Quite so, grassy.
SallyE
on 13/11/02 6:19 pm, grasshopper at [log in to unmask]
wrote:
> Dear Mike,
> I haven't seen the crit concerned here, so my comments do not refer to
> that, but, in general, I would say there is definitely a fad these days for
> clipping words until a poem reads like telegraphese. Quite simply, it's
> silly -often a little word (O, those articles!) is needed for the flow of
> the line. I sometimes wonder if the clippers read the lines aloud, or if
> they do, if they really listen.
> I get the impression sometimes that some revisers think you are charged by
> the word. Poetry is not about expressing something in the fewest possible
> words.
> Kind regards,
> grasshopper
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Horwood" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 9:27 AM
> Subject: Re Bang - Christine
>
>
> Hello Christine,
> Thanks for your comments and suggestions. Other
> people have made similar comments about other poems and I begin to realise
> that my style is definitely a lot more wordy than many people write in
> themselves, or even like to read. Conversely, I sometimes feel when I read
> work posted on the list or in magazines that it has been cut back so far
> that thereīs not much more than a list of images. In the end I guess this
> just comes down to individual taste and preferences. Some of the cuts you
> suggest here, especially in the first stanza, feel to me as if they would
> break up the rhythm and flow. I was aiming at a rather excited, breathless
> speaking voice. But perhaps more interesting than the virtues of specific
> cuts in this poem is the general question of just how bare/ minimalist/
> precise a poem needs to be. I donīt want to be misunderstood as advocating
> pointless repetition or strings of adjectives, but I would like to ask this;
> can words be used purely to carry the rhythm of the line and for the
> pleasure of the sound their letters make in combination with other words? Is
> it justifiable to use a redundant word purely for its musical quality? I
> would be interested in hearing any opinions on this point.
>
>
> Best wishes, Mike
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