Hi Joanna,
I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Jane's work. Levertov I know, of
course, but not deeply.
I have written many poems on trains. As if it hasn't been obvious over
the last few years, a reasonable number of my snaps are 'train' poems,
if you will. Some people do look at you whilst you're scribbling in a
notebook but no-one has yet hassled me for it. Little do they know I'm
often writing down what they are talking about.
One day I was reading a book of poetry on the train and an elderly
gentleman came up to me as he was leaving and handed me a card with the
address of a WEA poetry writing group which he encouraged me to join.
Perhaps he thought I'd be interested in learning how to write poems. A
fair assumption, I suppose. I accepted the card but never went,
needless to say.
A lot of reading goes on on our trains but the Paris Metro beats all
for serious concentrated train reading of weighty tomes, from my very
limited train experience. And poetry readings - there was a bloke who'd
jump on somewhere between, from memory, La-Motte Picquet Grenelle and
Odeon and declaim poems about the situation in the Sudan and encourage
passengers to buy sheets of his work. A few did. Can't see it working
in Sydney. Our trains are less intimate, for a start. Though we do get
the odd musician strumming away.
Cheers,
Jill
On Thursday, October 27, 2005, at 09:45 PM, Joanna Boulter wrote:
> Thanks, Jill and Alison. Things can get a little hairy on that
> particular train -- should have known better and waited for the next
> one.
>
> I must admit, for a moment or two I wondered about trying to calm
> things down by reading aloud from the book of Jane Hirshfield's poems
> I'd bought at the reading. Her work has a quality of calm
> attentiveness about it, of the sort I associate with Denise Levertov.
> It might *just* have worked! but I'd have been far more likely to get
> my teeth smashed in, so regret to say I chickened out.
>
> best joanna
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jill Jones" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2005 12:27 PM
> Subject: Re: Tangled, Snap
>
>
>> My sympathies Joanna. Sounds like the train from Marrickville to city
>> most days. You get used to it - but, gosh, some days you just don't
>> need it. I bet that bloke turns up on our line one day.
>>
>> Best,
>> Jill
>>
>>
_______________________________________________________
Jill Jones
Latest books:
Broken/Open. Available from Salt Publishing
http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/smp/1844710416.htm
Where the Sea Burns. Wagtail Series. Picaro Press
PO Box 853, Warners Bay, NSW, 2282. [log in to unmask]
Struggle and radiance: ten commentaries (Wild Honey Press)
http://www.wildhoneypress.com
web site: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~jpjones
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