Michael Hofmeister

Addition Michael Hofmeister

Addition is a short volume of poetry which was, by the author's own admission, an experiment in seeing how long he could write without stopping. To achieve this goal, he employed a form of writing he referred to as 'Wordeling' or 'Now-Writing' - the guidelines for which were simple: keep writing, don't stop, and don't edit during or after the process. When completed, he decided to leave the piece as it was - mistakes and all - to except the imperfections as part of the piece - imperfections that ended up flavoring it in a way that fixing them would have diminished. Addition is one installment in a continuing series of writing exercises the author started which include (as of now) three other works: Then Now Later, U, and a collaborative linking haiku project entitled Linking - which was written mostly via text messaging with a friend (Joseph Eugene Davis). Besides being writing exercises - the author has stated that these projects also function as psychoanalytical tools similar to inkblot or word association tests. Expressed in another way - these exercises have the ability to give voice to the subconscious.