admitted to being puzzled. BM reminded me of this essay by Naeem Murr in Poetry that I have blogged about. Apparently it had not only starlings and monobrows and cancer of the left ventricle (fiction has to be specific, Murr says), it also has origami pelicans.

I love origami pelicans and other paper wildlife.

And I miss the orgami pelicaniness in the blogs I read.

So here's the deal:

This is not a tag.

But it is a prompt to write the most outrageously funny, silly, weird, fun, unwistful, unangular, unagsty, chortly post ever.

Anyone, everyone who reads this blog and is weighed down by the burden of life and would like nothing more than it lay it down, here are your bootstraps:

Story, play, conversation, graphic/comic, poem, audio clip.

Write, link, I'll link back.

What? What else do you need? You have eight or nine words above. For other inspiration there's the Poet and her Amuse.

Make those paper pelicans fly, folks.

*

Black Mamba is writing love letters or something.

And Menaka Raman, who is drawing for a rainy day.

Falsie, in the meanwhile, is taking tentative bites. (btw, where did I say this had to be only visual? Not that I'm complaining, but I'm wondering what happened to Chotu-Motu's Mandarin classes.)

Here's Surabhi dreaming that she's painting John Abraham's face with yellow butterflies (it becomes more surreal when you realise that's it's the Amma Ariyen/ Odessa John Abraham).

If this is not a tag, what I get is not an origami camel. According to Dipali.

*You'll find it's a swan, BM.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

swan, yawn. I like pelicans better.

As always, I will not follow the rules or do what was asked of me. But here is my link.

Falstaff said...

the question, of course, is who gets to decide what's funny. Personally, I thought this post was hilarious, but other people seemed to find it chilling.

Space Bar said...

bm: what rules?! and i agree - i also like pelicans better.

falsie: cheating! only posts that are written today or later count.

??! said...

No recycling? Blast and demneshun! This may be tougher than I thought.

Space Bar said...

??!: don't think so much, silly.

Anonymous said...

Cop out. You could ttly list Bresson and Bunuel. I mean, I had Bill Watterson, who is a cartoonist and has almost nothing to do with my writing.

I'm upset. Very, very upset.

(:P}

Unknown said...

I see. This is how you guys think you can make me post my learning mandarin audio clip. Maybe.

km said...

In any case, how to detect influence?

They give you something called a breathalyzer test. Then they make you say "truly rural".

Space Bar said...

aditi: ok, bresson. bunuel. will list others as they occur to me and i might touch 25 by the time this blog's three! and consider this a tag back.

veena: see, i give you idea, i prompt and prod and poke and tag and make you do that audio post. can't wait. hully up!

km: isn't that supposed to be british constitution? or is that only on the other side of the pond? go write now!

Anonymous said...

Sounds great. : D

Anonymous said...

Here is mine

http://whereimcallingfrom.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/no-origami-pelicans-or-swans/

Falstaff said...

Here you go.

SUR NOTES said...

I tried. http://surabhish.blogspot.com/2009/03/of-pelicans-and-prose.html

dipali said...

I tried too.
http://dipalitaneja.blogspot.com/2009/03/not-even-origami-camel.html