Tom Standage: commonplacing is a form of self-definition
Throughout my CPB for this class, I’ve done a lot on connecting the books we read in class to my own personal interests. I’ve connected the stories to songs, art, myths, and fantasy, and I’ve even written a poem to include. The three entries that really say the most about me are “Eyre, You Lose Yourself”, “Jekyll & Hyde: A Werewolf Story”, and “Dorian Grey and Greek Myths”.
When I commonplace, I often let my thoughts wander. I have a very hyperactive mind that jumps from one subject to another easily and freely when it’s reminded of a resemblance to something else I know. Throughout my life, I have collected what I consider to be an impressive amalgamation of relatively unrelated and completely unneeded and unnecessary facts that really have no practical use. It was actually using some of these ideas and facts I was reminded of while reading the books for class that inspired many of my entries.
Format-wise, I chose to do a bullet journal. This was my first time doing something like this, but I found myself really enjoying not only finding the content to write about, but also simply being able to lay out my entries aesthetically.
More towards the beginning of the project, I was more focused on a more artful and lyrical approach to the books we were reading, though whether that’s because of my personal mindset or because of the specific books we read is unknown, but I started off focusing more on art. As the semester went on, my entries took much more of an analytical approach, so rather than connecting the stories to art, or using key things from the book to create something new, I compared it to past fixations of mine.
The entry “Eyre, You Lose Yourself” is a perfect example of the former approach. It was an original poem I wrote that was inspired by the idea of the Red Room in Jane Eyre, and the superstition that it’s haunted by a ghost. Reading the book inspired me to think in the perspective of the ghost, the remnants of a man who actually cared about her.
The switch from a more artistic to analytical style happened on “Jekyll & Hyde: A Werewolf Story”. This is the first one where I really delve into lore and history instead of comparing the books to art, songs, and other media. This one takes a dive into the history of werewolves and where they originated, specifically highlighting the parts that connect the in-class reading to the older- and more-established legends of werewolves.
I do, actually plan on continuing to do entries in my CPB, though likely not in direct reference to these Victorian texts. Likely, I’ll use them as an expression of my interests or focus points I wanted to talk about from other media that I consume. While I do enjoy posting and talking about them with other people, my ideas may get lost in a format like Tumblr (and other blogs), Twitter (and other social medias), or Discord (and other group chats/forums). Commonplacing has also helped me put to words some thoughts that I’ve had for a while, but not been able to express properly even internally, so continuing the bullet journal Commonplace Book will be beneficial. As for the format, it’ll likely become more informal as it’ll be solely for myself.
