S.O.S

   I wrote this poem in the winter of 2009 in Durango, Colorado. I was sitting on a friends couch, while conversations carried on around me.  

Erase that love song you wrote for me dear

I’ll just make you regret every line.

When I get wind of what I’ve been doing,

I'll board of every inch of this empty apartment.

You might lose your deposit,

 and I’ve lost the first and last months rent.

I’ve been gambling and I started drinking again, though

I’m blind to see that it’s only you that I’ve spent.

As I drink and chain smoke I regret to admit,

that it isn’t you that is crossing my mind.

It’s this poor girl beneath the fedora,

with a glance that is deceptively kind.

You had your hands full from the start,

you worked so hard to stitch my collapsing heart.

I never thought it was fair, that you fell in love

with the beauty in despair.

Just hold my head against your chest tightly

please, block out all the noise.

Cover my eyes with those hands so healing.

whisper those words of romance worth stealing.

Never again write a song about this mess of a girl.

Don’t let another drop of ink hit a page so blank by hands so equipped.

Save your words of compassion darling.

Read these words, sent in a bottle from this sinking ship.

Writer as Alaskan; Writer as Existent- Response

         As the world enters its fast progression in expanse and technology, what suffers is the possibility of quality literature. The world begins to lose its imagination, its appreciation for the naturally beautiful and awe inspiring qualities. Qualities that are overlooked by over scheduled days, motivations such as money and status replace the simple motivations that once were an appreciation of the land around, and the endless possibilities of self-discovery.  Inhabitants of even the most magnificent places on the planet become to jaded by their day to day lives that they fail to ever really live in the land that they have occupied for decades.

         John Haines’ essay “Writer as Alaskan: Beginnings and Reflections” focuses on the literary world's quickly dwindling opportunities to illustrate the world around as not merely what we encounter on a daily basis, but our ability to truly live. A person can live anywhere in the world, but it is not until one begins to recognize, yet more to feel, the complexity of the world without its recent distractions, that the individual exists and really begins to occupy the world in which he lives. Though his essay seems to be intended for writers, I feel that anyone can relate to the message it conveys. Haines writes “The way we live nowadays seems intended to prevent closeness to anything outside this incubator world we have built around us.” The journey to original literature, Haines describes as having everything we have come to know as being against it. It is not human nature to fight what we have become comfortable in, the monotomy of our daily lives and being submerged in a culture built around entertainment and social status.

        Writer as Alaskan is about not only putting yourself in an otherwise uncomfortable place, both physically and mentally, but to allow a place to be more than the common sense of the word. Allow the place to alter your mind, open your imagination and expand your consciousness to see beyond the modern world’s distractions and let yourself be an active participant to what you see. “To see what is here right in front of us: nothing would seem easier or more obvious, yet few things are more obvious.” Haines says literature “enhances the place, the conditions under which we live, and we are more alive thereby.”  The struggle in this case is the shrinking opportunities that we have as writers today to be fortunate enough to still be able to live in an “other” world than we do. We must not only recall the things we see visually, but also the emotions that come with realizing that we are connected to those things we see. Haines thoughts on writing in terms of being a relief from what the world is becoming is a strong reoccurrence in this essay, “genuine literature shows, as only great writings and art do show, the significant shapes that lie behind appearances.”

        As we develop as individuals and writers, we must put in a conscious effort to resist becoming comfortable in our world. Realizing that there is more to what we think we know and see will prevent us from just being momentary participants in our own lives. In order to truly exist in our lives we must push what we feel is life as we know it. Experience a place as more than a shell that we occupy. Establishing imagination and emotions in a place connects you with the world at large, as well as providing an immense sense of self.

Hello Friends

      Hey! I am Bria Sommer a Freshman enrolled in the Paralegal Studies Program at Tannana Valley Community College. I have been a life long resident of Fairbanks, but I have always seen myself living in another part of the North-West United States. I am married to a soldier in the United States Army, and I am also a manager of the Physical Fitness Center on Ft.Wainwright. I believe that we all should support our troops and their familys, as life in the armed forces is hard on all of them. I like to work out, running, yoga and crossfit are a few of the ways I keep myself stess free. I'm also a third degree black belt in Taekwon Do. I've been practicing since I was 9 years old and have been given the chance to travel the world as a competitor for team U.S.A. My favorite place that Taekwon Do has brought me is Benidorm, Spain. I enjoy the physical as well as mental challenge that Taekwon Do demands. Currently I reside in a dry cabin (out-house and all!) I love the quiet and beauty that living out of town provides and making a smaller impact on the Earth and being able to pick blueberries right out my front door. I read as much as I can working full-time and being a part-time student.
       I recently read the Twilight books, just to see what the rage was about, and I am now a "Twi-hard", I finished all 4 books over Winter break. My favorite book that I have ever read is Sophies World by Jostein Gaarder. It's "a novel about the history or Philosophy", and I have read it so many times that it is falling apart at the bindings! I read it for the first time Freshman year in high-school and have read it at least every year after. It is a wonderfully written book and a lovely adventure, you also learn a few things ;). I look forward to learning more about writing so that one day I too can be the author of a piece of work that people will read for the rest of their lives and still take something away from it.