A little unfair, Robin? abcb may be the easiest of the quatrain forms, but
that doesn't make it a cop-out. What about the 'Ancient Mariner'? And isn't
it deTAIL in American speech?
I have to agree, though, that the poem, from the bit you've quoted, seems
very dull stuff. Which is what I've thought of most of the New Formalism
I've read. There was one poem by Gioia in _Rebel Angels_ that I did like on
the other hand, a longish narrative poem about dolls. Perhaps someone can
remember it?
Best wishes
Matthew
-----Original Message-----
From: Robin Hamilton <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 15 July 2001 18:29
Subject: On Gioia ...
>It's probably unfair to base a judgement on one poem selected at random,
but
>... From Dana Gioia's website:
>
>(I don't think I've quoted so much as to violate copyright -- material
>quoted in the context of fair comment -- OK, moderators?)
>
> The Next Poem
>
>How much better it seems now
>than when it is finally done-
>the unforgettable first line,
>the cunning way the stanzas run.
>
>The rhymes soft-spoken and suggestive
>are barely audible at first,
>an appetite not yet acknowledged
>like the inkling of a thirst.
>
>abcb has to be a cop-out. This is much the easiest of the quatrain forms.
>
>And that first verse -- the last line finally reaches regular iambic
>octameter. Is this deliberate (I think there could be a case made out for
>this in the larger context of the poem, but ...) or is it that the rhythms
>of lines 1-3 [especially line 2] simply aren't in focus?
>
>And behind the whole poem, the ghost of Auden. In fact, I'm tempted to say
>the poem is a bad pastiche of Auden. "No jumble box of imagery" (Gioia) --
>"Jumbled in a common box" (Auden). If I want to read Auden, I'll read
>Auden, not Auden-and-water.
>
>The music that of common speech
>but slanted so that each detail
>sounds unexpected as a sharp
>inserted in a simple scale.
>
>That "detail" -- the only way to make rhythmic sense (and the context of
the
>rhyme with "scale" emphasises this) is to twist the normal pronunciation of
>DEtail to deTAIL. This after a line mentioning the music of common speech
>(sic!). Or is this a complex postmodern example of irony?
>
>OK someone, convince me why I should bother to read another Gioia poem.
>Maybe this isn't typical? But ...
>
>Robin
>
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