I especially dislike when this advice is given to writers who write in a style that MFA programs & the canon do not respect. Spoken word poets, working class writers, and Black women writers have been writing and speaking plainly and directly for centuries, with good reason.

Some of my favorite writers are Lucille Clifton, June Jordan, Nikki Giovanni, and Ebony Stewart, all Black women who write in a clear, direct way. Because that is the way they speak, or it is the way they choose to best express their ideas, or because they simply prefer it.

Now I am an advocate for studying your craft. If you are writing in a direct way because you are following in the footsteps of the writers who came before you whose work you’ve studied and are emulating, I’d say that approach is intentional and full of art.

Writing in a plain, direct manner is often criticized for lacking art. But if you are writing in a direct way because it is the best way to express your politics clearly and the stakes are too high to mince words, that’s also a fantastic reason to state things plainly.

Figurative language can be useful, but so can plain, direct writing. Better advice is “show when you want to and when it makes sense, and tell when you want to and when it makes sense.” And don’t let anyone tell you spoken word poetry & political manifestos aren’t worth studying.

@arianathepoet TELL THEM!!!

@EbPoetry I know you know!!!

@arianathepoet I got so frustrated in my MFA because I was showing not telling and everyone was like can you *tell* us what the character is feeling?? And I was like I thought I was supposed to show???

@dbgermane Writing “rules” are so arbitrary and inconsistent. I am firmly anti-workshop for this reason; so often they simply prioritize everyone else’s ideas about what your work should be as opposed to aiding you in creating what you’re called to. Trust yourself!!

@arianathepoet It’s all about balance! Everyone needs to find the right balance for them. Sometimes it’s more appropriate to just tell the reader something and other times it’s better to show them.

@JuizOriana Fully agree!

@arianathepoet Yes, indeed.

@arianathepoet True. I also think it matters why a person is giving that comment. I think there’s a (subtle) difference in speaking directly and overexplaining, at least that’s why I tend to give a comment similar to show don’t tell. It’s really about knowing when to pull back.

@arianathepoet For yearsssss I have been trying to put to word the disdain I’ve seen and sometimes have been convinced of for years as it relates to spoken word and especially rhyme in black spoken word spaces being minimized and you said it perfectly. Whew. Thankyou.