Comments on: “You Should Write a Poem About That!”

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:36:08 +0000

This reminds me of a t-shirt I’ve seen that seems to play right into such fears. It read simply: “I’m blogging this.”

By: Brian Keaney

Brian Keaney — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:09:02 +0000

I write prose fiction. One of the commonest responses is, ‘I hope you’re not going to put me in a book’

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:47:56 +0000

With you all the way, Keith. And love the film director metaphor.

By: Keith S. Wilson

Keith S. Wilson — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:35:28 +0000

I hate it when people say they don’t ‘get’ poetry. I want to tell them that poetry is like any other art. If you were forced to watch films made by Dali, you might not get them, either. But poetry has a narrower outlet than film, and so the 6 poems you are forced to read, as a non-follower of poetry, might be ones that you don’t get. Indeed, may never ‘get.’

But there are so many poets, like so many films, that chances are, when you find the one that arrests your attention, whether that is a Michael-Bay-style poem, or a Stephen-Spielburg-style poem, or a Guillermo-del-Toro-style poem, that it will be worth the try.

And may lead to other great artists.

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:49:59 +0000

I suppose what strikes me most about this variation is that these are people who do not consider themselves poets. Yet they obviously are thinking in this way, which is why the claim to “not understand” baffles me. How can you not understand your own experience? This need for some outside legislator to delineate good and bad seems to compromise so many people’s relationship to art.

By: carolee

carolee — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:26:42 +0000

a variation on this is hanging out with poetry friends and one of them saying, “that’s a poem.” and then you better write it before someone else does.