Lists

A great man once told me that he wanted to write everything...

"Eviction notices, summons, manuals, instructionals, bumper stickers, pamphlets--I want to write all of these things. With poetry or fiction, the tendency is to attempt perfection and fail, but poets are perfectionists, we want to keep working and reworking, molding, cutting, pasting, sculpting. A poem is never finished. Often you get the idea that someone will see all the imperfections instead of the finished product, but what you have to do is stop thinking that anyone is going to read your work."

I mostly write for myself and other people happen to read it, but when he told me this I had just been published for the first time, and worried about what my "readers" thought, and that started to bother me. It wasn't until much later that I realized the beauty of the statement: I had no readers. If anyone were to read something I'd written, (say the aforementioned poem, "[Absinthe Piss]," published in ULL's journal The Southwestern Review '09), and they didn't like it, they wouldn't sit there and scrutinize it like I imagined they would--they'd merely turn the page and move on. Even if they did scrutinize my writing, tear it down and think negative thoughts about me, how would I ever know? Would it matter at all if I did? Or say they did like it, would they even take the time to look at my name, try to find more of my poetry? It's not likely.

When it comes to writing more mundane things however, your writing gains a certain power, particularly when people are forced to read it! But there are some forms of writing that are so mundane, so underwhelming, most people think reading them is pointless. Someone else's notepad, for example, detailing goals they need to accomplish at work, or what foods they ate at each meal, or grocery lists--most people find this sort of writing dull, non-poetry.

I'd like to argue the opposite. Poetry, like music, is everywhere. Like art, it's often free if you just look for it. What's stopping us from enjoying reading/writing lists?

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A Complete List of Objects On or Around the Desk in the Office at the Blue Moon Guesthouse

heavy-duty scotch tape dispenser

magnetic paper clip jar

salmon pink stapler

2 digital calculators, 1 black, 1 gray

green hand-made ceramic bowl containing: staples, a blue paper clip, a clear thumb tac, and 2 erasers

wireless telephone and base

small brown paper bag containing: 5 large and 3 small brass keys

black printer/copier/scanner/fax machine

large round clock with roman numerals bearing the words: Edinburgh Clock Works Co.

framed black and white photo of 9 women dressed like cow girls, labeled: Cow Girls - Cheyenne Frontier Days - 1929

white 3-ring binder labeled: Blue Moon Saloon - Events

manilla folder labeled: Trek America '13

small brown glass vase labeled: hurricane bubble; containing: large, blue-handled scissors; small, green-handeled scissors; 4 ball-point pens, 1 without cap; black sharpie; big black permanent marker labeled:
King Size; standard #2 pencil; flat yellow highlighter; fake rose.

19 sticky notes varying in color and messages

56 envelopes containing receipts from tabs left open at the end of the night

10 magnetic note clips

wooden mirror

framed cork board with 3 lists of phone numbers

12 push pins, 11 clear, 1 green

mac mini

black computer monitor

black and silver wireless router

cash register

credit card machine

red metal message bin labeled with: emergency contact information; containing: 3 manilla folders, a clip board, 7 sheets of paper, 14 Blue Moon business cards

white coffee mug

pair of silver prescription glasses

blue mechanical pencil

Canadian dollar

post-it note pad

yellow and pink invoices for printer ink

wooden jar containing: $23.77 in spare change; with wooden lid

2013 calendar (turned to August)

paper sign that reads: always always check a/c filters and under beds when cleaning a room! please and than you! xoxo

postcard from Brugge with a personal note

newspaper image featuring a regular guest dancing

Texas driver license

2 pairs of sunglasses, 1 burgundy cat-eyed, 1 transparent pink/yellow wide-eyed

fortune cookie fortune stating: Energy is equal to desire and purpose

picture of 13 people in a boat drinking beer and water

black and white picture of 4 women kickline dancing and wearing gas masks

small wooden shelf

mardi gras mask

Fransaskois flag