—Christy Hoff, ArtRoot Writer-in-Residence

What did you think when you read the title? Ooh, juicy stuff, she’s going on a rant. The world is full of them right now. Or did you think I would help you structure yours. You might also have thought that I was referring to turning off the TV, computer, social media, and closing the door for some peace and quiet. I’m a proponent of both sides of that meaning.

I’m cheating a bit here. You might have noticed my alphabetical progression of titles. This was to begin with o. Well, off starts with o, so that counts – right? But I’m also using a back door approach. The title is an example of my topic, not the label.

When we use “sound off” together, there are two meanings. More expansively, we can sound off about something that needs to be brought to other’s attention or we can turn the sound off. That is a contronym. In school you heard about homonyms (words that sound alike), synonyms (words that mean nearly the same thing), or antonyms (words that are somewhat opposite in meaning). Contronyms are words that are their own opposites. This makes for all kinds of jokes in the world.

Sitcoms are often based on misunderstandings. Misunderstandings can occur when you are thinking you just communicated clearly, but the other person took a different meaning. There are also eavesdroppers who miss important elements of a conversation, but that’s not what I’m talking about here.

Go ahead and look it up. There are several compilations (synonym for list) out there in cyberspace. Look at all the fun you can have! Aside from the fun, let’s be mindful of contronyms as we create and build solid meaning into our work.

In honor of being contrary, my poem is at the end instead of the beginning of my piece.

Apology

Let me sound off

shutting down disruptions and speaking my mind

Before you bolt

either the door or out it

Let’s continue

now or maybe tomorrow

For we are bound

to this moment or to leave

Start with handicaps

inherent advantages or disabilities

That hold us up

strengthening or stopping progress

What makes us mean

average or just nasty

Remember we overlook

our own actions by managing or ignoring

We must put out

the fire of our ignorance or grant love and care

Before we are finished

dying or this piece completed.

[I will be at Vintage & Modern books from 12:30 to 2:30 tomorrow, Tuesday November 4. We can talk about words. Also start thinking over your first experiences on a bicycle. A workshop is in design for early December.]