Well, as you can see, I’ve finally gotten around to doing a redesign of my website. Though, to be perfectly frank, I really don’t really have much to post here anymore since I made the jump over to MySpace. I still may post anything I think might be really important here, but for the most part, if you want any of the latest stuff related to me, personally, you should click here to visit me, or look for dietzthethird in the MySpace search engine!
While you’re there, please feel free to subscribe to my online blog. Or, just click here.
Due to my scholastic obligations in 2005, I really hadn’t had the opportunity to do a whole lot of creative writing. (Well, unless you count various English literature and Education research papers as being creative, somehow.)
Anyway, the final assignment in one of my classes during the spring 2005 semester gave me the opportunity to flex my creative muscles once more, and I’ve decided to publish the results here for your enjoyment! (This is also something of a first for me since I’ve never actually published one of my creative works in its entirety on the `net before!)
So, without any further ado, I give you...
On Seeking Inspiration for a Creative Literary Assignment
The story that I have to tell
Takes but a little time.
And you’ve the ears to listen well,
And comprehend each rhyme,
Then you will find its meaning plain
As the nose upon your face.
But whatever happens, do not disdain.
(You’ve too been in my place!)
I first set out to tell the tale
Of golf’s most famous match;
How the Tiger roared and did prevail
In Augusta’s briar patch.
I felt sure the words would flow from me
In the vein of Mr. Browning—
But somewhere he left me out at sea
And I found myself drowning.
Then, at once, I thought, “Ah! Percy Shelley,”
Now there’s a man to ape!
His words put fire in the belly
Like wine of sweetest grape.
But though his verse inspires me,
Here, it gave me pause.
For, it wasn’t quite right—emotionally—
For this most righteous cause.
For the briefest moment, I got ambitious
And thought of William Blake;
How his “imagery” was so prodigious
And helped his meaning make.
I discarded this without much thought,
For drawings are not the key
Through which the coveted grade is won. Words are the currency!
So then Lord Bryon sprang to mind.
How he could turn a phrase!
(And the number of girls he wined and dined
Was well deserved of praise!)
Then came to mind my female peers;
Would his verse them offend?
One ill-turned phrase placed in their ears
And my bones will be on the mend!
So out the door Lord Byron went
And in came Mr. Yeats;
As if an angel from on high sent
Right through the pearly gates.
But though I found his meter pleasing,
And his rhyme scheme pure,
His subject matter was most uneasing
And his referents obscure.
And if ever I thought that Yeats was bad
Eliot was much worse;
One could spend hours—going mad—
Interpreting his verse!
“Ah!” But what of Dylan Thomas
And his famous villanelle—
“Nah!” methought it much too obvious.
(Besides, I don’t write that well!)
Well, by this time, my mind was fried;
This was no longer fun.
My career as a poet had all but died
Before it had yet begun!
In a fit of madness, I opened my text—
And there my eyes did see
The cure for my poetic hex.
The perfect remedy!
If I could not write “serious” stuff
Light verse would do just fine;
If—for Lewis Carroll—it was good enough,
So would it be for mine!
So, here I stand before you now
My task is well completed.
And if you should cheer, I’ll take a bow;
And if you should ask, I’ll tell you how.
(But when you hear, don’t say “now, now,”
For fear of raising quite a row!)
It takes no talent, I’ll allow,
To decide how much to feed a sow;
Or how often one should milk a cow;
(Or end a verse with “oo mow mow.”)
But sweat pours surely off of the brow
Of the rich old man or the young house frau
When pen is put in place of plow
In the quest to hear an audience “WOW!”—
Now—you may be seated.
I’ve also revised and updated my Professional Acting site with a new look and more information on all my upcoming theatrical endeavors. I invite you to check it out through the link above (if you haven’t already done so!)
Toto recently released their 10th album of original material entitled Falling In Between. This album is perhaps the band’s most experimental effort to date with songs that blend the genres of pop, rock, jazz, fusion, and even gospel! Pick it up today at your favorite CD retailer or on the web at Amazon.com.
Pittsburgh-based alt-rockers (and personal friends) On Beyond Zebra have released their second collection of eclectic music entitled Boxes Made for Shoes. Lauded by critics and connoisseurs alike, Boxes... joins OBZ’s debut CD Gone Beyond on the shelves of finer Pittsburgh music outlets. Or, click on the image and go to OBZ’s official web site for more details.
Toto recently released their 10th album of original material entitled Falling In Between. This album is perhaps the band’s most experimental effort to date with songs that blend the genres of pop, rock, jazz, fusion, and even gospel! Pick it up today at your favorite CD retailer or on the web at Amazon.com.
Pittsburgh-based alt-rockers (and personal friends) On Beyond Zebra have released their second collection of eclectic music entitled Boxes Made for Shoes. Lauded by critics and connoisseurs alike, Boxes... joins OBZ’s debut CD Gone Beyond on the shelves of finer Pittsburgh music outlets. Or, click on the image and go to OBZ’s official web site for more details.
