If we were sitting across from each other at the Bean Scene—my favourite coffee shop—me sipping my half-strength decaf cappuccino with one sugar and you your latte beverage of choice, we would be talking about lockdown and masks, and how this has been a year like no other.
In a natural lull, you gently ask how the study has been going—you don’t want me to feel awkward if it has gone badly, you’re kind like that.
But it hasn’t.
Despite the year it has been, the project has gone remarkably well.
The poetry collection—my data collection to answer the question ‘how does poetry allow trauma to speak?’—is mostly done. There is a close line edit still to do but the heavy lifting has all been done. The poems are written. The analysis has begun.
And the exegesis that establishes the theoretical framework and interprets the findings? The first two chapters are written and referenced. Two chapters to go.
My project gave me something other than COVID to think about and the opportunity to refine my academic writing skills while we all stayed home keeping each other safe. The writing is all about getting that first draft established and not being afraid to really work on it, to get the references integrated and to bravely explore those ideas that present themselves.
And what about you? Did you have a project to help you through 2020? Maybe it might be good to think about getting one. This thing isn’t over yet. You might need something to distract you from any 2021 surprises COVID might throw our way.
Another coffee?
How about a butterbing?
It’s the little things that matter.
This Writer's Life 