Creative and Uncreative Writing

Before this week, I was completely unaware that there was such a writing thought to be "uncreative" writing. If I had been asked what my idea of uncreative writing was, I would have answered that all type of writing should be considered to be creative. I mean, why wouldn't it? After reading Kenneth Goldsmith's, "Sentences on Conceptual Writing", my bias changed. I began to think that perhaps writing could be considerd uncreative. Goldsmith states that, "in uncreative writing the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work"; with that said, I believe that uncreative writing is done more so for the writer, rather than the reader. The writer knows exactly what he or she is attempting to put forth while the reader may see the writing on a completely different level. Goldsmith also says that uncreative writing is meant to not have a purpose; it is meant to engage the minds of readers, and does not typically absorb them emotionally. This defines the "Traffic" almost perfectly. Personally, I found it to be rather dry and unappealing. Although, the concept of writing such a book was actually quite interesting. I had never been exposed to such a context until now. "My New Job", by Catherine Wagner was the most compelling reading to me. It was relatively scattered and unclear, but I still enjoyed it. It seemed as though the writer had spontaneous ideas jump into her head, and then she would jot them down; which I thought was kind of unique and different. Though her ideas were illogical and scattered, according to Goldsmith, that defines uncreative writing.