I think that poetry is a special thing, I always have. Yet defining it can be difficult, especially when we talk about what constitutes poetry. Because what we call poetry now is different to what we used to call it. Think back to Shelley, Keats, Byron and the like, when all poetry was written with strict metre, now what has become of that cruel mistress we call iambic pentameter? Now, we are able to be a lot freer in how we use language and verse, wish I guess is why we are even discussing this. Has poetry become so without boundaries that we cannot even distinguish what is poetry and what isn't? Take this poem by Steve Roggenbuck for example, personally I love this poem and I would define it as poetry, but maybe another person would not?
i have two sunflowers wilting on my bookshelf. that’s it
i have two sunflowers wilting on my bookshelf. that’s it
that’s all. the poem is done, get out
I think that poetry is what we choose to make it, and if a person writes poetry and exclaims that it is poetry, then goddamn it, it is poetry.
"I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry." - John Cage
Unlike Susie, I wouldn't define myself as I writer, the way I write can often be disorganized and amateur, but I try. If things were different, I would have liked to study English, but things didn't work out that way. I often wish that I had a better command of the English language, and this often affects my poetry writing. After high school I completed a certificate in poetry, and whilst I learnt a lot about structure, rhyme, metre and all the technical stuff, I still lacked the tools to use this knowledge. I suddenly wish I had paid attention in high school English classes.
In reply to Susie's question about why we like the things we like, I could say that, in terms of poetry, there is sometimes a physiological response when I read a poem. When I read the Tao Lin poem that Susie posted, I felt quite melancholic, and that's how I know that I liked it. If a poem gets you to feel something, good or bad, then it's done it's job.
I think the physiological response that you mention is what I meant by je nais se quoi. It's just something that is hard to put in real terms.. it makes you REACT!
ReplyDelete'i am abnormally fond of that precision which creates movement' - ee cummings
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing my poem, stacey; i really appreciate the support
i don't think high school english classes are usually very helpful for poetry; mine weren't anyway. i think what helps most is reading a lot of poetry and thinking critically about it, and writing a lot of poetry and thinking critically about it, making notes about what you like or don't. slowly you get better at recognizing when/why you have an instinctive reaction of 'i like this,' and then you get better at doing it yourself. one of my friends told me i have a really unique writing style, but i told them that all i have done is filter other poets against my intuition for ~4 years. i read a lot of literature and make note of what i like and don't like, and then i do what i like, either intentionally or just naturally, on accident (that is, i naturally start to do it, without thinking about it)
the dadaists are interesting when it comes to 'what is poetry?' 'what is art?' marcel duchamp's ready-mades, hugo ball's sound poems, etc. also, the anthology 'poems for the millenium' has a similar theme, of pushing against limits and restricting definitions of art/poetry/etc