Introduction to Multicultural Literature

I found Barrett Bowlin’s talk very insightful and inspiring, it gave me a new perspective and a new outlook on literature and writing as a whole. I found it amazing how he intertwined science and fact with fiction and imagination in his work because those are two things are very contradictory and opposite but as he was reading his writing, I found his combination of the two fascinating and brilliant. I found the particular story he read that took place at Bartholamules hospital very interesting. Vance as a character is very complex and someone that everyone looks up to and wants to be around even though Vance is truly a condescending person. I specifically remember the part of the story that centered around the idea of the boy patient with the scars from being struck by lightning. Although this part may seem random and insignificant, I found it very heartful and deep-rooted especially when he describes the beautiful, speckled scar that the lightning has left on his chest; it makes me think of beauty in the madness and like finding light in the dark which was bittersweet. Bowlin kept stressing this idea that to be a good writer one must be an avid reader and without reading you cannot be a good writer because they go hand in hand. I also found it very interesting how he kept referring back to the cyst on one patient’s neck and although I am not sure what the deeper meaning of it was, I enjoyed pondering the idea of what it may symbolize. I found it so special and cool that he is able to include pieces of his old job and his love for science into his new life and his book writing and storytelling. The way that he is able to mend his research based scientific mind with also his creative love for imaginative storytelling and fiction is something I have never seen an author combine before in such a casual way. I was also very impressed when he discussed this idea that a lot of the times when he is working on a story, he puts it away and comes back to it when the time is right. I always thought that authors continuously write a book until they are done and don’t start other projects, but he changed my perspective and made me realize that it is okay to have unfinished projects and unfinished business and taking time to think and stay away from something can sometimes bring you more intellect and a new improved understanding rather than trying to force ideas and brilliance in a rush to succeed. Overall, I found this reading to be super inspiring and I am very glad that I went to it and experienced it. I think that his talk and his way of writing is something that I will be thinking about for a while, I also feel inspired because him becoming a writer was unplanned and not what he originally pictured for himself but along the way he ended up doing it and now he is able to incorporate every obsession and everything he loves into his writing and can combine his love for science, reading and writing all in one while interacting and inspiring others.

I thoroughly enjoyed the reading presented and facilitated by Barrett Bowlin. His book, Ghosts Caught on Film, was very clever from the segment he read to us. I also really like the fact that the book’s publication date was not even a year ago, it feels fresh and current. I was very inspired by the fact that he pulls so much inspiration from science. It is not like anything I have really read before and it’s interesting to see the way his mind works in regard to writing and his other passions. Like the last visiting author, Benjamin Garcia, there were similarities in relation to the scientific and medical themes. They both studied science and I find it very fascinating that his career turned around after he did so much schooling. Something he wrote that I will be sure to use in the future is creating character maps. I like how he said that he doesn’t always use every little detail but he crafts it to get a vibe and better understanding of the characters he is writing about. Additionally, I think it is very interesting to write characters in fiction that are based on real people you know, which he did with his wife. He put a very large spin on the character his wife inspired, but he just used her as the foundation of something deeper and complex. I would really like to try his method of writing by doing it in solitude with no one else and after consuming a fair amount of caffeine. I think it would increase my productivity. Last semester, I went to a reading by Gina Nutt and she said something very similar about writing about your obsessions. Bowlin said that having frustration or anger also helps since you have a lot of emotion within. Previously in my head science as an overarching theme felt very non-fiction, researched, and fact-based so I admire how he can use something that can be so rigid and make a fiction story from it. Something that struck me as surprising was the speed and intensity with which he read. It felt frantic and exciting which is most likely not the way I would’ve read it if I had the book in front of me. I think it shows the fast-paced career in medicine and helping people. He was also very expressive with his body language. He would often snap and move his hands around which gave the story animation and liveliness. Barrett Bowlin was open about his experiences prior to his life as a writer and I enjoy hearing the backstory of what the authors do before they start their work. His tiered organization with the categories of writing samples was something I want to try in the future. I like how he always strived for his work to be published but accepts and acknowledges that most of his work will just be kept hidden. The analogy of them being called “orphans” was just as creative as it was humorous, and it acts as a means for personification. All in all, I found his reading to be inspiring and I learned a lot about his writing process as well as his personal life.

My found poem: ( picture will not upload)

Friends break up, friends get married.

Strangers get born, strangers get buried.

But I,

I’m right where you left me.

I, I stayed there

Dust collected.

