Elbow: A Student's Perspective

Tim Wenger asserts in his presentation on Peter Elbow that Elbow’s work encompasses “varying degrees of freewriting” which allow students and other authors to get out from under the ever-looming cloud of writer’s block. Wenger begins by explaining Elbow’s background of struggle with his own composition classes and then the subsequent discovery of an ability to learn reflexively which, in the end, led to an illustrious place in the history of composition-theory.
As a student, according to Wenger, Elbow was unable to relate to teaching traditions which included the development of outlines and attempted to force students to “know” exactly what they wanted to write about as soon as they sat down. Elbow claimed this “inflated” the power of the teacher and emphasized social construct over individual “voice.” Apparently, Elbow became so distraught and frustrated with the system that he left behind his own studies to pursue a career in teaching – because, he believed, it is often “easier to be a teacher than a student” (not necessarily a view the owner of this particular blog subscribes to).

Wenger describes Elbow’s process of reflecting on his own writing, on “his own mind” and his discovery that, if he allowed himself to simply write, without thought, self-criticism, direction, or even grammatical concern – and without stopping for a specified number of minutes – it allowed his subconscious to find not only its topic, but it allowed him to find his own voice as well. Elbow calls this process “making a mess.”

He did not advocate writing in a vacuum, however, and he emphasized the necessity of “fluctuation” between freewriting and critiquing – including a focus on order, coherence, and audience.

One of the most practical and accessible aspects of the presentation was Wenger’s discussion of Elbow’s process of writing drafts, in which he writes in short spurts as ideas occur to him then later orders and transitions them into a coherent work.

As a writer and a student, Elbow’s struggles with the writing process and finding his own voice I find imminently relatable, and, through video clips of an actual interview with the theorist, and his own thoughtful research and skilled delivery, Tim Wenger’s presentation conveyed this understanding to his audience.