David,
What you've discovered is the new truth about democratic poetry today. What
is important is the attitude. All people need in order to dignify themselves
with the title poet (or Poet) is the feeling that they are much sensitive
than the common run of people, and therefore obviously have Something to
Say. They don't need to learn or practise any craft--they just have to feel
a need to express themselves. And once they are Poets, expressing
themselves, anything they write with linebreaks is Poetry, and it's the duty
of readers to read it and marvel.
In other words, it's the triumph of attitude over application.
Regards, Maz
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Bircumshaw" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2005 12:57 AM
Subject: Blah
> I've become interested lately, as apart from being excruciatingly aware,
of
> the laziness of poetry. Poetry, as an art, along with elements of visual
> arts, has become a last refuge of the bone-idle, at least, if you write a
> novel, or a play, you have to put your back into it, it takes work,
poetry,
> although, because of its extremely primitive basics, can be like a
> five-minute-fix. This is not to say the withering and murderous demands
that
> poetry as an art does exact, but there's kind of fuzzy notion arounmd that
> anyone can write poetry. No they can't, and what's more most poets most
> can't write it either (to order), or to acceptance. It comes when the gods
> say, and with an awful lot in the background support. This may sound
rather
> elitist, it is, it also is very democratic: anyone can do, but most can't.
>
> The worst thing of all is the proliferation of banality posing as poetry,
it
> killls the art.
>
> i get so tired of hearing people who are totally ignorant of the least bit
> of metrics (you have to know the rules in order to break them - that's
what
> I do) or the provenance of words droning on in my ear. a friend of mine
who
> is keen amateur singer, this just as a chorister in a provincial city's
> classical choir, has to do one full and one semi-rhearsal twice a week,
plus
> other bits of practice, twice a week plus, just to be in the background
in
> a performance. Most people I know who think they're poets look at you as
if
> the boat's gone out if you say 'catalexis' or 'caesura' or even
> 'enjambement' to them. Not to mention 'tonic' and sub-tonic' stress or ,
God
> help us, 'anacrusis'.
>
> One guy I know, who thinks he's a poet, told me recently he went on a
course
> where he learnt about technique - it was called 'iambic pentameter'.
>
> Lord have mercy.
>
> Best
>
> Dave
>
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