I agree, Joanna
& it's been especially hard to find good 'religious' poetry in the late
20th century. At least where I've been reading (unless we assume that
allowing the spiritual other in, as I'd argue Jack Spicer did with his
inner radio).
But Margaret Avison, the fine Canadian poet, who was one of the few
picked up by the New American Poetry scene back in the 50s & 60s, is
one who manages to bring it off. My poetry books still in boxes I can't
find a poem of hers right at this moment, but I'll try....
Doug
On 16-May-05, at 4:29 AM, Joanna Boulter wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Riddell" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 2:59 AM
> Subject: Re: Cocooned in Dylanesque or is Albert Einstein indeed God?
>
>
> David -- I would be happy to know you better through a broader
> dialogue. It
> may well have been the -- shall I say, narrowness -- of this particular
> thread that has often made it difficult for some people, myself
> included. As
> Robin says, this *is* a poetry forum; and when I said a while back
> that if
> you didn't like it here you might consider going somewhere else, that
> was
> the sort of thing I meant and I apologise if I failed to put it clearly
> enough.
>
> I'm all for opening the discussion out to embrace religious poetry as a
> genre. I think it's a very difficult type of poetry to do well *as
> poetry*
> whilst steering between the pitfalls of polemics and sentimentality,
> and I'd
> enjoy hearing what others on the list too have to say on this broader
> aspect.
>
> That stunner of Tom Leonard's is a brilliant kick-off!
>
> best joanna
>
Douglas Barbour
11655 - 72 Avenue NW
Edmonton Ab T6G 0B9
(780) 436 3320
There are places named for
other places, ones where
a word survives whatever happened
which it once referred to. And there are
names for the places water comes and touches.
But nothing for the whole.
Bill Manhire
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