..to be continued

We'd like to thank all who participated in our spontaneous dance party in Main Place this afternoon on the Parkside campus!  It was a blast -- we'll be updating/adding a video from the dance SOON!

The first installment - Surprise Shakespeare!

This project caught me by surprise today while working in the writing center.  I knew that at some point, I'd want to do a paper project for Play it Forward - something that would excite others through written language.  Earlier this afternoon, I started reading Shakespeare's sonnets. Not so much because I thought I'd find what I needed, but more because I've only read a few and would like to be familiar with more.

Enter sonnet 103:

Alack! what poverty my Muse brings forth,
That having such a scope to show her pride,
The argument all bare is of more worth
Than when it hath my added praise beside!
O! blame me not, if I no more can write!
Look in your glass, and there appears a face
That over-goes my blunt invention quite,
Dulling my lines, and doing me disgrace.
Were it not sinful then, striving to mend,
To mar the subject that before was well?
For to no other pass my verses tend
Than of your graces and your gifts to tell;
And more, much more, than in my verse can sit,
Your own glass shows you when you look in it.

It's the perfect first project for me.  The sonnet speaks to that which every artist is simultaneously infatuated and at war with: their inspiration.  Shakespeare laments over an inspiration so intimidating that he doubts his abilities to express what he feels.  How often are we inspired to act, to create, or connect, but can't pull through from fear of failure?  How many times a day do words fail us just when we've realized we do indeed have something to say?


I printed this sonnet, made copies, and distributed it through out the practice rooms of the music hall and the faculty mailboxes of the Communication Arts building.  Yes, this first step in playing it forward is a small one.  But I think I'm addressing something that must be addressed:  human beings' undeniable urge to express that which is so profound we're often at a loss for words to explain ourselves and, in realizing this, hold back from ever trying to utilize our imagination.

Dare to be inspired.  Seriously - if you've received a copy of this sonnet, and you've let it lead you to this blog, let me know. Tell me what inspires you.  How do you express it?  How will you share a bit of poetry with someone else?

Pass on the inspiration.

- Chad B