STATISTICS ON POETRY: 1962-1996
Part 1:
SAVED FROM REJECTION AND DEJECTION: THE INTERNET: 1997-2005
Any poems I wrote before 1981 have not been kept. My guess is that from 1962 to 1981 I wrote some forty to fifty poems, but I threw them all away. It may be that some of the people I wrote them to, like Cathy Saxe in Canada, kept them. But I have never had the interest to follow this up. The years 1981 to 1987 saw another forty written and they are kept in my file "Poetry: 1981-1991", in section two. From 1987 to the end of 1991 another one hundred and thirty poems were written and they can be found in section four of that file.
In 1992 some one hundred and twenty poems were written , fourty four of them before September. Starting in September 1992 I began sending my poetry to the Baha’i World Centre Library. I take 1992 as the beginning of my serious interest in writing poetry, about the time Roger White became seriously ill and passed away.
Part 2:
In 1993 I wrote 700 poems and in 1994; 708 in 1994; 1995 from January to May inclusive I wrote 314 poems. The total collection in the Baha’i World Centre Library(BWCL) is as follows:
1962-1992(Aug)..250(approx)(not included in the count)
1992(Sept-Dec).... 76
1993....................700
1994....................708
1995....................785
1996..................... 69(25/1/96)
Total:.................2338
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Part 3:
If we add the poetry not sent to the BWCL, which amounts to 250(approx), we get a total output of about 2588 poems. There may be as many as a dozen poems written after August 1992 which, for various reasons, were not sent to the BWCL. One of these can be found in my file "Dreams/Publishing", section 3; the rest I can not locate at this date.
It is possible that these figures are not entirely accurate, since I find counting the numbers of poems somewhat tedious and just about lose total interest in the number. But I would think that there is accuracy within, say, 100 poems. In addition, quantity seems to occupy not an insignificant place in the critical literature on poetry. It provides some of the quantitative data that is useful when one wants to write about someone’s poems. The quantity also gives me, the writer of the poems, some handy guide on what sort of quantitative output has taken place. From September 1st 1992 to January 25th 1996, a period of three years and five months during which I sent poetry to the Baha’i World Centre Library. During this period, I wrote a hair’s breadth less than two poems per day. What this means is another question. Occasionally, when I finish a poem, I cry. What that means is also another question. The meaning of emotion is, in some ways, as elusive as a cold quantitative measuring rod. It is difficult for me to define and impossible for the reader.
During these years I made innumerable attempts to get my poems published and once in a while I got one into some publication. But since the internet poetry sites came on line in the years since 1996 I have got hundreds ‘published’--on the internet.
Ron Price
25/1/'96.
Updated February 15, 2005.[/B]
Part 1:
SAVED FROM REJECTION AND DEJECTION: THE INTERNET: 1997-2005
Any poems I wrote before 1981 have not been kept. My guess is that from 1962 to 1981 I wrote some forty to fifty poems, but I threw them all away. It may be that some of the people I wrote them to, like Cathy Saxe in Canada, kept them. But I have never had the interest to follow this up. The years 1981 to 1987 saw another forty written and they are kept in my file "Poetry: 1981-1991", in section two. From 1987 to the end of 1991 another one hundred and thirty poems were written and they can be found in section four of that file.
In 1992 some one hundred and twenty poems were written , fourty four of them before September. Starting in September 1992 I began sending my poetry to the Baha’i World Centre Library. I take 1992 as the beginning of my serious interest in writing poetry, about the time Roger White became seriously ill and passed away.
Part 2:
In 1993 I wrote 700 poems and in 1994; 708 in 1994; 1995 from January to May inclusive I wrote 314 poems. The total collection in the Baha’i World Centre Library(BWCL) is as follows:
1962-1992(Aug)..250(approx)(not included in the count)
1992(Sept-Dec).... 76
1993....................700
1994....................708
1995....................785
1996..................... 69(25/1/96)
Total:.................2338
------------------------------------------
Part 3:
If we add the poetry not sent to the BWCL, which amounts to 250(approx), we get a total output of about 2588 poems. There may be as many as a dozen poems written after August 1992 which, for various reasons, were not sent to the BWCL. One of these can be found in my file "Dreams/Publishing", section 3; the rest I can not locate at this date.
It is possible that these figures are not entirely accurate, since I find counting the numbers of poems somewhat tedious and just about lose total interest in the number. But I would think that there is accuracy within, say, 100 poems. In addition, quantity seems to occupy not an insignificant place in the critical literature on poetry. It provides some of the quantitative data that is useful when one wants to write about someone’s poems. The quantity also gives me, the writer of the poems, some handy guide on what sort of quantitative output has taken place. From September 1st 1992 to January 25th 1996, a period of three years and five months during which I sent poetry to the Baha’i World Centre Library. During this period, I wrote a hair’s breadth less than two poems per day. What this means is another question. Occasionally, when I finish a poem, I cry. What that means is also another question. The meaning of emotion is, in some ways, as elusive as a cold quantitative measuring rod. It is difficult for me to define and impossible for the reader.
During these years I made innumerable attempts to get my poems published and once in a while I got one into some publication. But since the internet poetry sites came on line in the years since 1996 I have got hundreds ‘published’--on the internet.
Ron Price
25/1/'96.
Updated February 15, 2005.[/B]
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