As my former President said, It depends on what Is Is. Something like that. But yes, there is a point here and removing "is" doesn't do anything negative. Is so. I looked back at some of my old stuff, I mean pre-Poetryetc, and it's much more ornate and less "prosaic." I like the spare-sounding me. Just get to the damn point, Ken…. Long ago someone gave me one bit of writing advice: "Murder your darlings." Maybe I'm starting to figure that out--lose the excess words.
K
On May 24, 2012, at 11:17 PM, Andrew Burke wrote:
> Doug was spot on with the 'is's - but we all have different accents, don't
> we, so often how I'd say it is vastly different to how others hear it. I
> have an Irish friend who writes fairly prosaic lines at times but when you
> hear him read them, they sing like angels (he's an Irish devil, of course).
>
> But it's a 'moving' poem in more ones than one.
>
> Andrew
>
> On 24 May 2012 22:46, Douglas Barbour <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Well, that's supposed to be the way to snap, ken, so good on ya. If I did
>> make any change now, it would be to remove the 'is's in the first 2 lines...
>>
>> 'haunted/back' works especially well....
>>
>> Doug
>> On 2012-05-23, at 6:56 PM, Kenneth Wolman wrote:
>>
>>> Everything tends toward farewell.
>>> The apartment is clean at last.
>>> The cat is fed and stoned on catnip.
>>> The lease will be signed on Friday.
>>> And I will be gone from here
>>> where nothing but memories haunted
>>> back to the old place to build
>>> new hauntings.
>>>
>>> KTW
>>>
>>
>> Douglas Barbour
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>> http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/
>> http://eclecticruckus.wordpress.com/
>>
>> Latest books:
>> Continuations & Continuations 2 (with Sheila E Murphy)
>> http://www.uap.ualberta.ca/UAP.asp?LID=41&bookID=962
>> Wednesdays'
>>
>> http://abovegroundpress.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-from-aboveground-press_10.html
>>
>>
>> Why can’t words mean what they say?
>>
>> Robert Kroetsch
>>
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>
>
> --
> Andrew
> http://hispirits.blogspot.com/
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