Geraldine wrote:
> it
>does sometimes seems that the origins (the poem the song the beautifully
>oiled car) get intellectually hijacked and leaves the stuff or staff of life
>flailing in the abyss.
It's easier that way... the stuff of life being notoriously
undiscussable...
Yes, keep an eye on that boy. Although my grandmother had a very useful
adage - "a little healthy neglect never did anyone any harm".
I've kept out of it because of my talent for stating the startlingly
obvious. It seems to me as read that the desire towards poetry is an
innate human characteristic, and the idea of a "poetry gene" (which I
take it you were suggesting facetiously) seems risible. All children
love rhythmic wordplay, or at least, in my admittedly highly empirical
research, I haven't found one that doesn't, and if I did I would think
something was seriously wrong. So many poets say they started writing
poetry as young children - it seems the rule rather than the exception -
that writing poetry seems to be a case of not putting away childish
things.
What makes some children then want to write poetry seriously is so
complex I don't know where you would begin. I think it's one response to
a fracture between reality and language, self and other, that you begin
to be conscious of at about seven, and the expression of a desire to
close that gap. A notation, perhaps, of the unfolding tragedy of
consciousness. The existence of poets like John Clare and John Shaw
Neilson suggests the desire to write poetry occurs quite specifically in
an individual, outside the expectations of class, education and social
conditioning. Which is not at all the same as saying anyone can or would
want to write poetry.
Best
Alison
Alison Croggon
Editor
Masthead Literary Arts Magazine
PO Box 186
NEWPORT VIC 3015
Masthead online: http://www.masthead.com.au
Home page: http:www.fortunecity.com/victorian/bronte/338
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