I was still in college when it
was rumored that several poems thought to be written by Emily Dickinson, quintessential American
poet of the 19th century, were located in
some deep forgotten place from many years ago.
These poems had no name to identify the author. These poems were not found in Amherst, the beloved home
of the prolific poet who authored over 1700 poems. One may wonder how these unsigned poems could
possibly be identified as Dickinson’s,
especially since they were located nowhere near the home where she, in her
later years, lived as a recluse.
Just as the masters of the
art world can be identified by the strokes of the brush, the mingling of color,
angles of light, writers can be identified by specific traits. For example, Dickinson is noted for her unconventional
broken rhyming, meter, and use of dashes and random capitalizations, as well as
her creative use of metaphor and overall innovative style. She was a deeply sensitive woman who
questioned the puritanical background of her Calvinist family and soulfully
explored her own spirituality, often in poignant, deeply personal poetry.
When teaching poetry, I
explained to my students that every writer has a “code.” Writing is an extremely intimate task and we
tend to develop specific traits to our writing styles. We develop tone and tenor. We develop theme that, by intention or design,
laces its way through our varied works. We
develop a vocabulary of words and phrases that illustrate not only the point of
the writing but also the personality of the author. Someone who pays attention and frequently
reads from the same author will notice the nuances and quirks of a specific
writer.
Yes, even here in internet
land the identifying markers of an author can be identified… if you pay
attention. In addition to all the artsy
stuff I mentioned above, there are markers of a person’s writing that are
educational habits, regional dialects, cultural identifiers, degree of word
choice, and things that are just plain different. I have a friend who continuously misuses a
word in her blogs. It drives me insane
but her background and region deem her grammatical homicide as the norm (I
don’t point it out for two reasons.
1. I ain’t the grammar police 2. I
ain’t perfect). Many of the
younger writers use the “IM” language in their blogs… “u’r goin 2 luv it…” Some people misspell the same word or turn
the same phrase. I’m sure there are
people out there who have identified some of my writing habits. We all have them.
Now I come to the point (I
know, it’s about time).
It’s not a big surprise to
discover some of the folks here “ain’t zak-tly who dey say dey is.” Hell, to a certain level we all embellish our
tales a bit… we exaggerate the blue of the sky, we carry the blame of the
world, we reject any blame at all… we deepen the pain, lighten the heart, shave
a few pounds, add a few inches… Nothing
major, just thoughtful writing. Without
question, nothing aimed at harming another.
Well, some folks like to take
it to another level. Some folks take it
to a level of deceit and manipulation.
Some folks take it to the level of pain.
Some folks will spend time gaining your friendship, giving you guidance,
offering support while snickering beyond the binary code of this cyber
place.
Some folks don’t know that I
am a student of writing. I study; I
watch; I learn; I notice.
