Wisdom and Thoughts to Ponder

July 2008:

ON KEEPING A PERSONAL JOURNAL

Interested in starting a journal practice but don't know where to begin?

Even if you have an established writing practice, this poem by Billy Collins is sure to ring a bell. Journal is an intimate and light-hearted look at a personal writing practice- maybe yours. Filled with imaginative ways to use a journal, Journal will inspire you with new ideas and thoughts on the journal process. Following the poem are a few writing prompts and activities to help you on the way to a nourishing, natural writing habit. Enjoy!

Journal

Ledger of the head's transactions,
log of the body's voyage,
it rides all day in a raincoat pocket,
ready to admit any droplet of thought,
nut of a maxim, narrowest squint of an observation.

It goes with me
to a gallery where I open it to record
a note on red and the birthplace of Corot,
into the tube of an airplane
so I can take down the high dictation of clouds,
or on a hike in the woods where a young hawk
might suddenly fly between its covers.

And when my heart is beating
too rapidly in the dark,
I will go downstairs in a robe,
open it up to a blank page,
and try to settle on the blue lines
whatever it is that seems to be the matter.

Net I tow beneath the waves of the day,
giant ball of string or foil,
it holds whatever I uncap my pen to save:
a snippet of Catullus,
a passage from Camus,
a tiny eulogy for the evening anodyne of gin,
a note on what the kingfisher looks like when he swims.

And there is room in the margins
for the pencil to go lazy and daydream
in circles and figure eights,
or produce some illustrations,
like Leonardo in his famous codex’Äî
room for a flying machine,
the action of a funnel,
a nest of pulleys,
and a device that is turned by water,

room for me to draw
a few of my own contraptions,
inventions so original and visionary
that not even I’Äîgenius of the new age’Äî
have the slightest idea what they are for.

Billy Collins
in Picnic, Lightning

Writing Prompts:

1. How does this poet's description compare to your experience or expectation around keeping a journal?
2. What kinds of things would you like to keep in your journal?
3. What kinds of things would you be uncomfortable writing in your journal?
4. Write about your purpose or reason for writing?
5. Is it okay to doodle? What kind of art would you put in your journal?
6. Describe about your favorite writing location. If you don't have one, write a description of the writing spot you'd like to have. Go ahead, create a space where you will want to write.
7. Write a description of the 'ledger' of your life's journey.
8. What is it you want to say/record between the covers of your book?
9. What images come to mind when you think of beginning a journal of your life voyage?

Art Experiences:

1. Create your own journal using a plain composition book. Cut images from a magazine that speak to your journal theme or writing purpose. Use colored papers to form a background and glue images in place. Give your journal a title. (Scrapbooking stores have wonderful supplies for personalized journals). You may want to cover your new journal with clear contact paper to protect your artwork.
2. Write three feeling words at the top of a page. Now doodle for five minutes. Write three words at the bottom of the page that describe how you feel now.
3. Glue magazine images or word phrases to your journal page to express your current thoughts or feelings. If you use only images, give your page a title. Or write a reflection after you have made an art page. Begin with the words:  Now that I have completed my art page I am aware....

Archive

Past poems and writing prompts can be found in our Wisdom Archive.

For More

Contact Susan for more information about online writing groups and journal teleclass support for your writing practice.

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• Links and Resources for Writers