Elbow: A Now Perspective Channeled by Mr. Rogers

Because I began with a physical note on Kinneavy, I am drawn, pun always intended, to do the same with Elbow. Was anyone else channeling Mr. Rogers? There were two times during Elbow’s narration that he paused, and I would have bet a considerable sum of money that his next words were going to invite me and his legions of watchers to “be his neighbor.” Irrelevant comparison aside, Elbow’s methodical explanation of his writing theory was fairly easy to follow, and his personal anecdotes presented nice examples for Tim’s notes.

My understanding of Elbow has always been that of a nutty, far-out expressionist; that is not a medical term. As an undergraduate, I was required to read his ideas on the importance of what Tim referred to as “the mess.” This type of writing has never appealed to me; I am a product of the search for product. I appreciate the process, and I know it is an integral component of reaching the product, but the knowledge of a definite goal established at the outset of any writing assignment seems only logical. Because of this early view of Elbow and his theory of composition, I was less than enthusiastic to listen to a forty minute presentation on the man, but I’m glad I heard it.

Tim’s presentation of Elbow has altered my previous view. I appreciated Tim’s emphasis on Elbow’s empirical approach to process. This is something I can buy into. Based on the presentation, it is clear that Elbow does have a purpose at the outset of his “mess” writing; his purpose is to locate a logical purpose given the topic he has been assigned or decided to write about. When I think of an assignment, the first this I imagine is the final product: the points I will make, the examples I will draw on, even the cheesy puns I can work in. Elbows idea is just the opposite; however, where I thought he was using his prewriting as an elementary system of organizing his thoughts, what Tim’s presentation made clear was that Elbow is consciously decided what he knows and feels about a given topic, then he chooses among these ideas to locate what will make up his final product. While his theory does not match up with my own, I can appreciate and respect his process. Thanks for the clarification Tim.

As with Klayton’s presentation, I hate to write my opinions in only the form of praise, which is what I expect from the rest of you when I speak, only praise. What I would have enjoyed to hear more about was Elbow’s take on his arch nemesis. This argument has permeated so many of our class discussions, I wanted to hear more.