tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329800043283255166.post6213734498015491658..comments2023-11-05T07:41:04.214-05:00Comments on Strong Verse: The Public Irrelevance of Modern PoetryG. M. Palmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515043039690357593noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329800043283255166.post-19949576697060543912008-06-23T23:08:00.000-04:002008-06-23T23:08:00.000-04:00Matthew --The problem is not that the readers ough...Matthew --<BR/><BR/>The problem is not that the readers ought to know beforehand -- but they should have the hang of it at least by the first few lines of the poem. So often, however, they do feel "absolutely lost" by the time they get through whatever opening the poem may have.<BR/><BR/>While categorizing the poem "this is a poem about sadness. . . and trees" is a pretty silly idea, poets should keep in mind that poetry's main purpose is to communicate -- either the idea of a thing (a lyric poem) or a story (a narrative poem). So much of Modern AABC poetry is either "this is how I feel" or "this my is experiment; language" -- both of which are utter uselessness.<BR/><BR/>Those two types of poems are to Poetry as sketches are to Painting. Interesting (and possibly useful) for beginners but pointless for anyone trying to further, promote, and distribute the art.G. M. Palmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14515043039690357593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329800043283255166.post-51415014125755151432008-06-23T16:28:00.000-04:002008-06-23T16:28:00.000-04:00Maybe poets then should categorize their work, sor...Maybe poets then should categorize their work, sort of tell the reader what it is for before they begin, just like how if you're at a funeral, you know it is a sad event. If you're at a thriller, you know you need to be scared. With much poetry, I suppose the reader is absolutely lost. Maybe poets could suggest reactions to readers of their work instead of letting them figure out the eccentricities of the author like a puzzle. Finding the meaning of life from what appears like gibberish is a difficult and uninspiring task.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your post that I stumbled upon! It helps me somehow.Matthew Jason Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00640868095301404163noreply@blogger.com