 Poetry: October 08, 2014 Issue [#6590] |
  Poetry
This week: Poetry of Poetry Edited by: Fyn-elf  
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To design is much more than simply to assemble, to order, or even to edit: it is to add value and meaning, to illuminate, to simplify, to clarify, to modify, to dignify, to dramatize, to persuade, and perhaps even to amuse. To design is to transform prose into poetry.~~Paul Rand
Romance like a ghost escapes touching; it is always where you are not, not where you are. The interview or conversation was prose at the time, but it is poetry in the memory.~~George William Curtis
When you are writing literary writing, you are communicating something subtextual with emotions and poetry. The prose has to have a voice; it's not just typing. It takes a while to get that voice.~~Joyce Carol Oates
I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose = words in their best order; - poetry = the best words in the best order.~~Samuel Taylor Coleridge
There is poetry even in prose, in all the great prose which is not merely utilitarian or didactic: there exist poets who write in prose or at least in more or less apparent prose; millions of poets write verses which have no connection with poetry.~~Eugenio Montale
Poetry is fascinating. As soon as it begins the poetry has changed the thing into something extra,
and somehow prose can go over into poetry.~~Michael Tippett
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"You stand there, braced.
Cloud shadows race
over the buff rock stacks as a projected film,
casting a queasy, mottled ground rash.
The air hisses and it is no local breeze
but the great harsh sweep of wind
from the turning of the earth.
The wild country--
indigo jags of mountain,
grassy plain everlasting,
tumbled stones like fallen cities,
the flaring roll of sky--
provokes a spiritual shudder.
It is like a deep note
that cannot be heard but is felt,
it is like a claw in the gut...
God does not owe us
much beyond that.”
― Annie Proulx, Close Range
Darn good poetry, that. Fine images. Except, that it isn't a poem. Written as a poem, it is, instead, 'found poetry' from Annie Proulx's novel, Close Range. Her prose is that poetic!
Consider Thoreau.
I have frequently seen
a poet withdraw,
having enjoyed the most valuable part of a farm,
while the crusty farmer supposed
that he had got a few wild apples only.
Why, the owner does not know it
for many years when a poet
has put his farm in rhyme,
the most admirable kind of invisible fence,
has fairly impounded it,
milked it, skimmed it,
and got all the cream,
and left the farmer
only the skimmed milk.
This is from Chapter Two of Walden. People tend to think that poetry is only for poets, when in truth, it can apply to all writing. Granted, I am not speaking of rhyming poetry here, but, still, poetic writing can be very special. We, as poets, too often forget this when simply writing. But that poetic voice has a place in regular prose as well.
We do not grow
absolutely,
chronologically.
We grow sometimes
in one dimension,
and not in another;
unevenly.
We grow partially.
We are relative.
We are mature in one realm,
childish in another.
The past, present, and future
mingle
and pull us
backward,
forward,
or fix us in the present.
We are made
up of layers, cells, constellations.
― Anaïs Nin
Have you ever been reading along in a novel and come to a screeching halt in the middle of a paragraph, just to go back and reread because the choice of language, the words used hit you a particular way, caused you to pause and consider? I often find myself doing just that, and usually, it is because, at these times, the language was crafted in such a way, that I found myself reading as if it were, indeed, poetry. And it is these passages that I tend to remember.
Heaven knows
we need
never be ashamed
of our tears,
for they are rain
upon the blinding dust of earth,
overlying our hard hearts.
I was better after I had cried,
than before--
more sorry,
more aware
of my own ingratitude,
more gentle.
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
When I am at an important part of a chapter, I often consider writing it first as a poem, before making it prose. There is something in the distillation that makes the writing stronger, more intense. Then, I often find that writing the poem out, as I would prose, works every bit as well. It adds depth to writing, layers and levels beneath the surface, where the story moves on, but the under currents add nuance, play with metaphor and allow the writer to, what I call, write deeply.
Ever driven by a pine forest? The straight trunks of the closer trees blur by, but if you look deeply, you can see each individual tree, the deer standing, paused, between them and the expanses of fallen needles lining the forest floor. You pick up on details farther away because they aren't blurred in the passing. This is what poetic writing can do to the reader. It forces them, in some ways. to slow down and see the nuances in the wording, and in other ways, allows them to see deeper into the language and find a greater depth of meaning. It opens a level to the communication which is, after all, what we practice.
Writing, whether it be prose or poetry, is a craft. We are wordsmiths honing the language, twisting and molding it into a vehicle to deliver our thoughts, our perspectives, our individual and unique takes on the world as we see it. It is an ongoing process that morphs and evolves as we gain skill, try new ideas and continually, instinctively and emphatically play with language. Like a bow drawn across strings, we produce poetic notes and chords, verses comprise symphonies of words and the stars, ah, the very stars shiver in response. This is our calling.
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Alexandra  writes: Your article appeals because of its basic truth. The way you approached writing about hunting was so sensible. I am not enthusiastic about hunting especially when it is merely killing animals for trophies to boast about but when the animal is killed cleanly and for food that is another matter.
His hunting feeds us all year long! I, myself, am not into hunting for trophies, and neither is my hubby. He likes knowing he puts food on the table!
Elfin Dragon-finally published  said: I like your article in regards to writing and researching for poetry. It's much like writing and researching for stories as well but in a different way. I've researched about certain weaponry and understand what your husband and his buddies go through with preparation for their hunting gear. But I have written a few poems which seem to resound with people. Some are spiritual, others thoughtful, and a couple humorous.
Your submitted poem said invalid entry...pls send again for next time!
monty31802 says:Always have a notebook to write ideas, sometimes from a sentence in a song, some times words heard. Next to your last paragraph You ask a question that I must respond to because most of my poetry is fictional. Thank you for a fine N.L.
ANN Counselor, Lesbian & Happy adds:I so agree that a single line spoken or read can blossom into a poem far different that the original context. Sometimes it's just a phrase heard on TV or in the supermarket; keep it in mind, jot it down, think about it and a surprising poem, or short story, can follow. This past week of the Birthday celebration gave us many super challenging forms of poetry to write; I really did need to listen to words and sounds to get ideas for various forms and contests. Thanks for another great newsletter...very helpful and encouraging. ANN
Bob retired says: That is the most informative poetry newsletter I have read for a long time.Listen and observe your surroundings was some advice I was given by one larry Powers quite a few years ago, and , on this very site. it is still a wonderful source of material to write about, either poetry or prose.
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