In case this hasn't been sufficiently sexist, I should mention that
obviously the boys events would need cheerleaders. "Give me a P..."
I just realized that that might create some suspense (and then a sigh
of relief) until we got to "give me an O..."
Caffeine may be the elixir of the gods.
At 03:49 PM 8/25/2009, you wrote:
>Or we could pull in some celtic inspiration and at the same time
>fill an unaccountable gap. There's caber tossing, which is sissy
>stuff compared to caber catching.
>
>At 02:53 PM 8/25/2009, you wrote:
>>I'm with you, Mark. We'll have a play-off between Sharon Olds and Lorna
>>Crozier who both write exceptionally fine erotic verse.
>>As for the men, well, what comes to mind is a strong man competition. We can
>>set up a team like they do in golf - a poet teamed up with a strong man with
>>the poet in trunks and the strong man in a Greco-Roman wrestling outfit. The
>>strong man will pull a truck filled with manure while the poet recites.
>>John Herbert Cunningham
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>>Behalf Of Mark Weiss
>>Sent: August-25-09 12:03 PM
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: PS Re: "Has British Poetry had any significance since Wordsworth?"
>>
>>This got me thinking. We're probably all aware of the decline of
>>public interest in poetry, certainly in English-speaking countries,
>>and the attempts to rescue it by placing it in the protective
>>environment of the university, where it gets to feed on students. And
>>rather week-kneed promotional efforts like National Poetry Month and
>>festivals that only those already interested even notice. What's
>>needed is a larger public relations effort. I'm thinking that a Miss
>>Poetry pageant might be the way to go. If the bikinis are skimpy
>>enough there might be network time in it, despite the predictably
>>awful talent segments (though I imagine that some folks would get off
>>on scantily-clad girls spouting bad verse). And questions of national
>>supremacy could be settled for any given year by a well-paid panel of
>>judges. The whole thing, in fact, could put a lot of cash in the
>>hands of poets and their promoters, given the minipageants that would
>>be needed to support the main event--Miss Teen Poet of Bismarck North
>>Dakota, and the like. The world would be filled with something like poetry.
>>
>>I don't claim any proprietary interest here, and would welcome
>>comments. It would be particularly nice if others could come up with
>>a role for male poets.
>>
>>Mark
>>
>>At 12:46 PM 8/25/2009, you wrote:
>> >"Supremacy" seems a bit strong. Has to do with force of arms?
>> >
>> >This is I think pretty silly. Most verse on both sides of the
>> >Atlantic has been pretty feeble, but that's always so, and a lot of
>> >the big names are pretty hollow. If people still read poetry in 20
>> >years, let alone 200, what will they make of Billy Collins?
>> >
>> >That said, a few whose absence is noteworthy, and a personal
>> >favorite. Tennyson, Browning, Landor, Hopkins, Hardy, Ford Maddox
>> >Ford. In comparison, you might want to look at some pre-modernist
>> >Americans like Longfellow, Lanier, Markham, Robinson, Lowell (the
>> >first one, but the second aint much either, imho).
>> >
>> >I'm obviously not trying to be encyclopedic here, and, except for
>> >Ford (see his wonderful last book, the serial poem Buckshee), I've
>> >avoided listing the near-contemporary, but you get the picture.
>> >
>> >Mark
>> >
>> >At 12:09 PM 8/25/2009, you wrote:
>> >>I will not say that what you say is not so. My piece was arguing for the
>> >>supremacy of the US influence historically, rather than to dismiss
>> >>certain UK poets whose practice benefitted from High Modernism.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>On Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:32:18 +0100, Sally Evans
>> >><[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >I think what has happened to British Poetry in the time stated is it has
>> >> >culturally split through the regions and countries that make up the
>> >>British
>> >> >Isles. Scottish poetry was really vibrant in the 20th c so especially
>> >>was
>> >> >Scottish Gaelic poetry. David Jones as an English speaking Welsh poet
>> >>and
>> >> >Basil Bunting as a northern poet are cases in point.
>> >> >Sally Evans
>> >> >http://www.desktopsallye.com
>> >> >http://www.poetryscotland.co.uk
>> >> >http://www.brokenholmes.co.uk
>> >> >tel UK 01877 339449
>> >> >----- Original Message -----
>> >> >From: "Douglas Barbour" <[log in to unmask]>
>> >> >To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> >> >Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 4:11 PM
>> >> >Subject: Re: "Has British Poetry had any significance since
>> >>Wordsworth?"
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >> Some rhetorical force, perhaps, but I would wonder nevertheless.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Even within the possibilities of innovation, I cant see not
>> >>mentioning at
>> >> >> least the major works of Basil Bunting & David Jones.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Yes, poetry hasn't much 'place' outside of all the poets, but I'm not
>> >> >> sure it has been as present as either fiction or drama since I dont
>> >>know
>> >> >> when...
>> >> >>
>> >> >> And there has been Britain's own more or less 'language' group(s)
>> >>over
>> >> >> the past 40 years or so, with its effect.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Doug
>> >> >> On 25-Aug-09, at 4:30 AM, Jeffrey Side wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >>> New blog post:
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>> "Has British Poetry had any significance since Wordsworth?"
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>> This may seem an outlandish question, but I think it has some
>> >>force
>> >> >>> behind it. Of course, the influence of Wordsworth on contemporary
>> >> >>> British mainstream poetry need hardly be stressed, and I have
>> >>written
>> >> >>> extensively about this elsewhere. It is because of this influence
>> >>that
>> >> >>> most of the celebrated British poetry of the Twentieth Century
>> >>tended
>> >> >>> towards mediocrity when compared to American poetry of the
>> >>same
>> >> >>> period.....
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>> http://jeffrey-side.blogspot.com/
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Douglas Barbour
>> >> >> [log in to unmask]
>> >> >>
>> >> >> http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Latest books:
>> >> >> Continuations (with Sheila E Murphy)
>> >> >> http://www.uap.ualberta.ca/UAP.asp?LID=41&bookID=664
>> >> >> Wednesdays'
>> >> >> http://abovegroundpress.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-from-
>> >>aboveground-press_10.html
>> >> >>
>> >> >> There are as many fools in the world as there are people.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Sigmund Freud
>> >> >>
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