Following Your Character Around: April 12-25 2024
This week I got the chance to attend a great keynote interview with musician and songwriter Jason Isbell. I’m still processing a lot of it, but there were several insightful and funny moments that made it a joy to attend.
One of the simplest answers he gave, however, was in response to a question about how many of his songs are autobiographical. Some of them, of course, very much are. Others, as you’d imagine, are the kind of thing where it’s not really about him, but parts of himself end up seeping into the writing. But he said he’s still amazed at how many people assume all the songs are about him and think that anything a persona in a song says or does is something he actual says or does or thinks himself. In reality, he said what he most often does is this:
"I create a character in my mind, and then I just follow them around and see what they do.”
For this week’s assignment, create a character in your mind that is not you. Follow them around, see what they do, and then write about them. You can write a full song, like Jason Isbell. You can write one just one stanza or a poem. You can write a short story. Anything you like.
The Submissions:
“My Other” - by Journal Kurtz
“Inertia” - by Captain Quillard
The sign says 42 folks populate
the town I’m from
But I’d had my fill two days ago
and now it’s 41
‘bout an hour outside Birmingham
northwest on 22
Where there’s just as many stoplights as
the town has points of view
Well, they closed the plant a year ago
but their minds closed long before
And folks there ain’t got no idea
how many ways they’re poor
[chorus]
And I know I’ll never fit in there
Opinions like mine are dismissed
So I’ll make some new plans
in the Rhode Island sand
Disappear in the Narragansett mist
My neighbor, he seemed nice enough
His momma was a gem
And they’d both do anything for you,
‘long as you look and think like them
Stuck in a world were new ideas
and skin tones make them mad
So scared of losing status
they don’t know they never had
They sit and talk of simpler times
that’ve never really been
Huge satellite dish in each front yard
but no news getting in
[chorus]
And I can’t continue to live where
curiosity doesn’t exist
So I’ll look to expand
in the Rhode Island sand
Disappear in the Narragansett mist
And I may miss my grandma’s cooking –
Might even miss the county fair, but
homemade pie and RC Cola ain’t
enough to keep me there
Nothin’ to do. No art or hope.
No food with any minerals
There ain’t but two places to shop
and both are Dollar Generals
The church sign quotes from Matthew,
then below that, “Build the wall”
And everyone knows everyone
but they don’t know me at all
[chorus]
And I know they’ll be fine without me
I doubt that I’ll even be missed
I’ll figure out who I am
in the Rhode Island sand
Disappear in the Narragansett mist
The guy down at the vape shop
knows how men should be defined
Though he’s never once stepped foot
outside the Fayette County lines
Seems I’ve committed cardinal sins
like not caring ‘bout cars,
or admitting having feelings
or just reading in a bar
He told me, “Son, you don’t belong here”
prob’ly lookin’ for a fight
And that’s the first time in his whole damn life
that ol’ bastard had been right
[chorus]
And I’ve never been one for fightin’
I’d rather throw comebacks than fists
So I’ll make my stand
in the Rhode Island sand
Disappear in the Narragansett mist
Just ‘cause you’re born somewhere or way
it don’t mean you’re there stuck forever
But landlocked minds and hidebound hearts
Make those surly bonds hard to sever
And I guess you’d say inertia’s why
I’ve never seen the ocean
But, from now on, this body’s gonna’
tend to stay in motion
So I loaded up my S-10
and I headed toward the sea
And I’m a long, long way from home, but home’s
a longer way from me
[chorus]
And the sign says 41 folks
grind their only lives to grist
But I’m done with dry land
‘less it’s Rhode Island sand
Now I’m here in the Narragansett mist
Find me here in the Narragansett mist
by Anonymous Frau Redux
For Rent(soon):
1/2 duplex, ground level entry with attached garage, 2 bed, 1 bath, galley kitchen with small dining area adjacent, living room with large window for light.
(The fictitious listing was the site of an actual estate sale in town today. No personal knowledge of the previous renter.
Obviously they were a crafter who recovered or decoupaged many carts and pieces of furniture.
Grab a chair? There were at least 8 and a brilliant red sofa for the home. Lots of red. Passionate or a sign of madness?
Sewing machines, stacks of material, boxes of ribbon and tubs of edging filled the perimeter of both bedrooms, closets full of abandoned clothes. At least 2 desks, numerous dressers and bookshelves for just one person or someone who had acquired another’s belongings?
All possible surfaces covered with craft supplies, so many towels, linens- some brand new, vintage kitchenware. So much left behind from one person?
Didn’t see anything that I absolutely needed, felt a bit of guilt peering into a life that no longer occupied this home. Made my way to the exit.
Oh my goodness, the garage was full too. More furniture, some in various stages of disrepair.
If a home reflected one’s life or state of a mind, they had once been very busy. Had invested time in acquiring stuff and created art in their work, perhaps lonely as well? All that remained was just controlled chaos, priced to go.)
- Anon Frau R
Next Week’s Assignment:
Using at least two different artistic mediums, create portraits of yourself, hopefully in contrasting or varied styles.