Radio Show: Step 4 & Process Notes

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hmg6kmPewH0rqzoM1U4eiwMjyYlOu3qZ/view?usp=sharing

• Where are you in your sound-writing process?

I’ve finished my script and completed the 9–12 minute recording for my radio show. At this point, the project is fully composed and ready for presentation.

• What’s been done and what’s still left to do?

Everything essential is done — the script is finalized, and the full episode fits the time limit perfectly. The only thing left is reflecting on the process and preparing to share it.

• What are your biggest accomplishments and failures so far?

One of my biggest accomplishments was being able to completely shift the focus of my show early on and still pull together a strong, cohesive piece. I changed my topic by the second week, diving into how different languages affect nude formalism in poetry, and I was able to write and produce everything in just a few weeks. I also managed to hit the time limit exactly, which took a lot of pacing and careful editing. A struggle — if not a full failure — was not getting feedback on my first recording. That left me unsure of how things were landing, but I worked around that by reaching out to people outside of class to get some perspective. I also struggled a bit with my voice — trying to sound good and keep a consistent pace throughout the episode was harder than expected.

• How do you feel about that?

I feel proud, honestly. The lack of feedback was frustrating at first, but it pushed me to trust myself and find my own way. I’m also really glad I took the leap to change topics, because it ended up becoming something I really cared about. That shift gave me a sense of creative energy I might not have found otherwise.

• What have you learned so far?

I learned that inspiration can come quickly and reshape a whole project. Listening to other radio shows that resonated with me helped spark the writing process and showed me new ways to use structure and tone. I also learned how to use quotes from poetry and theory in a way that felt natural and meaningful within a sound piece, without relying on audio from others, since they are scarce to find, especially for translations.

• What ideas did you grapple with?

I grappled with how to present abstract concepts like nude formalism and multilingualism in a way that would make sense to a listener, especially without falling into overly academic or dry territory. I also thought a lot about tone: how to make the episode feel reflective and poetic without losing clarity or flow.

• Which problems have you solved, and which are you continuing to grapple with?

I solved the issue of structure by shifting the topic and trusting a more intuitive approach. I figured out how to integrate quotes from Bernstein, Kelly, and Ostashevsky in a way that supports the narrative rather than interrupts it. What I’m still grappling with, in a broader sense, is finding my voice as a narrator — how to sound natural, confident, and consistent throughout.

• How might you overcome the challenges and struggles?

The main strategy is just practice — recording myself more often, listening back, and learning what works. And continuing to listen to other radio shows for inspiration and guidance in tone and rhythm. Having trusted people to give feedback outside of class also really helped and is something I’ll keep doing in the future.

• What decisions have emerged lately as you plan and work on your project?

One big decision was to stick only with my own voice and not use external audio. That helped streamline the process and let me focus on how the quotes worked within my narration. I also decided to keep the structure fairly open and reflective, allowing space for the ideas and language to unfold gradually.

• What is the next step in your composing process?

Since the project is finished, the next step is reflecting on what I’ve done — thinking about how it all came together and how I might carry what I’ve learned into future sound-writing or creative work, and preparing for the radio show final recording.

• What do you need to do, know, and write?

At this point, what I need to do is synthesize everything I’ve learned. I don’t need to write anything new for the show itself, but I want to hold onto the techniques and instincts I developed while making it.

• Sources

Belflower, James. “Critical Poetry Dialogue Assistant.” ChatGPT, 2025, chatgpt.com/g/g-zaLj47JVy-critical-poetry-dialogue-assistant.

Bök, Christian. “The Nude Formalism.” The Poetry Foundation, The Poetry Foundation, 1 Dec. 2007, www.poetryfoundation.org/blog/uncategorized/50434/the-nude-formalism.

Kelly, Michael G. “Poetry as a foreign language: Unhoused writing subjects in the extreme contemporain.” Forum for Modern Language Studies, vol. 47, no. 4, 1 Oct. 2011, pp. 393–407, https://doi.org/10.1093/fmls/cqr034.

McKenna. “2 Poems by Adela Zamudio Translated by Laura Nagle.” The Los Angeles Review, 16 Sept. 2021, losangelesreview.org/2-poems-translated-laura-nagle/.

McKenna. “Poems by Tania Langlais Translated by Jessica Cuello.” The Los Angeles Review, 21 July 2022, losangelesreview.org/poems-by-tania-langlais-translated-by-jessica-cuello/.

Ostashevsky, Eugene. “Translingualism: A poetics of language mixing and estrangement.” Boundary 2: An International Journal of Literature and Culture, vol. 50, no. 4, 1 Nov. 2023, pp. 171–194, https://doi.org/10.1215/01903659-10694267.