Text Shirk

Reading Kamler's description of a writer's workshop for women 60 years and older. One woman wrote the story of taking her husband home from the hospital to prepare for his death. When Kamler worked with this writer, they talked about what was represented in the story and what was left out. Focusing on what's left out in my own dealings with kid writers is difficult. I slip into regrets as I re-analyze the same story over and over again and realize the lameness of some of my interactions. Too late, woman. Move on. I'm reading Harper's book too, about teenaged girls in a feminist avant garde reading group. Harper hopes that the girls will come to love the poetry she presents, just as she does. I've been there as well, wanting certain outcomes while trying hard to respect individual preferences. I'm disappointed when ideas are resisted or rejected, though I try not to take it too personally. I can't win because I also get concerned when people embrace the ideas too wholeheartedly. Are they coerced by teacher authority? Shirking these contradictions, I spent the day with two delightful teens. Fun and easy going. They balked at my suggestion that they integrate the Lego Man into the photo as a fake friend, but other than that, they were pleasant as can be.