Hi Alison
i'm definitely not trying to say that feeling doesn't count in poetry (or
any writing). i find being moved very important. & i suspect we are all
susceptible to the power of cliché, when wielded well. but i do think that
it is important, s you say, to struggle to break 'the cliche which is on
offer while still remaining true to the feeling' & to do that requires
craft, the knowledge that comes from long study of past poetry & poetics as
well as present examples, & then some sense of words at play in rythm. etc.
so i think we do generally agree here...
Doug
Douglas Barbour
Department of English
University of Alberta
Edmonton Alberta Canada T6G 2E5
(h) [780] 436 3320 (b) [780] 492 0521
http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/dbhome.htm
in the rooms you live in
people's books line your shelves
the traces of their lives
their minds
too
bpNichol
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