SESSION 10 — Playing with Words and Sound

By Batu Gezer on Unsplash

Discussion:

• Syntax—the way in which words and phrases are structured to create sentences— is the scaffolding of language.

• What happens when syntax is loosened, and words blend, collide, or repeat?

• What happens to the meaning? Does it break down? Does it morph into something else?

Let’s find out!

Vladimir Lucien is a writer, actor and critic from St. Lucia. His writing has been published in The Caribbean Review of Books, Wasafiri, Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, the PN Review, BIM magazine, Washington Square Review, Caribbean Beat and other journals, as well as an anthology of Caribbean poetry and prose entitled Beyond Sangre Grande, edited by Cyril Dabydeen. He was awarded first prize in the poetry category of the Small Axe prize 2013 and is the winner of the 2015 OCM Bocas Prize for his debut collection of poetry, Sounding Ground, published by Peepal Tree Press in May, 2014.

uses of the erotic

to enjoy myself. enjoying you enjoying. yourself to(o). ooo!       enjoying. to enjoy myself enjoying you enjoying me enjoying myself enjoying you enjoying yourself    . enjoying enjoying yourself enjoying me enjoying you/me.   enjoying.enjoying myself you yourself enjoying yourself enjoying me enjoying you enjoying yourself. enjoying.   enjoying you. enjoying me.    enjoying you&me younme youme enjoying yummi.   enjoying you enjoying me enjoying myself. enjoying you enjoying joy enjoying joy yourself. you yourself joy&me enjoying. us 3 or 4. my joy and your joy — joy we enjoying   you enjoying me. you&me enjoying. you&me joying and enjoying. ain’t joying. andjoying. injoying. Me joying you and you joying me. you&me younme   youme you whom me — us. & joy is the you in me and the me in you. joy   joy.   joy is the and. the end. of all this you and me. younme. you in me. me in you. tho you-you and me-me. both younme i. both younme am. both younme is. joy is the and. joy is the end. joy is the in. the way thru you for me. the way thru you to me. the way thru me for you. the way thru me to you. seein me thru. seein you thru. seein you tru. seein me tru. truly seein thru you and me. truly seein younme. truly seein you in me. me in you. truly seein you and me. me and you. truly seein you end me. me end you. truly younme.

so joy.us how we enjoy ourselves. some each other. (u)s. 

Writing Prompt:

Write a poem where words slip, stretch, repeat, and transform.

• Let syntax fall apart and rebuild itself on the page.

• Merge words. Break them. Repeat them until they echo something unexpected.

• Let meaning be fluid. Let the poem surprise you.

You can start anywhere. Maybe it is:

• A feeling that you want to capture in fragments.

• A single word that morphs and evolves as you write.

• A moment or scenario that can only be fully grasped through disruption, not order.