Find

Perspective, 

They say,

Time went on for everybody else.

She won’t know it.

I felt the moment stop

Left,

me

I created my found poem through the use of lyrics from the song “ right where you left
me”, by singer and songwriter Taylor Swift. Taylor swift is known for her authentic, relatable, and artistically inclined song writing. The first time I listened to this piece of hers, it did not resonate with me. Then, years later I came across it again and it had transformed into a song that described my mental state due to the result of a hardship that impacted me significantly. A Lot of Taylors music is like this, it takes a few listens to intercept and make sense of what she is attempting to relay to her audience because her phasing is poetic in a sense. Creating this found poem revealed the the beauty of art to me. Its’ meaning can change depending on the situation or perspective in which it is experienced. The song is about being left by a loved one. She doesn’t specify whether it is a lover or friends but can fit into both of those categories. She uses metaphors such as, “ Friends breakup, friends get married. Strangers get born and strangers get buried”, to emphasize the idea that nothing is permanent. This song speaks to the difficulty and hurt of accepting this
concept that nothing lasts forever, really is. She wrote phases like, “ I am right where you left me” and “ Everyone moved on, I stayed there.” She is saying that in her subconscious she stayed in that relationship even though it had left her, she did not detach from it. This song is a bit depressing and dwells on being lonely and the victim. In creating a found poem with her lyrics from this song, I decided to create a positive twist to the story line. I pulled words and phrases that are relevant to the original piece and ended my found poem with, “ I felt the moment stop. Left. Me.” The direction I was going with this was the beauty of that moment when one finally lets go and psychology detaches from a period of their life that no longer serves them. She felt the moment stop, and then realizes all that is left is her or in the point of view the piece is written in, “me”. The moment in realizing that it is a positive thing that she is still standing and now can blossom into an even better version of
herself, my found poem is meant to embarrass loneliness and turn the mindset of being a victim to embracing self worth and freedom.
Original Piece:
“Right where you left me”
Song by Taylor Swift
Friends break up, friends get married
Strangers get born, strangers get buried
Trends change, rumors fly through new skies
But I’m right where you left me
Matches burn after the other
Pages turn and stick to each other
Wages earned and lessons learned
But I, I’m right where you left me
Help, I’m still at the restaurant
Still sitting in a corner I haunt
Cross-legged in the dim light
They say, “What a sad sight”
I, I swear you could hear a hair pin drop
Right when I felt the moment stop
Glass shattered on the white cloth
Everybody moved on
I, I stayed there
Dust collected on my pinned-up hair
They expected me to find somewhere
Some perspective, but I sat and stared
Right where you left me
You left me no, oh, you left me no
You left me no choice but to stay here forever
You left me, you left me no, oh, you left me no
You left me no choice but to stay here forever
Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen?
Time went on for everybody else, she won’t know it
She’s still 23 inside her fantasy
How it was supposed to be
Did you hear about the girl who lives in delusion?
Break-ups happen every day, you don’t have to lose it
She’s still 23 inside her fantasy
And you’re sitting in front of me
At the restaurant, when I was still the one you want
Cross-legged in the dim light, everything was just right
I, I could feel the mascara run
You told me that you met someone
Glass shattered on the white cloth
Everybody moved on
Help, I’m still at the restaurant
Still sitting in a corner I haunt
Cross-legged in the dim light
They say, “What a sad sight”
I, I stayed there
Dust collected on my pinned-up hair
I’m sure that you got a wife out there
Kids and Christmas, but I’m unaware
‘Cause I’m right where
I cause no harm, mind my business
If our love died young, I can’t bear witness
And it’s been so long
But if you ever think you got it wrong
I’m right where you left me
You left me no, oh, you left me no
You left me no choice but to stay here forever
You left me
You left me no, oh, you left me no
You left me no choice but to stay here forever

I named my poem “The Love in Greif”. I chose to use the song “Glitter” by Patrick Droney. I chose this song because it was used to represent my best friend at her funeral who passed last year. This song represents the good and the bad in grieving. I chose to use it because I knew I could make something beautiful and full of contrast.

The method I used to create this poem was to try and place the words in the shape of a heart. I also chose one side of the heart to be the positive side of loving people and the other side to be the darker side. I made it clear which side was which by shading the darker side. At the bottom of the heart is a really good quote which is “but no one really dies if the love remains” I really love this quote because it is true people keep living in your memories and in your hearts till the end of time. Making this poem really touched me because it was inspired by my friend Carli.