Ferris Wheels and Dandelions

Poetry found in Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

I remember drawing things like this: a whole world of dandelions where we are safe from the hard things and if calamity

creeps up, we simply lift off, thin, soft layers fluttering above countless winking lights. These dots, feeble lights, we are all bobbing in the evening breeze and can start again wherever breath blows us.

This is a found poem, a collage of sorts. My way of studying an author’s prose closely. This month at the Vagabond English Book Club we are reading Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami. I’ve never read anything like it.

Have you read it? Thinking of giving it a try?

This exercise in reading closely, learning from an author, meeting her halfway and creating something of my own is a process I call ‘creative reading.’ The lines in italics are from Kawakami’s ‘Ferris Wheel’ scene in Breasts and Eggs — A highlight of the novel and words I wanted to spend more time with. I don’t have an official excerpt, so I guess you’ll just have to check out the novel.

How do you meet authors halfway? How do you go from reading to writing?

Who are you reading now?

Let me know in the comments.

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