#LiveArtHistory W5 Sketchbook 4: short and long writing

The optional assignment this week was to write at length about something that takes very little time to happen - and to write very briefly about something that takes a long time to happen - and to do each three times. I loved this exercise - the short and long writing - and being forced to do each three times. For the long writing about a short thing I chose to do the sneeze - and for my short writing about a long thing I chose to write of birth/life/death. I have included all three versions here - I loved that I had to do it differently each time - and I think I did it. 

Lessons for practice: This is definitely an exercise to build into teaching practice - to allow students to just free write and to start to develop a writing self - and to demonstrate in practice that there really is more than one way to answer an essay question.

The writing:

I felt it coming – the tickle, tickling tickled sensation at the back of my nose – down into the deep depths of my whole body. Toes clench, muscles bunch – the diaphragm contracts, roils, bubbles and bursts – the rush – the noise – the expulsion of a burst – an explosion, a ratcheting convulsive bang of AIR thrust through spaces too small to contain the power – the force - the sheer amount of air – from tubule, bronchial, lobe, lung – trachea – nasal passage and OUT through nostril – mouth – nose – body – the SNEEZE!!!

Nasty brutish short.

A light cool breeze caught my ankle – and a sudden shiver ran through and up. Hairs stood erect – puzzled. The feeling became muscular – a dissonance – and a shake – a shiver, a shivering… No! Doubt – resistance  - confusion… What? Why? How? And still it came, building force – gathering pace and power – and bursts – erupting – eruption – the body twisting turning resisting fighting – giving in releasing exploding imploding outploding bursting – BANG. The SNEEZE!

Birth Movement Stopped

Wet dripping force and energy – a twisting and turning – a damp a wet a movement an eruption a dissonance and a confusion a roil a boil a convulsive burst of air and noise and resistance and acceptance – an in – and an OUT – oh such an OUT – such a bang a burst an explosion of self of noise of release of anguish – am I ill? Is this a sneeze or the biggest big bang my personal beginning from nothing comes noise and wet and air and… collapse.

Leap Life Lost.