Blog #5

The piece that most grabbed my attention in this course came early on in the semester; Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings" was both painfully honest and sarcastically entertaining. There were a few elements of the story that drew me in. Firstly, I think the subject matter is incredible. In my experience I've seen best-selling books deal mostly with only cheery, romantic ideals. Atwood clearly differs from this norm, giving us a chance to see into her cynical, yet truthful, thoughts. Another unique aspect of the story is her style. The characters are not developed. The plot is multi-faceted, yet essentially worthless to the final purpose of the story, which is to say that there might just be no point to a lot of our mindless bantering and selfish daily struggles.
For my final project I've been researching Kathy Acker, another author who writes outside of the socially endorsed box that is modern literature. Being exposed to the broad spectrum of authors in our class has allowed me to see I'm most drawn to those authors who write without regard to classic tastes or convention. I think by allowing themselves to break some of the rules that are taught in Creative Writing 1001 type courses, there are writers who can expand beyond what can be otherwise a dull reiteration of stories already told. I'm drawn to the eccentricities of individuals unafraid to shy away from their real stories.