I've been thinking a lot about riddles lately, since I've been reading a review copy of Peter Turchi's wonderful new book A Muse and A Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery and Magic (my review of it will be in January's Numero Cinq.)
Turchi, who wrote another favorite of mine (Maps of the Imagination) has written a book full of tidbits writers should be thinking about all the time. His observations about how puzzle-making enters into creative writing confirm my own: Good stories always ask a few questions we have trouble answering. Poetry is especially dependent on riddles, since metaphorical thinking is a form of puzzle-making (observing something to be equal to something else.) When we remember a story or a poem, isn't it because it has asked us questions that required contemplation? We linger in the mystery. Genre fiction, on the other hand, leads readers to solutions. So the more generic (genre-centered) writing is, the less it approaches unknowns and the more it offers up answers. Nothing wrong with that, if reading is done for entertainment - at the end of a good detective story, you usually can hear the final click of the box that contains the solution to the puzzle closing again. Granted, some genre work does push itself into literary territory. But if you read literary fiction and poetry, too, then you have to be comfortable with riddles that can't be solved - you don't hear that box lid clicking closed. That's what Turchi's book is all about, and I encourage you to read it - you can find out about it at this link.
Ah, the unsolvable riddle - give me one of those from time to time and I'm happy. So my Poetry Friday contribution this week is a poem by A.A. Milne, made all the better since it convinces me that unanswerable questions can be introduced to kids from the time they learn to walk. I mean, why does a chicken? If you know why, you can answer in the comments!
COTTLESTON PIE
Cottleston
Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
Why does a chicken? I don't know why.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
A fish can't whistle and neither can I.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
Why does a chicken? I don't know why.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
A fish can't whistle and neither can I.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
Today's Poetry Friday round-up is being hosted by Paul at These Four Corners. Head over there to see what other people have posted.
I believe that I would love the book you've referred to, Julie. This "metaphorical thinking is a form of puzzle-making (observing something to be equal to something else)" is a line I know I can use with my older students, good conversation will come of it. I love Winnie-the-Pooh. You've found a riddle to ponder, & yes, even for young children.
ReplyDeleteLove your thoughts on all this, Julie! [And your respect for young readers/thinkers/future writers.]
ReplyDeleteThanks for Cottleston Pie - was overdue for a re-reading!
That sounds like an absolutely fascinating book!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an absolutely fascinating book!
ReplyDeleteI think I need to read that book. Going to put it on my list. And I so love A.A. Milne. Thank you for sharing that poem.
ReplyDeleteThe book does sound fascinating. Lately I have been thinking about what I will say to students about my writing process if I get invited for school visits after my book debuts. One thing I thought about doing is taking along one of those small sliding number puzzles. I feel it will make a handy visual, as that is how I feel when I'm putting together a story...I feel like I have the parts and just need to slide them perfectly into place to solve the story/poem. And then I read about this book! Amazing!
ReplyDeleteLove Cottleston Pie!
To all of you interested in reading Turchi's book, I say this: DO IT!! It's a wonderful craft book (it's more that that, really - it's about a writer's attitude toward literature) and goes well beyond the more conventional books I've seen about the writing process. Penny, you hit the nail on the head about that sliding number puzzle - Turchi calls it "the strategic arrangement of information" and talks about how the mastering of that has a lot to do with whether you believe in "solving" the puzzle or in allowing for some mysteries to linger (and don't they always linger, when people are involved? We are a mysterious bunch, and we choose our own standards about revealing/concealing ourselves, don't we?) What I want to construct in my writing is room for readers to contemplate the characters, not "solve" them.
ReplyDelete