“My goals as an artist have nothing to do with speaking to an audience. I love to have a good time, but when it comes to poetry I'm not really interested in writing poetry that seeks to entertain or operate safely within the mainstream and, to be clear, I'm not disparaging the really phenomenal work that does - it's just not my interest as a poet.” WritingArtistGoalInterestAudiencePoetGood TimesHaving A Good TimePhenomenalWriting Poetry Author:Dawn Lundy Martin
“When my work does speak to audiences, when it creates audiences around it, I feel a little less crazy because what that means is that there are folks out there who are interested in thinking about themselves and the world through a prism. The prism is a labor and there can be a pleasure in labor.” ThinkingWorldMeanSpeakPleasureAudienceCrazyLabor Author:Dawn Lundy Martin
“I reach readers rather unintentionally, I think, and those readers likely connect with the slant, the off-kilter, the part of the road you can barely see from the well-traveled road. So, when I'm writing, I'm not thinking about audience at all. Instead, I'm trying to see behind those shrubs, down that hidden path. We're the weirdos of the world and there are so many weirdos.” ThinkingWorldWritingTryingAudiencePathWeirdo Author:Dawn Lundy Martin
“With my students I give them lots and lots of guided writing. Part of it is as simple as writing a lot but not toward anything. The mind floats. Then I help them see where the language has heat. If we do this a lot in class, students eventually relax into this writing practice and enjoy it. Even just that - writing pleasure without the anxiety of "audience" or "grade" or "success" - is a kind of impetus toward the unfamiliar.” GivingWritingMindKindHelpingLanguageEnjoySimplePleasureAudienceStudentsAnxietyRelax Author:Dawn Lundy Martin