Question: What did you learn about yourself as a writer from one assignment?
Answer: Near the beginning of the year, our class was assigned to read one work by Georges Perec titled: “La Boutique Obscure,” the piece was very whimsical with grammatical drop-offs, word extensions, exaggerations, and fragments all for the purpose of allowing the reader to fully submerge themselves in the fantasy of their minds.
(Excerpt from Memoir and Comparison 1, lines 1-6 ): “Stepping out of the watery, shining mirror; glimmering here and there, before vanishing entirely into the smokey fog of fear- disbelieving that this all actually happened (which I am certain it did). A very confusing time to sort through. I can remember, but sometimes…I would rather not. It is as if a sad, poor reflection of an emaciated soul has been brought back to the tangible dimension. There I was- waiting in this cold, sterile room with filthy tile floors, dusty blue walls, and a gallon of deranged and disturbed persons. Sitting, sobbing next to that one man I remember, but can’t seem to remember the name of- (the shock of detachment innately brewing within me).”
When I decided to take my own spin on this technique of writing in an “I Remember” narrative about my stay in a psychiatric facility; I realized how natural the art of storytelling comes to me. Whilst engaging in a memory- my subconscious takes over and I record exactly as I remember and often poetically. This is why I admired Perec’s work to the extent that I did, because of how much it resonated with my own. The lies of reality are far more honest because, they come not from a pure, unsullied and barren view from afar with dull, calculating details- but are marked with expression, opinion, bias, background, and passion that only the individual can truly feel or experience- and that is what I have taken away. My writings are vividly authentic.
