Thanks very much to Alison, David, Dominic, Helen, Matthew, Paul, Peter,
Susans Webster and Wheeler, Rachel, Randolph, Robin, and William. (I hope
I haven't forgotten anyone, sorry if I have). Your suggestions have all
been noted and I am tracking them down. Have already placed a few in the
packet. I am very grateful.
Ally, thank you for your comment (below). I laugh all too often at
poems. A major part of my life in recent months has been reading poems
aloud with students and laughing. This last spring my students and I read
the Jubilate out loud and I tell you there wasn't one student who didn't
lose it several times during those 9 weeks. Though, like Rachel, I often
laugh at poetry while alone, I am more likely to laugh if I'm in an
audience during a reading. Also, I think, I am more inclined to laugh if
I imagine the poet performing the piece while I read it. So, I laugh (1)
when reading poetry out loud, (2) when listening to poetry being read, and
(3) when imagining it being read. Hilarity, this leads me to think, is
shared comedy -- is comedy that happens *with* others. So I suppose it's
my feeling that performance and true hilarity are somehow
connected. Though I must emphasize that I most often laugh when I'm
reading by myself: I suppose this is because even when I read alone I am
trying to imagine how the poem might be read aloud or performed. Thanks
again for your comment, Ally. Sorry it took me so long to reply: I have a
very rich family life and this hinders my access to the keyboard. - Gabe
Gudding
<<I can't think of a single "hilarious" poem
by a woman. Or a man, for that matter.
Wry, whimsical, mildly funny, yes - many
poems nake me smile. But "hilarious" is
screaming with laughter and wiping your eyes,
right? Like I do when reading the Flashman
books, or like I don't when reading Flann
O'Brien and wondering where the hell the joke's
meant to be? And I can't think of a single poem
that has ever truly done that to me. -- Ally Kerr>>
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