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***This is the thirty-third in a never-ending series
called BACKSTORY OF THE POEM where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC)
focuses on one specific poem and how the poet wrote that specific poem.
All BACKSTORY OF THE POEM links are at the end of this
piece.
#33
Backstory of the Poem
“I Have A Bass Guitar
Called Vanessa”
by Robert Craven
Twitter
handle - @cravenrobert
Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the
moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form?
I’ve just completed a creative
writing course on-line focussing on poetry, moreover exploring the process of
writing. The tools. One of the exercises was ‘found’ poetry – taking two
elements and making a poem from. I took my old bass and looked out on the
street at the road. From here the idea grew. The road and the bass explain a
large portion of my life – touring with bands and the journey this instrument
took me on. I created three or four drafts, reading each one aloud. I’m not
pushed on rhyme, but more rhythm. (Right: Johannes et Jacobus "Le Roi du Soleil" Precision Style Bass (JJ004) from Flickr album "200907 My Guitars" by John Clift. CCBSA)
Where were you when you started to actually write the poem? And please describe the place in great detail. I write
first thing in the morning. I have a small corner of sofa that I struggle to
keep ownership with my cat, Suki. From this seat, I have a view of the garden
and sky. I’m lucky where I live, no high-rises or tall buildings. On the sofa
we have a woven blanket bought from a Blackfoot reservation in Canada. It is
deep red with green and white chevrons and diamonds. I write from a laptop on
my lap and a cup of coffee perched precariously on the arm of the sofa. (Left: Back Road in Ireland. Public Domain)
What month and year did you start writing this poem? I started
this poem at the start of June – 3rd or 4th. I’m only
just happy with it now. (Right: Robert Craven in May of 2018. Copyright permission granted by Robert Craven for this CRC Blog Post Only)
How many drafts of this poem did you write before going to the final? (And
can you share a photograph of your rough drafts with pen markings on it?)
I wrote out four drafts long hand
– typed up two and this is the final – six in total.
Were there any lines in any of your rough drafts of this poem that were not
in the final version? And can you share
them with us? One line
didn’t make the cut – “waiting for your hatred” – it was going to be the very
last line but shapes the final image poorly. I was angry growing up in Dublin
in the 1980’s. The only escape was music – I played blues, jazz and punk – all
musical forms expressing anger and pain. I didn’t want the bass to be a weapon
– some musicians think that way. My son, Liam is interested in music and maybe
one day he might want to just jam or take it further, he can take the bass –
it’s his now. (Left: Robert Craven in August of 2015. Copyright permission granted by Robert Craven for this CRC Blog Post Only)
What do you want readers of this poem to take from this poem? I’d like the readers to enjoy it – it was a wonderful time in my
life, but all good things come to an end. I hope it reads like an old
photograph pulled from a yearbook. (Right: Self photo by Robert Craven. Copyright permission granted by Robert Craven for this CRC Blog Post Only)
Which part of the poem was the most emotional of you to write and why? Along the highways of Ireland, Wales and England.
snug in her case, Vanessa travelled by car, boat and plane to Holland
and thrummed and boomed
like thunder in its clubs and bars.
snug in her case, Vanessa travelled by car, boat and plane to Holland
and thrummed and boomed
like thunder in its clubs and bars.
As a musician, the doors began to open, and I got to travel out
of Ireland playing it. I began to see hope during a bad economic downturn -
& maybe the bands I played in brought a little relief. It’s a real
right-of-passage. (Left: Robert Craven in June 30, 2017. Copyright permission granted by Robert Craven for this CRC Blog Post Only)
Has this poem been published before? And if so where? Yes, on a free-to-read-site ABCTales.com
Anything you would like to add? Poetry is one thing I find very hard to do – it really is a
bearing of the soul for all to see. Anyone who does this for a living has my
heart-felt respect (Left: Robert Craven in November of 2016. Copyright granted by Robert Craven for this CRC Blog Post Only)
I Have A
Bass Guitar Called Vanessa
I have a bass guitar,
It’s a Jazz-copy that I call Vanessa;
Vanessa is my road bass,
and travelled around with me in a battered
old flight case.
Along the highways of Ireland, Wales and England.
snug in her case, Vanessa travelled by car, boat and plane to Holland
and thrummed and boomed
like thunder in its clubs and bars.
The pick-ups are old, The frets worn smooth
and the rose-wood neck is scarred by
the fingered steel-wound strings.
