Three Things: The Edition From Behind
We’ve all had those moments in our lives, sitting on the bus behind someone, or walking down the street before passing someone in front of you, or waiting in line at the post office: while staring at the back of someone’s head, one can’t help but wonder about their story, and what they’re thinking about at that moment.
This week, let’s study the backs of strangers’ heads and write about them. Too creepy? Oh, alright, here are three for you to work from without having to follow anyone around.
Lee Friedlander, Shadow – New York City, 1966. Photograph. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco.
René Magritte, La reproduction interdite (Not to be Reproduced), 1937. Oil on canvas. Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam.
Kay Sage, Le Passage, 1956. Oil on canvas. Private collection.
Happy January greetings to you, dear writers! This week, as we bundle ourselves away from the cold, let’s pull out our pens and write some lines of an ocular nature. That’s right: the ol’ eyeball. Or, you know, if you want to get all romantic about it, you could write about a mysterious glance or an all-powerful stare. I personally might just stick with the organ itself (I found some disembodied ones to get us started). Enjoy!
Remedios Varo, Eyes on the Table, 1938. Gouache on paper. Private collection.
René Magritte, The Portrait, 1935. Oil on canvas. Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York.
Francis Cugat, Celestial Eyes, 1924. Gouache on paper. Princeton University Library. Original dust jacket artwork for the first edition of The Great Gatsby (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925).
Three Things: The Night Owl Edition
As I write this, I am up well past midnight, alone in my living room while the rest of my household sleeps. Yep, I’m a night owl. This week I’ve collected three (very) different night owls for you. What will your character get accomplished/caught with/away with in the wee hours of the morning?
René Magritte, The Night Owl, 1927-28. Oil on canvas. Folkwang Museum, Essen.
Michael Wolf, Untitled (#93) from Transparent City series. Photograph. www.photomichaelwolf.com
Remedios Varo, Quiador, date unknown. Oil on masonite.
Three Things: The Broken Window Edition
Two weeks ago, I broke a window. As in: I threw a ball, which hit a window, which subsequently broke. Oops. This week, let’s write about just such a broken window. What are the circumstances surrounding your shattered glass?
John Gutmann, The Cry, from the series Beyond Reality, 1939. Photograph. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
René Magritte, Le monde des images, 1950. Oil on canvas. Private collection.
Rex W. Lindsey (illustrator), Archie’s Pal Jughead Comics Vol. 2, Issue #174 cover, August 2006. Archie Comics.
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Psst: This Thursday (July 11) at 7:30 pm we’ll be at Maeve’s Cafe in Northeast Minneapolis. Join us!
Poets Caitlin Bailey, Sarah Certa, Sarah Fox, Matt Rasmussen, and Jeffrey Skemp will be reading, plus we’ll have some word contests and vintage writing prompts for y’all to enjoy. See you there!
