Helen,

A great many thanks for posting your notes. I will read them more
carefully when I am off line. (I start to panic when I am online... not
a good look)

best wishes

Chris Jones.


On Tue, 2003-01-28 at 23:59, Helen Hagemann wrote:
> Dear Chris
> Here are some of my notes on the Prose Poem.
>
> "The prose poem is a type of poetry characterized by its lack of line
> breaks. Although the prose poem resembles a short piece of prose, its
> allegiance to poetry can be seen inthe use of rhythms, figures of speech,
> rhyme, internal rhyme, assonance (repetition of similar vowel sounds),
> consonance (repetition of similar consonant sounds). and images.
> The length of prose poems vary, but usually range from half a page to three
> or four pages. Many early writers including Bertrand turned to prose in
> reaction to the strict rules of versification.
> Early French writers including Baudelaire and Rimbaud stand as the best
> examples of the prose poets.
>
> The narrative poem put simply is a poem that tells a story. It is a poem
> that combines storytelling and poetry. Examples of a good balance of poetry
> and story are found in Coleridge's, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Poe's,
> The Raven, and Rossetti's, The Goblin Market.
>
> I recently found an excellent "Narrative" poem by Billie Dee
>
> Thrift
>
>
> It leaned too far
> and the tin roof was mostly gone to rust,
> good for picture taking, nothing practical --
>
> the barn my grandfather's
> father built in 1877 with the Schaffer boys
> and a team of mules.
>
> Had been a fine piece of work in its day,
> hammered up with the black iron nails
> he forged himself,
>
> clear lodgepole pine,
> logged and hand-milled right here
> on the ranchl
>
> It leaned so far
> last summer we pulled it down, two hours
> of 'dozer work -- would've taken less
>
> if we hadn't stood around
> admiring everything: the buck rake
> and one-horse bailing machine,
>
> long handled hay forks still stacked
> against the wall, hand forge and anvil,
> the big round steel saw blade,
>
> rusted out like everything else.
> I sorted the best planks, the ones
> where the saw-whip
>
> was all silver-edged and swirled
> across the grain. Even Montana winters
> don't eat timber like that.
>
> Dad set some boards aside
> for fence mending; I stashed the leftovers
> in the garage rafters -- forgot about them
>
> till the roof sagged last winter.
> That's when we had our family talk
> about what to do with the barn wood.
>
> We decided to make coffins --
> one for each member of the family.
> No sense waiting till the last minute.
>
> Mom took our measurements, my son
> Harry made up a jig and ripped out the lumber
> on the table saw.
>
> Naturally, Dad wanted a classic shape,
> no squared-off casket nonsense.
> And quality hardware.
>
> Snow was heavy
> most of the winter. Soon as the ground
> thawed I stacked the four coffins
>
> in the back of the tractor shed --
> unassembled, parts numbered.
> But Dad keeps asking,
>
> Who's going to put that last box together?
> I guess the Schaffers will give us a hand
> -- if there's any of them left by then.
>
>
> >Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 19:42:54 +1100
> >
> >I have just been reading about prose poems at:
> >
> > http://www.gu.edu.au/school/art/text/oct02/letters.htm
> >
> >
> >Tom Shapcott in this article suggests that prose poems are lyrical, that
> >is, do not have narrative. I was wondering if it were possible to have a
> >prose poem which contains some element of narrative?
> >
> >Also:
> >
> >Anna Gibbs noted in her paper on feminism and fictocriticism
> >(TextOctober 1997):
> >http://www.gu.edu.au/school/art/text/oct97/gibbs.htm,
> >that the prose poem is one of the 'indeterminate forms' of 'literary
> >detritus' that fictocriticism makes use of.
> >
> >
> >I was wondering if anyone was interested in commenting on prose poems?
> >
> >Also, would anyone who writes prose poems (or similar?) be interested in
> >posting examples they may have? joanne burns is one recent example I can
> >think of in the Australian context which does something different in
> >terms of prose poems (also perhaps blurring dramatic monolog into prose
> >poem.)
> >
> >Finally, maybe one for the translators, is there something which could
> >be said about the French language which may have contributed to French
> >prose poems? (Please excuse the crudity of that question, but I don't
> >know how to formulate it... so you can tear into the question if that
> >helps.)
> >
> >I am also thinking of Genet's books, esp Prisoner of Love, as prose
> >poems with (lyric)narrative.
> >
> >Comments on what I said, not expected, but if anyone can say anything, I
> >would be interested to hear.
> >
> >best
> >
> >Chris Jones.
>
>
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