On The Write Path

Maya Angelou's advice... when will I know better?

We all get things wrong, even about our own life. How does Maya Angelou's quote "“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” apply to your writing process?

How to be factual? Write what you know about.

But what about fantasy? Are you quoting Trump or Q?

I'm in Thailand. Observations help; but, there's still other's point's-of-view. As Rick reminded me today about local workers using branches on the windshield to screen the sun: a sunscreen is cheap and not sticky and less messy. Then again... Rick smirked... it was a beat up truck.

So I wrote this "poem" with the prompts: goat/island/comb from "EXPRESS IT IN EIGHT " 

In Sousse-Massa

They climb trees. They eat fruit,
shit and spit the nuts,
that we collect, that we press
into argan oil put on your face.

Rake the ground then comb your hair.
No woman's an atoll when goats
must be tended; no man's a reef
where women tend to them.

Kåre Enga [180.48] (29.mai.2023)

"In Sousse-Massa [180.48] ((8))" 

I explained myself to Solace.Bring The women of this region of Morocco have formed cooperatives. This is their source of money, not controlled by men. This region is Muslim. Gender roles may be strict. I intended to visit Morocco in Spring, 2020 but cancelled my tickets.

It may seem misogynistic to Westerners, but this is NOT a westernized culture. It's agricultural and traditional. I write from the women's point of view. Whether that makes any sense to them I don't know. I'll have to ask Moroccans. Much may depend on the age of the gatherers and workers. Argan oil is very expensive and a good income for the region.

It's tricky when looking at a culture from the outside. Hollywood Cowboy and Indian movies come to mind. The "Taming of the West" was a specific time in America, around 1880. Hollywood glorified it from the victor's point-of-view. The reality was messier. The Crow, Salish, Blackfeet... have their own understanding of what happened and it's effects on generations since.

Similarly, the US Civil War was short 1861-1865, although it really started with the Compromise of 1850 and lasted until 1870 when Georgia was readmitted. It has been glorified in the minds of many people since and appropriated to stand for opposition and threatened succession.

An outside view has limitations, as does an insider p.o.v. When one sees something from a distance, details may be ignored and intentions may be misconstrued. From the inside, there's the danger of myopia and not understanding how the personal and particular fit into universal patterns.

I write what I write and can always edit later. To quote Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”

A blog prompt would be Maya Angelou's quote applied to the writing process.

Original post on the Newsfeed, May 29, 2023. In "Blogville "  "Maya Angelou and the writing process: "  

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