Thoughts on poetry--Now edited for easier reading.
got ten minutes to write this...so keeping it short....
April is poetry month. Someone today made the comment to me that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who get poetry and those who don't.
I STRONGLY disagree.
I think we...as in the big cultural "we"...make poetry too hard. We want to explain away the parts and we forget to enjoy the whole. Understanding poetry shouldn't be so hard, but I'll come back to this.
I love to read positive literary criticism. Sometimes, especially with poetry, I think I like to read the literary analysis more than the actual poems, and I'll tell you why. What I like is good literary analysis and criticism of great works, of works that people, especially the writer of the criticism, loves! I don't care if it is slightly gushing and ignores the negative aspects. I don't worry about if it is too positive because sometimes, more than just wanting to understand, I want to get excited about it, to be refreshed in it. Hearing/reading the thoughts of someone who sincerely loves a work helps me appreciate that work too.
I've been reading the introduction to a book of poems by William Carlos Williams which was edited by Robert Pinsky, former poet laureate (I have a story about this too, but not the time at the moment.). This introduction is marvelous! It points out all the things that are cool about William Carlos Williams, and when I read the poetry excerpts, I can see and feel what Pinsky is saying too. I'm really excited to browse the book of poetry that follows even if I never get half of what the poems are saying.
I found an echo of my thoughts on poetry in Pinsky's analysis of Williams' work:
"... the style he developed demands that the reader supply something a little more like alertness than explanation."
I love that...alertness rather than explanation. Lightly caressing rather than full-force pounding. Poetry should be read like a waltz should be danced...finely, with skill, but most of all, with joy and pleasure.
Times up! Have a great day!
April is poetry month. Someone today made the comment to me that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who get poetry and those who don't.
I STRONGLY disagree.
I think we...as in the big cultural "we"...make poetry too hard. We want to explain away the parts and we forget to enjoy the whole. Understanding poetry shouldn't be so hard, but I'll come back to this.
I love to read positive literary criticism. Sometimes, especially with poetry, I think I like to read the literary analysis more than the actual poems, and I'll tell you why. What I like is good literary analysis and criticism of great works, of works that people, especially the writer of the criticism, loves! I don't care if it is slightly gushing and ignores the negative aspects. I don't worry about if it is too positive because sometimes, more than just wanting to understand, I want to get excited about it, to be refreshed in it. Hearing/reading the thoughts of someone who sincerely loves a work helps me appreciate that work too.
I've been reading the introduction to a book of poems by William Carlos Williams which was edited by Robert Pinsky, former poet laureate (I have a story about this too, but not the time at the moment.). This introduction is marvelous! It points out all the things that are cool about William Carlos Williams, and when I read the poetry excerpts, I can see and feel what Pinsky is saying too. I'm really excited to browse the book of poetry that follows even if I never get half of what the poems are saying.
I found an echo of my thoughts on poetry in Pinsky's analysis of Williams' work:
"... the style he developed demands that the reader supply something a little more like alertness than explanation."
I love that...alertness rather than explanation. Lightly caressing rather than full-force pounding. Poetry should be read like a waltz should be danced...finely, with skill, but most of all, with joy and pleasure.
Times up! Have a great day!