Barry, I'm not sure how to assess the english-poetry-introduction
query (which wasn't a query); do you mean english poetry in english,
or in translation?
where did my aesthetics come from! what a big question.
having lived very close to nature all my life (we had almost twenty
apple trees in our garden) & having observed all the seasons with
clarity (winter is wintry, summer summery, unlike in some very
warm/cold countries) have been my main trigger I think. as for poetry,
the first poet I can recall really reading -- apart from Emily
Dickinson & EAPoe in junior high which only just count -- is Ted
Hughes. my work before I read him was metric & unformed, but looking
back, a lot of that stuff is extremely imagistic, even moreso than
now; the mythic & the surreal-in-Nature were strongly present, though
only in a juvenile way. with Hughes I feel like I was introduced to a
way of controlling those tones & images (the form of my writing was
recently called 'traditional'; well, I got it from Teddy), though at
the same time I probably lost something else. 'Tractor' & 'Wind' are
the first of his poems I read, & I was blown away at the time. so the
shamanistic/magical have been present all along, sure; though at times
the work of Dylan Thomas is SO magical & apocalyptic that I find
myself needing to steady myself to not get fed up with the grandeur
(which is easy, considering the incredible language the man used; he's
a more recent idol than Hughes).
I've never gotten into reading in finnish. Saarikoski, Eino Leino,
Katri Vala, Eeva Kilpi & Aaro Hellaakoski make up the entirety of my
finnish poetry contact, which has all been skindeep; & I find that I'm
not in love with the work of any of them (least of all Leino, our
national poet).
I'm certinly aware of Lehto, his english poetry is alright by me;
Hollo I've not read, though I've heard of him. I suppose I've
concerned myself with getting familiar with british/american Greats
rather than keeping up with modern (er, current) times, all laxly.
when I read a finnish poetry magazine called Tuli&Savu that I've
mentioned (which Lehto 'recreated' & managed for a long time), I get
the feeling that current finnish poetry is all about being
cutting-edge & superinnovative & "[post+POST]-mode-rn"", it annoys me.
then again there are many young poets that I've come across briefly
who write with their feet a little more firmly on the ground (or at
least closer to the ground), often in prose-poetry. it bores me more
often than it excites me.
woah how did this get to be all about me & me interpreting modern
finnish poetics? I know jackshit about it, to be honest. just spewing
my impressions of things here.
oh, p.s.: Kaurismäki is a fucking genius. check out his film
"Boheemielämää" ('bohemian life', which I think is actually titled in
french [since it takes place in Paris & it's spoken in french, though
my finnish actors] 'La Vie de Bohéme').
KS
On 27/06/07, Barry Alpert <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I can well imagine "New Criticism" underlying the manner in which
> literature written in English is introduced to students in Finland, with
> perhaps a multiplicity of literary theories entering the classroom at the
> university level. Can you trace where your aesthetics came from, Kasper?
> And have you encountered the poems and ideas of the two Finns writing in
> English who must be known by some regular posters to this list, Leevi Lehto
> and Anselm Hollo? I find the Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki's outlook
> simpatico & love his work with the "folk-rock" band The Leningrad Cowboys
> (and the soundtracks for his films in general), and have been able to write
> via his films without ever thinking of "New Criticism":
>
> <http://www.fieralingue.it/corner.php?pa=printpage&pid=361>
>
> <http://www.fieralingue.it/corner.php?pa=printpage&pid=360>
>
> Barry
>
> On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:21:44 +0300, kasper salonen <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> >quite so! local markets are limited in this arena
> >
> >KS
> >
> >On 26/06/07, MC Ward <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >> I like the "hyper," Patrick, but the moniker as a
> >> whole seems too long. And adding "Finnish" limits the
> >> critics and audience just when Kasper's ready to go
> >> world wide with his theory.
> >>
> >>
> >> --- Patrick McManus <[log in to unmask]>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> > "post-New Finnish hyper Critical"?
> >> > P
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics
> >> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> >> > Behalf Of MC Ward
> >> > Sent: 26 June 2007 00:19
> >> > To: [log in to unmask]
> >> > Subject: Re: Snap Both Their Necks Early
> >> >
> >> > How about "post-New Critical"? You could even be the
> >> > founder of a movement or a backlash, as the case may
> >> > be.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > --- kasper salonen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > > I'd be astonished if there were some single
> >> > literary
> >> > > theory or
> >> > > approach that would work not only for all of
> >> > poetry,
> >> > > but for all
> >> > > readers. I don't know what to call my stance,
> >> > maybe
> >> > > someone would like
> >> > > to yell out "naïve"?
> >> > > (:
> >> > >
> >> > > KS
>
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