Ask-a-Poet

a worthy exercise, also being resurrected.

Would love to see us take a fresh new take on this thread.

Anyone Game?

Would love to join in. I was on an AW hiatus when this was established, but would be happy to contribute.

I certainly enjoy reading it!

I'm totally excited to see discussion brought back to this forum. It used to be that poems were found on the crit board and discussion (along with some games) was here. Now, it's hard to find the discussion amid the poems posted. It's not that the poems are bad, just that they've taken over as an invading army.

William:

Go ahead and add me as a panelist, if you want.

Best Regards,
NDG

Just re-read this thread and found it quite interesting. Also quite pleased that most of my replies were not idiotic!!! I'm leaving an eyeball near the keyboard and will check back soon!

Question for our panelists:

With a big dose of speculation on my part and bear with the hypotheticals please.
It seems that most folks know only certain poets (generally dead ones), and of those (with a few exceptions), only know one poem, or even only one line of a poem written by that poet.
That's the premise I'm starting with anyway.
So the question: if you were to be remembered as a poet, how would you feel about being known for one line of one poem rather than for the body of work you produced?
Part 2:
If you were to be known for just one line of one of your poems to date, which would it be?

Stew21 said:

It seems that most folks know only certain poets (generally dead ones), and of those (with a few exceptions), only know one poem, or even only one line of a poem written by that poet.

Click to expand...

I suspect you're right in this.

Stew21 said:

So the question: if you were to be remembered as a poet, how would you feel about being known for one line of one poem rather than for the body of work you produced?

Click to expand...

I would be so happy to be remembered as a poet, as a writer, as a creator. It's hard to imagine a scenario where people know my work enough to quote a line. Even one line. But I would feel honored to be remembered. Isn't that the greatest compliment? How we live on through the ages?

Stew21 said:

If you were to be known for just one line of one of your poems to date, which would it be?

Click to expand...

Which would I want it to be? Something from Ode to Kintsugi. Which would it be? Probably something ridiculous.

When I was growing up, two poets were household names in our home: Robert Frost and Carl Sandberg, both of whom were alive at the time. Although, I don't remember a lot of poetry discussed or read. In boxes in the basement, untouched for decades, were boxes of books that included Keats, Coleridge, Shelley, and Macaulay. If I would be remembered in any household to the same degree that Frost and Sandberg were in ours, I would consider myself successful as a poet.

As to what one line I'd like to be remembered by as a poet, forgive me, please if I pick a couplet instead. In my poem "Unfinished Work" in my book Daddy-Daughter Day, the closing couplet is the one:

"Forgive me, Lord, for thinking it a bother
to do the work you gave me as a father."

Best Regards,
NDG

I heard something recently about music.
A woman who recorded a set of baroque arias said she liked baroque for its simple orchestration which highlights the singer and words and because it allows the listener space to insert themselves into the piece.
So I wondered then, of course, how poets create framework and emotion and intention, but leave space for readers to insert themselves into the poem.

Do you?
If so, how do you form a poem with allowance for audience "space".

Stew21 said:

... how do you form a poem with allowance for audience "space".

Click to expand...

The point of a poem is not to dictate something to the reader; it is not exposition, or a full blown narrative. A poem shares something of the poet in a way that the reader can observe, experience or assimilate. I always try to create that shared space where poet and reader meet, and I've discussed it many times across critiques and discussion threads.

I use many techniques for this:

• Abstraction -- simplifying and rendering down what I want to say in a way that removes the immediate or concrete reality of it makes it available to be interpreted against the reader's own frame of reference.
• Ambiguity -- similar to abstracton, not directly referring to anything explicit, but instead using devices such as periphrasis, metaphor etc (see this resource) allow again for the language to open up and become personal to the reader.
• Distance -- when dealing with sentimental, or emotional subjects, I try to distance the wording from the subject; be surface on actualities, and use imagery and analogy for the emotive aspects
• Banality -- introducing or injecting mundane artifacts into the poem creates a common element that the reader can connect with.
• Register -- this intends the choice of words, syntax and overall voice of the poet. Remaining consistent in register and ensuring that register matches the subject can create a poem that is conversational, didactic, intimate, or standoff-ish

In the end it all boils down to recognising that your reader is your equal; they are not stupid; they have a mind, and history, and experiences, drives and ambitions, wants, haves and have nots -- allowing them to fill the gaps that you leave allows them to make your poem their own. That is how I 'attempt' to create that space.

i thought i knew what poetry was - stacking words, each line a perfect little bloody jewel. controlling rhythm and repetition - then hammering home some beautiful but brutal observation or emotion (circa Daddy). "a poem is thin," my GF said - "cause it's got no fat."

i did that for a few years (er... like 20) - then came the realization that no-one would ever read my poetry, because... it's poetry.

decided to stop stacking the words and just just write in paragraph form. the ever clever lad i was i called it 'paragraph poetry' - if you're empathetic u can imagine my embarrassment when i learned the term 'prose poetry.'

but is a poem still a poem if it's a paragraph? when does it die? adding in 'he said, she giggled, he bleated' sure does act like a harpoon to the chest. then comes the realization it's good to give a long poem some kind of plot, motivation, arc, closure - some monomyth. you're no longer a poet you're a novelist that obfuscates the readers entertainment with style.

finally, you have to make it readable, joyce got away with word play in 14 languages but could he do it today? i mean - if he sent in 'the dead' to publishers he could prolly live off the recycling paper proceeds from the rejection letters. people don't seem to want to study a work, be puzzled by it, come back and re-read it. they want a film - written.

yes, that's my question.

Good prose takes the reader to a place, but poetry is the reader's take from a good poem. Plus what Kie said.