Colin wrote:  You are reliant on natural images, at least some of the time.
But
natural images don't carry well. The human world is fairly consistent. A
small block of sugar is pretty much the same thing everywhere, whether
sweet, candy or lolly. But ecosystems vary in their species and from place
to place and hence in the species that must be used to conjure up certain
associations. Some are generic, such as wolf, trout and oak. Everyone knows
what they are. But they are diminished through overuse. The choice is stark.
Use a wide range of species and lose people from outside the region ( or
        in the region but not interested in nature) or spend time describing
how white and fluffy something looks and probably lose everyone. I would
far rather someone just said "gannet" than spend a couple of pages
describing what it looked like for the benefit of those who don't know. In
my case I don't know what a madrona forest is. That's a shame on me. I
should know. However in practice the result is that I am unable to guess
what kind of stray a wolf might chase through it.

        It's the same with people and place names. Who is the intended
audience? Can they be expected to know who Auden is?

*

Colin, I seldom comment on the comments I receive and try never to argue,
but yours puzzles me.  Starting with "Natural images don't cary well" and
ending with Auden.

I may be missing your point but I hear you dismiss everything from To a
Skylark through Frost to Synder.  Sorry, most of what I like in poetry
evokes something natural.  I firmly believe that writers should use the
nature they know.  For me that will be madrona, the ring neck who lives in
the back yard, and salal.  For others, it may be date palms or banyan.

But regardless, I'm not sure it matters what a wolf would chase through a
madrona forest as much as the wolf is chasing something.

And Auden?  No, not everyone will or over time maybe fewer and fewer.  But
imo, there are times when they need to not pass on by and figure out why.
In this case, Auden the most often quoted poet after 911.

Thanks much for your line by lines.  The poem is considerable different now.

Gary.


Dec Byron Sacre at: http://gardawg.homestead.com/gardawg.html... Writer's
Hood at http://www.writershood.com/... Poets for Peace.... ¡Poemas sí, balas
no!