Kevin McIlvoy: The Equilibrist and The Dynamist (January 2014)

This lecture presents ways in which writers can present the elements of their work that move it toward “dynamic balance” (verging on achieving balance and falling out of balance in the very same moment), while not moving it away from equilibrium. Through close consideration of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and C.D. Wright’s Deepstep Come Shining, the lecture addresses concepts of “the wolf tone,” “surroundability and directionality,” and the “altered instruments” of poetic syntax and story structure.