Hi Grasshopper,
I read a lot of contemporary published poetry, and I get the impression that
regular punctuation is back "in". I can't think of many collections I've
read lately that don't use fairly standard punctuation. I find the main
differences between poets come where little things are concerned, such as
how to denote direct speech.
There seems to be less of a consensus on using capital letters at the
beginning of lines, though. I also find that I notice them with some poets
more than with others, for no apparent reason, although maybe that just
shows that I'm not a very attentive reader a lot of the time.
For my own part, I prefer to read and to use regular punctuation. Again
though, that might be partly conditioning, because my job involves
correcting punctuation and grammar, and so I probably get pretty anal about
it!
Regards,
Matt

-----Original Message-----
From: The Pennine Poetry Works [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of grasshopper
Sent: 22 May 2004 09:12
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: new sub Silence


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Dear Sally,
Forgive me for re-opening a can of worms, but I don't see that this poem is
improved by the lack of punctuation, -in fact I think it suffers by the
omission. It may be just me, but I tend to feel that, with a very few
exceptions, poems benefit from standard punctuation. Without it, they can
look almost amateurish, and for me, I must admit, they seem old-fashioned.
Also I feel the structure of the poem is rather 'jotty', if you know what I
mean, and I think it would be better if you considered the relation of the
lines in terms of parts of a sentence, as it reads oddly in places eg
unwritten words slashes like a sword Punctuation could clear up the relation
between lines like this. Also, it's free -LOL.

Can I ask the people who read a lot of contemporary published poetry: How
many established poets dispense with punctuation nowadays? I see a lot of
non-punctuation on online workshops, but rarely from the 'poetic
'establishment'. Is this a mistaken impression? Kind regards,
   grasshopper



----- Original Message -----
From: "Sally James" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2004 3:23 PM
Subject: [THE-WORKS] new sub Silence


> Silence
>
> Silence is not golden
> it pierces like a thorn
> unwritten words
> slashes like a sword
> unspoken words
> nails to a cross
> Silence is red.
>
> sally james
>
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