I dream of Truth

 Dear Ms. Marvin,

    I have decided to take a page out of your book and type out this letter without revision, so if the words come out wonky, I apologize in advance.

    I happened to chance upon your poem "The Truth" in class when I was browsing the Poetry Foundation and I found your process for writing most interesting. The use of the typewriter and a refusal to revise it was intriguing to me, but I wonder what the purpose of tucking the poem away in a folder was. Why was it necessary to avoid looking at the poems that you wrote during that time for a couple of month? Was it to resist the urge of editing? Or was there some form of a creative logic/reasoning behind it?

     My English teacher won't enjoy this letter very much if I don't talk about your poem prior to the crux of why I'm writing to you, so I include this section here for her sake. I hope you don't mind. Also, writing without being able to change words is very hard. I think too much while typing.

    Why the wall? I'm so intrigued by the reasoning behind the wall being the focus for "The Truth". I understand how the positioning of the wall above the "head / board" connects it to a greater motif about the mind, but was there a specific reason it HAD to be a wall? I was reading one of your interviews with Keith Kopka, and I really liked how you had connected to poetry and dreams as having similar purposes. Did that belief influence what kind of poem is produced here? I think my favorite part of this poem is the moment it transitions from the precise medical language to the language of the actual repair process, perhaps reflecting something about the nature of recovery when faced with some form of trauma or heartbreak.

Diamine Writer's Blood - 80ml Bottled Fountain Pen Ink - The Goulet Pen Company
Diamine Writer's Blood, popular writing ink w/ a Dark Academia vibe to it?

     But anyone could write you an analysis on your own poem, and plenty before me have probably done so and better already. The truth is I came here to sell you something - an email to email salesman if you will. I think that you might find some joy in emulating this method of writing poetry with fountain pens. I do not know if you already have had or tried fountain pens, but I think that they are a wonderful utensil to dish out creative juices. The inks are quite permeant (assuming you buy the right one), and there's some level of romantic feeling I get whenever I read anything written by fountain pen.

I journal on a Midori Travel Journal, using fountain pens and inks. In the Image my conklin all American raven Black. Inks are J. Herbin Blue de Pervenche and Noodlers Black Swan
Not my journal entry, mine are too ugly

    Every page tells a story, and modern ballpoint pens just don't encapsulate it the same. Whenever I gaze upon past entries in my journal or notes in class, the emotion that was with me whenever I write it are apparent. The ink reveals different moments where I hurried to capture thought or wrote as a method of idling. Deeply and with great emotion, or controlled style that accentuates my penmanship. Dreams and poetry are so dependent on the element of emotion to fill in the gaps between their elements and I hope you will deliberate over my proposal with some modicum of thought.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Xu 

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