Back in March of 2012, I wrote the following “response paper” for a class on form and theory of poetry. I thought it might be worth sharing. Don’t worry if you are unfamiliar with whom I reference or the texts I reference; the point is sharing the thoughts. … Marianne Boruch points out an unfortunate, […]
On seeking too much “meaning” when writing
May 30, 2013 by
Back in February of 2012, I wrote the following “response paper” for a class on form and theory of poetry. I thought it might be worth sharing. Don’t worry if you are unfamiliar with whom I reference or the texts I reference; the point is sharing the thoughts. … William Carlos Williams says unhappily, in […]
Why you should care about conceptual poetry
May 24, 2013 by
To put it simply, conceptual poetry is about caring/highlighting what concepts constitute the poem—especially/most often, the concepts of process. The way that the poem is made is as integral as what the poem is; in other words, making = being. I see this as relating to the view that the essence of a thing/being cannot […]
May a poem have its own metaphysics
May 24, 2013 by
Back in April of 2012, I wrote the following “response paper” for a class on form and theory of poetry. I thought it might be worth sharing. Don’t worry if you are unfamiliar with whom I reference or the texts I reference; the point is sharing the thoughts. … Montale says, “For many years poetry […]
On seeking too much “meaning” when reading
May 24, 2013 by
Back in February of 2012, I wrote the following “response paper” for a class on form and theory of poetry. I thought it might be worth sharing. Don’t worry if you are unfamiliar with whom I reference or the texts I reference; the point is sharing the thoughts. … Fanny Howe says in her essay […]
The futility of “finding” one’s “voice”
May 13, 2013 by
What I say here relates to the “What is an aesthetic?” series (especially the third one). A few weeks ago, hearing a young poet say he is trying to find his voice sounded archaic to me. Archaic isn’t the right word, but it does the job. What I mean is, it felt like outdated idealism. […]
Making poetry go beyond oneself
May 13, 2013 by
When we think of immaturity, we think of a type of self-contained system. We find a poem to be immature when it is too limited by the writer’s self or experience (and when the poem lacks a density, but this will be for another time). There are many ways that poets try to make their […]
What is an aesthetic? Part 3
May 13, 2013 by
In two previous posts (see Part 1 and Part 2), I have been considering what an aesthetic is and, consequentially, what is meant when someone asks someone else what his/her aesthetic is. When one poet asks another poet about his/her aesthetic, what the first poet is wondering is how the other poet is both similar […]
What is an aesthetic? Part 2
May 13, 2013 by
In a previous post, I considered the meaning of the word “aesthetic” and its implications. When one poet asks another poet what his/her aesthetic is, the implication is that there are many types of aesthetics (why ask if there aren’t?) and that, therefore, there are a number of ways of recognizing/creating beauty. The other implication […]
What is an aesthetic? Part 1
May 13, 2013 by
When one poet asks another poet what his/her aesthetic is, this meaning of aesthetic seems to be the one used (taken from the OED): The philosophy of the beautiful or of art; a system of principles for the appreciation of the beautiful, etc.; the distinctive underlying principles of a work of art or a genre, […]