tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post5731717737235343132..comments2023-09-29T05:32:04.308-07:00Comments on StrangePegs: On Poetry (part 3)Andrew Leonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-87236704968181280742013-03-23T16:50:53.926-07:002013-03-23T16:50:53.926-07:00Alex: That depends upon whether it's free vers...Alex: That depends upon whether it's free verse or not, and, if it is, whether it has any structure.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-17107519956461629992013-03-23T14:09:32.294-07:002013-03-23T14:09:32.294-07:00Briane, I don't read the level of poetry to wh...Briane, I don't read the level of poetry to which Andrew refers. I read my blogger buddies' poetry, which I'm sure he'd classify as poetic prose and not real poetry.Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-8416035706384243642013-03-22T18:08:29.924-07:002013-03-22T18:08:29.924-07:00S.L.: Well, I wasn't ever just going to explai...S.L.: Well, I wasn't ever just going to explain it, but there are questions I would answer.<br />Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-21222309891231904322013-03-22T08:34:15.412-07:002013-03-22T08:34:15.412-07:00I like the open interpretation aspect of poetry......I like the open interpretation aspect of poetry...though I think the same could be said of good prose. But poetry in particular lends itself to personal interpretation, so I wouldn't explain. Let others take what they want of it. <br /><br />And La Mort D'Arthur - amazing. S. L. Hennessyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06514651403542719387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-65207714013822176942013-03-21T19:12:07.383-07:002013-03-21T19:12:07.383-07:00Well, cool, then :)Well, cool, then :)Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-56833843561230479772013-03-21T18:20:37.709-07:002013-03-21T18:20:37.709-07:00It's later in the day, now.
I actually don...It's later in the day, now.<br /><br />I actually don't want you to explain the poem. I agree with you that everyone brings their own conception to it. I generally refuse to explain my poems, or my writing, at all. I think it has to stand on its own and convey a meaning to the reader.Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-91393112491350677702013-03-21T16:11:21.145-07:002013-03-21T16:11:21.145-07:00L.G.: Yeah, probably a sonnet is not the kind of t...L.G.: Yeah, probably a sonnet is not the kind of thing a bard would be performing. Probably.<br />I'm not a very good poet, either.<br /><br />Jo: Hmm, I'm not actually sure what you mean by that. This is pretty standard stylistically.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-14503091840422514342013-03-21T13:27:26.506-07:002013-03-21T13:27:26.506-07:00I liked the story but not sure I recognise it as p...I liked the story but not sure I recognise it as poetry either, my familiarity with poetry goes back further than this style.<br /><br /> <a href="http://henderson-jo.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE</a>Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14087140585742801854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-16182658381841372702013-03-21T13:26:22.112-07:002013-03-21T13:26:22.112-07:00I may have put it on my writing page at one time, ...I may have put it on my writing page at one time, but took it down. I thought I might include it in my novel, since I have bards who go to the Eisteddfod and perform, but not sure it's the right sort of thing to include. I'm not a very good poet. :)Luanne G. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15762881276976395955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-28836445771012612372013-03-21T12:44:32.032-07:002013-03-21T12:44:32.032-07:00L.G.: Did you post it?
I have some sonnets I will ...L.G.: Did you post it?<br />I have some sonnets I will probably get around to posting at some point.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-49375455925547342212013-03-21T11:39:51.440-07:002013-03-21T11:39:51.440-07:00I had someone challenge me to a sonnet smackdown l...I had someone challenge me to a sonnet smackdown last summer. Well, I mean, we each agreed to tackle a sonnet and share it. Took me three weeks to finish it to my satisfaction. Still don't know if I like it. <br /><br />And nice work. Great imagery. Luanne G. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15762881276976395955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-85371111772109294442013-03-21T11:21:58.644-07:002013-03-21T11:21:58.644-07:00Briane: First, your comment about the comments: I ...Briane: First, your comment about the comments: I agree, as I was saying ABftS before I got your comment.<br /><br />As I said in a previous post, though, 95% of people will choose to NOT read a poem even when it's put right in front of them, so I couldn't guess as to whether Alex read it or not.<br /><br />As for the rhythm of the poem, I have to make up for my lack of rhythm with meaning. I'd like to be able to write poetry that makes you feel like you're floating on waves in the ocean, but I'm no good with that stuff.<br /><br />As for the meaning, I think it's too early in the day to talk about that, but you're interpretation is certainly valid. <br /><br />I think more than in prose, readers bring their own interpretation to poetry based on their own experiences, and poets kind of have to be okay with that.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-635773905044533792013-03-21T11:04:59.842-07:002013-03-21T11:04:59.842-07:00Anne: I would think it's actually most of them...Anne: I would think it's actually most of them. If I were to guess.<br /><br />Alex: You'd have to take that up with Anne, I guess.<br /><br />PT: Poetry used to be something that everyone did, so I don't think it's just for smart people.<br /><br />ABftS: I think poetry is like reading any other writing. You have to learn to do it, and, then, you read what you like.<br /><br />Michael: Thank you.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-50772067813175722492013-03-21T11:02:41.892-07:002013-03-21T11:02:41.892-07:00Wow.
