From: "Wystan Curnow (FOA ENG)" <[log in to unmask]>
> mm, i'm unsure about that opposition; structured/unstructured.
> structured i understand but 'unstructured' comes in the same category as
> 'obscure'--i'm not sure there's any such thing.
>
> 'free verse' is, of course, a set of conventions. there are varieties of
> free verse, which is to say a variety of 'rules'. one of the most famous
> free verse rules is 'form is never more than an extension of content'.
it's
> author, robert creeley, quoted in Charles Olson's famous 'Projective
Verse'
> essay, has written and spoken of his 'free verse' practice, a great deal
and
> with beautiful precision. there are variation collections of his essays
and
> interviews, and of course of his poetry which is a fine model for a highly
> individuated style of structured 'free verse'.
> wystan
Um ... I think we may be getting into a Transatlantic Divide here.
Wystan's filiation, locking into Creeley and Olson, would go back to Carlos
Williams. I wouldn't see William's triparte line as free verse -- seems to
make sense to an American ear but not to mine.
Whatever free verse, on this side, it does lock into The Other Émigré, who
was doubtful of it.
Forget definitions -- read the Cantos. (Or _Patterson_, if you eat at
MacDonalds.)
Robin
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