The body's chipped and grooved from nightly use for a decade and two.
Propped and stood and hurled onto stages of wood and stone and crate-mounted planks.
The finish has lost its lustre, but not her rich, lush tone.
Not her soul of mother-of-pearl.
It’s a Jazz-copy that I call Vanessa;
Vanessa is my road bass,
and travelled around with me in a battered
old flight case.
Along the highways of Ireland, Wales and England.
snug in her case, Vanessa travelled by car, boat and plane to Holland
and thrummed and boomed
like thunder in its clubs and bars.
The pick-ups are old, The frets worn smooth
and the rose-wood neck is scarred by
the fingered steel-wound strings.
The body's chipped and grooved from nightly use for a decade and two.
Propped and stood and hurled onto stages of wood and stone and crate-mounted planks.
The finish has lost its lustre, but not her rich, lush tone.
Not her soul of mother-of-pearl.
Vanessa lies in the shadows of the wardrobe, the shoulder strap twisted up like a serpent,
waiting for your fourteenth birthday.
Waiting for the next generation of anger...
Robert Craven was born in Manchester and now lives in
Dublin, Ireland. He is the author of Get
Lenin, Sinnman, A Finger of Night, and Hollow
Point. He is also the author of
the novella The Steampunk Novella-The Mandarin Cipher and two horror
anthologys A Communion of Blood and Vodou. (Right: Robert Craven in February of 2018. Copyright permission granted by Robert Craven for this CRC Blog Post Only)
BACKSTORY OF THE POEM
LINKS
001 December 29, 2017
Margo
Berdeshevksy’s “12-24”
002 January 08, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher’s “82 Miles From the Beach, We Order The Lobster At Clear Lake
Café”
003 January 12, 2018
Barbara
Crooker’s “Orange”
004 January 22, 2018
Sonia
Saikaley’s “Modern Matsushima”
005 January 29, 2018
Ellen
Foos’s “Side Yard”
006 February 03, 2018
Susan
Sundwall’s “The Ringmaster”
007 February 09, 2018
Leslea
Newman’s “That Night”
008 February 17, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher “June Fairchild Isn’t Dead”
009 February 24, 2018
Charles
Clifford Brooks III “The Gift of the Year With Granny”
010 March 03, 2018
Scott
Thomas Outlar’s “The Natural Reflection of Your Palms”
011 March 10, 2018
Anya
Francesca Jenkins’s “After Diane Beatty’s Photograph “History Abandoned”
012 March 17, 2018
Angela
Narciso Torres’s “What I Learned This Week”
013 March 24, 2018
Jan
Steckel’s “Holiday On ICE”
014 March 31, 2018
Ibrahim
Honjo’s “Colors”
015 April 14, 2018
Marilyn
Kallett’s “Ode to Disappointment”
016 April 27, 2018
Beth
Copeland’s “Reliquary”
017 May 12, 2018
Marlon
L Fick’s “The Swallows of Barcelona”
018 May 25, 2018
Juliet
Cook’s “ARTERIAL DISCOMBOBULATION”
019 June 09, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher’s “Stiletto Killer. . . A Surmise”
020 June 16, 2018
Charles
Rammelkamp’s “At Last I Can Start Suffering”
021 July 05, 2018
Marla
Shaw O’Neill’s “Wind Chimes”
022 July 13, 2018
Julia Gordon-Bramer’s
“Studying Ariel”
023 July 20, 2018
Bill Yarrow’s “Jesus
Zombie”
024 July 27, 2018
Telaina Eriksen’s “Brag
2016”
025 August 01, 2018
Seth Berg’s “It is only
Yourself that Bends – so Wake up!”
026 August 07, 2018
David Herrle’s “Devil In
the Details”
027 August 13, 2018
Gloria Mindock’s “Carmen
Polo, Lady Necklaces, 2017”
028 August 21, 2018
Connie Post’s “Two
Deaths”
029 August 30, 2018
Mary Harwell Sayler’s
“Faces in a Crowd”
030 September 16, 2018
Larry Jaffe’s “The
Risking Point”
031 September 24,
2018
Mark Lee Webb’s “After
We Drove”
032 October 04, 2018
Melissa Studdard’s
“Astral”
033 October 13, 2018
Robert Craven’s “I Have
A Bass Guitar Called Vanessa”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/10/33-backstory-of-poem-i-have-bass-guitar.html
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/10/33-backstory-of-poem-i-have-bass-guitar.html
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