It was an easy one to speak of, in so far as I did, and a good question

It might not always be so easy

I would rarely have been able to answer such a question

The guy I walked down to the cliff with told me all about himself and asked what I did. I answered and he asked inevitably what I write about it. Seemed taken aback that I said firstly that I dont know and then that I like to give everything a go

[I saw a poet read the other night, Libby Houston, who has never interested me greatly - in fact I hadnt seen her read in decades; and I went this time in order to hear Penelope Shuttle; but she read from a series of poems written for children which were quite imporessive - so it pays (in such cases, in my judgement) to try different things I think]

Also often I hardly know what I am talking about myself - you were going to get a poem about Julian Arguelles at the Jazz Club, in recollection; that was my default; but I have benefitted from taking the snap idea fairly literally, sometimes with a bit of video. Not that it's necessarily better than other approaches; but the benefit comes from trying to stick to a fairly simple and rather clear pictoral approach, and to stick to an.... to an agenda (?) against the flow of habit



L
  -----Original Message-----
  From: judy prince <[log in to unmask]>
  To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
  Date: Thursday, September 22, 2005 10:59 AM
  Subject: Re: [POETRYETC] snap - reformat


  Hello to Barry and Lawrence,

  Barry, I'm glad you asked for Lawrence's discovering details which were in 
  themselves fascinating in outward as well as poet-process beauty.  I'd love 
  other poets, as well, to tell us of their poems' physical contexts and 
  creative processes.

  I quite simply enjoyed your poem's delicate, rich, momentarily-noticed 
  details, Lawrence.

  Thanks,

  Judy

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "Lawrence Upton" <[log in to unmask]>
  To: <[log in to unmask]>
  Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 4:37 AM
  Subject: Re: [POETRYETC] snap - reformat


  Hi Barry

  I witnessed it. I was ambling up the road and looking carefully for 
  blackberries, without success. It's a fairly busy road for walkers and all 
  but the small late sour ones had gone. I hadn't even meant to be there but 
  got caught up in a movement of 120 cows, which brought everything to a pause 
  because they do it at their pace. Fell into conversation with the herdsman 
  and then with another chap coming up behind; and, when the herdsman turned 
  off, we continued walking and talking. It was only when we got to the sea, 
  that I realised I had just followed him! It was ok. I was also just 
  following my nose

  Then he asked the time and rushed off to meet his wife!

  I sat on a rock. Then I walked back, mentally blackberrying.

  It was the bird caught my attention, and I was starting to think how poorly 
  I could describe it. By which time I was so close I decided to stop to keep 
  it there. I'm pretty sure I saw a similar bird in Cumrbia, on a hedge 
  there - though in this case it's a hedge made of granite covered in green 
  growth.

  I was struck by its confidence. LIke a robin in the way it let me approach 
  and very unexpected away from town.

  And during this very small parcel of time, it had been studying the prey. It 
  adjusted its position a little and I saw what it was after.

  I am quite capable of making things up or getting them from books; but this 
  was a sighting

  I was struck by the transformation in a moment. The spider was smashed up 
  and hanging both sides of the beak, moving a bit. The bird seemed to pause 
  before completing the operation, possibly because of my proximity. I think I 
  was writing the poem as I saw it all happen.

  Until then I had no snapshot poem and had been thinking of the 
  ridiculousness of the situation. I was in an area of special scientific 
  interest also an area of outstanding natural beauty (both official 
  designations) etc etc. There was so much one could write about for 50 years 
  without moving

  And I was thinking of *moments, wondering how long before this bird would be 
  wiped out by its own predator... I was thinking of the mechanism of it, and 
  the increase of that effect into a seeming mechanicity because _their_ faces 
  are not _our_ faces etc etc

  everything changed, nothing changed

  and the poem changed a lot quite rapidly

  I had not *intended the reading you put into it. maybe it's there! the sky 
  is parcelled out high density by birds of prey and the bird may well be 
  dead. It almost certainly soon will be

  I had a sense I had done what I could to get that sense of everything 
  killing everything, of everything being doomed - I had rejected an image of 
  drafts playing because there was no intelligence there

  Nevertheless,

  squelching
  >both sides of a half-closed beak

  was an attempt to describe seeing a living creature broken across and in a 
  bird's beak

  Best answer I can give, I think

  Thank you for noticing the poem

  Lawrence

    -----Original Message-----
    From: Barry Alpert <[log in to unmask]>
    To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
    Date: Thursday, September 22, 2005 3:33 AM
    Subject: Re: [POETRYETC] snap - reformat


    On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 21:46:49 +0100, Lawrence Upton
    <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

    >a brightly-coloured bird
    >snaps a reddish spider
    >from its web among rotting berries;
    >
    >the silk is broken, disrupted;
    >the food is disabled, squelching
    >both sides of a half-closed beak
    >
    >neither bird nor animal shows emotion
    >========================================================================

    I've read this a number of times with admiration, Lawrence.  Did you
    observe the incident or its aftermath?  I like the way in which you 
  suggest
    that both the arachnid and the bird expired (or will do so), if I'm
    reading "squelching/both sides . . ." appropriately.  Barry Alpert