Wow with a garnish of wow.
First off, let m...Wow.<br /><br />Wow with a garnish of wow.<br /><br />First off, let me comment on comments. Poetry's bad-ness or good-ness, like almost any art, is in the eye of the beholder. When Mr Bunches draws a ninja on his chalkboard that looks more like a box holding a bow above its head, that probably doesn't compare to what Rusty could do, but I might prefer it more. That's a pretty easy comparison, but it holds up. If you like a poem, it's a good poem. If you don't , it's a bad poem. That's how I look at it. I'll leave aside the squishier "I didn't like it but I recognize that it is high quality" characterizations for someone else to fault me on, because I think the most basic test of art is "did it evoke an emotion?" and if it did, it wins. (So long as that emotion is not "Boy this is crap," which is for another time.)<br /><br />I'm curious as to why Alex doesn't read poetry. Ever? Not as a regular thing? Did he read your poem? I take it to mean "I don't seek out poetry to read but will read it if confronted by it," which says everything that needs to be said. Sometimes a form of art isn't for someone. I'm not much for hip hop music, even though I recognize that some of it is pretty good or high quality. It's just not my thing. But even with that, I bet there's at least one song from every category of music that won me over and made me like at least that song, so maybe there's a poem out there for Alex. Perhaps YOUR poem.<br /><br />Which is a wonderful poem. I read it aloud, as I like to do, and liked the way the rhythm sort of shambles a bit, like a person walking in the woods: there's a beat to it, but that beat is broken up and softened, which fits the mood of the poem.<br /><br />I like, too, the way you took what could have been a trite image: the snowman, the couple, the melting -- and made it seem more. You invested it with some heft, transforming what might have been a 7th-grade poem into something with more emotional weight.<br /><br />Was it just me, or was the snowman perhaps a stand-in, for a child of the couple?<br /><br />"Recognizing, then, the fact<br />that left alone he would not last, in gladness<br />we made a vow to watch over him<br />together. But quickly tiresome that chore<br />grew and, so, we forsook that very whim<br />and the promise that would have held us more<br />tightly bound together..."<br /><br />Sounds like parents watching over a sick child. Every parent wants to protect their kids, but upon realizing that the child might be more immediately fragile, they might do what you said: we're going to watch him, all the time, but the weight of that burden, for it is a burden, can tear apart as easily as it blends together.<br /><br />I see this, wrongly or rightly, as the story of a marriage in which the child died young, and the sickness itself was what tore apart the couple. And if I'm right, that makes the "dirty heap of snow left behind" all the sadder. I went and re-read it with that idea and it's immensely sad.<br /><br />So if that's not what you meant, sorry? But that's what I got out of it. "My Aunt's Dog" and all. <br /><br />Excellent excellent poem. Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-76820911905989202062013-03-21T10:23:44.313-07:002013-03-21T10:23:44.313-07:00I like the poem.I like the poem.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-15984679837008129902013-03-21T06:04:45.785-07:002013-03-21T06:04:45.785-07:00I'm with PT but only to a point. I know bad po...I'm with PT but only to a point. I know bad poetry when I see it, but I don't necessarily know "good."<br /><br />So, backhanded compliment - I love your poem. It reads to me like a tale of divorce, with the two losing some of their things at the end (physical and otherwise), and I think it's great. But what do I know? :DA Beer for the Showerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17029139745335325356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-59435861144986487792013-03-21T05:55:18.923-07:002013-03-21T05:55:18.923-07:00Poetry's great if you're trying to woo som...Poetry's great if you're trying to woo someone or seem smart. Otherwise it's like fine wine or classical music where I have no ability to differentiate "bad" from "good".PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-71587209072866227112013-03-21T03:56:23.663-07:002013-03-21T03:56:23.663-07:00I read Anne's comment. I guess stating that I ...I read Anne's comment. I guess stating that I don't read or write poetry now would be a bad idea.Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-64876418567596452252013-03-21T02:53:49.616-07:002013-03-21T02:53:49.616-07:00I can't believe there are writers alive today ...I can't believe there are writers alive today that aren't conversant in poetry. Verse has a particular rhythm to it and it should help a writer broaden their ability to express an idea or a convey a scene.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01681799401614263953noreply@blogger.com