The Rules

I wrote recently about a poetry event which I attended. Outside in the fresh air, warmed by small fires, and watching the sky cycle through myriad shades of pink, I felt at peace. Listening to others sharing their words, the poems ranging from deep emotional experiences, to general observations, and all that falls between, was a privilege. It was also an inspiration.

Feeling motivated, and with a flush of bravado, I signed up for an open mic slot at the next event, which took place earlier this week. But this post isn’t really about open mic poetry. Though my stint seemed to go well. And I’ve signed up for two further slots, one at the big poetry weekend, and the other for world mental health day on 10 October. The flush of bravado lasted longer than usual.

This post is about one of my favourite subjects, creating with your heart. At school, every subject, even the artistic ones, followed a set of rules. Moving on from education and into work, many organisational sectors have their own style of doing things. The public sector loves and loathes three letter acronyms in equal measure. Either way, you are expected to know them. You are also expected to be able to draft a paper which says much, while committing to nothing.

Writing, and photography both come with rules embedded. I tend to view these as suggestions, as opposed to ‘must dos’. Schools, on the other hand, lean towards ‘must dos’. The full stop must go here. Not there. You shouldn’t start a sentence with but. And beginning a sentence with ‘and’, is forbidden. When photographing, make sure the shutter settings are correct, so your picture isn’t blurred. Adjust the exposure to compensate for shutter speed. 

But if I’m reading something out loud, I need to know where to place emphasis. When to pause, and for how long. Whether I should raise my voice. The clue, of course, is in the way the writing is presented. This might mean flexing the various grammatical ideas we are taught as children. Grammar has an important place, of course. “I’m going to eat Dad” has a vastly different implication to “I’m going to eat, Dad”. And providing the grammar is correct, we know how to read this out loud, to present the intended meaning (whichever one is intended!) In a similar way, working around the margins of photography rules can lead to images which contain more emotion, and meaning, than had the rules been followed precisely. 

In a creative setting, following rules can stifle innovation. I do think the rules can establish a knowledge foundation on which to build. But when growing as an artist, finding one’s style is likely to involve a certain amount of flexibility with the rules. I hope that as young learners develop their own skills, they will be encouraged to absorb the rules, consider what they have learnt, and then decide how to use the information. In doing so, I hope they will learn to create from the heart.

A quote attributed to Pablo Picasso sums this entire post up rather well:

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”