Simplicity, Lightness, Insight

National Poetry Month, Week Two

Simplicity, lightness, and insight. The qualities I value in a poetry comic are the hardest to achieve.

You can’t force insight. Usually a great idea occurs to me right after I’ve given up wracking my brain for the day at the drawing table. I lie down on the couch to take a nap, and the great idea I’d failed to force into being pops into my head.

My creative instinct is to overwork and overthink: the opposite of simplicity and lightness. How many words and lines can be subtracted while still achieving an emotional effect? Usually, more than I’m willing to take out.

For some excellent minimalist poetry, check out THE REALLY SHORT POEMS of A.R. AMMONS. I also love the book FIREFLY JULY: A YEAR OF VERY SHORT POEMS, edited by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by the remarkable Melissa Sweet.

Creativity is messy. But when the clutter is cleared away, the work shines. Sometimes, it flies. Lightness is achieved.