Poetry to me, is a way for people to express their emotions and view points. I would compare it to tattoos. People get tattoos because they like the way they look and it also serves as a meaning to their lives, personality etc. Poetry acts in the very same way. People express themselves through writing in various shapes and forms. These styles can arrange from derange sonnets about the love of their life, to poems that have absolutely no style or structure. For example, Shakespeare, Mullen, Berrigan, Wetherington, and Hinako Abe all have different writing styles and structures. Granted, they come from different time periods, but it is important to note that every poet writes differently. I really have come to believe that there is really not set way to write poetry.
After thinking about how poems are made and looking at what I wrote above, I believe there is no set way to make a poem. There are styles people generally follow, but it seems they are only used as a reference. For the most part poems are composed of the same elements. By this I mean that they are written with the use of metaphors, similes, contain ambiguities (at times) and sensory details. However, the way poets organize and arrange words and lines is truly amazing.
So far, I have learned that poems are rather complex. There is more thought that goes into them that most people would think. Between deciding how to structure the poem and deciding its content makes for quite the challenge. Further, I have come to believe that no matter how many time you read or look at poems, there is always more to learn about them. It is quite fascinating how much one can really take away from such a topic.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
City Eclogue by Ed Roberson
The major themes that this author seems to reiterate are life, cities, and the destruction of the Earth. It seems that the author is making a push for naturalism or is an environmentalist.
(the collection), on page 52 first caught my attention because the title was rather interesting. It is in parenthesis an all the letters are lower case. Further, it was unlike other titles in this book because it was not in bold. The structure of this particular poem also caught my attention. Like the other poems, each section is made up of two lines. More specifically, there are fifteen sets of two. In addition to the structure, the author made use of gaps in almost every section. These gaps, I suppose provide a breather or absorption period for the reader. It reminds me of the pauses when playing a piece of music. I think it serves as a beat or tempo to the poem. Finally, I noticed that he included a beginning parenthesis in the fourth line, but did not include an ending parenthesis. "(& abt their papers" this part just did not make sense. He included two abbreviations and I am not sure what he is trying to relay. Maybe and about their papers.
While reading this poem, I was able to sense various details. Such as on page 53 where he talks about someone setting their recyclables to the curb. The wind caused the bottles to bounce about the street. I can picture this scene, feel the breeze, and also hear the bottle hitting against the curbs and pavement. Visually, this poem is alive. Finally, he described our lives as being on a schedule. We know when to pay our bills by, when the take the garbage out for pickup etc. This is very true, our lives our constantly revolving around a clock. But, the one thing we cannot really schedule is when we die. He described it as we only get notices for the things we do know about. However, we never get a notice that we are about to die.
The second poem, Escape Training: Instructor's Flying Rappel on page 121, also brought my senses to life. From the jumping off a cliff (or building) makes my stomach tense up. Further, when he discusses the fire I can hear the fire alarms, people screaming, the crackling sound of a fire and the sirens from fire trucks. I can also smell the smoke, feel the heat and even feel the moment of panic. Next, the structure is very similar to the poem above, but there are only fourteen sets of two. The gaps or pauses are once again used, and there is also an even larger gap between one section and the next.
It was interesting how he described the life of a fire fighter. He showed the risk of how they do the maneuvers, some times you have to do them with out the aid of a rope and still manage your way down the levels of a burning building.
(the collection), on page 52 first caught my attention because the title was rather interesting. It is in parenthesis an all the letters are lower case. Further, it was unlike other titles in this book because it was not in bold. The structure of this particular poem also caught my attention. Like the other poems, each section is made up of two lines. More specifically, there are fifteen sets of two. In addition to the structure, the author made use of gaps in almost every section. These gaps, I suppose provide a breather or absorption period for the reader. It reminds me of the pauses when playing a piece of music. I think it serves as a beat or tempo to the poem. Finally, I noticed that he included a beginning parenthesis in the fourth line, but did not include an ending parenthesis. "(& abt their papers" this part just did not make sense. He included two abbreviations and I am not sure what he is trying to relay. Maybe and about their papers.
While reading this poem, I was able to sense various details. Such as on page 53 where he talks about someone setting their recyclables to the curb. The wind caused the bottles to bounce about the street. I can picture this scene, feel the breeze, and also hear the bottle hitting against the curbs and pavement. Visually, this poem is alive. Finally, he described our lives as being on a schedule. We know when to pay our bills by, when the take the garbage out for pickup etc. This is very true, our lives our constantly revolving around a clock. But, the one thing we cannot really schedule is when we die. He described it as we only get notices for the things we do know about. However, we never get a notice that we are about to die.
The second poem, Escape Training: Instructor's Flying Rappel on page 121, also brought my senses to life. From the jumping off a cliff (or building) makes my stomach tense up. Further, when he discusses the fire I can hear the fire alarms, people screaming, the crackling sound of a fire and the sirens from fire trucks. I can also smell the smoke, feel the heat and even feel the moment of panic. Next, the structure is very similar to the poem above, but there are only fourteen sets of two. The gaps or pauses are once again used, and there is also an even larger gap between one section and the next.
It was interesting how he described the life of a fire fighter. He showed the risk of how they do the maneuvers, some times you have to do them with out the aid of a rope and still manage your way down the levels of a burning building.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Emily Dickinson & Natalie Goldberg
Emily Dickinson: Love, hurt and life. These three words capture the meaning of poem 374 by Emily Dickinson. The feelings behind this piece are phenomenal. From her sensory language describing the heart, i.e. "the heart has narrow Banks", to describing the hurt we feel i.e. "Till Hurricanes bisect" when dealing with a troubling issues. While reading this poem I could feel the hurt and love she tried to describe. I think anyone who has every been in love feels what she is trying relay to the reader.
Further, the structure is interesting. She capitalized several words such as "Heart", and "Calm". The meaning behind this is a mystery. Each capitalization, in each line is located roughly in the middle or end. There seems to be no pattern at all to this style of writing.
Finally, there are only a few concrete images that I was able to gather. The first that stood out to me was "narrow Banks". Next, the "unattempted Gauze" and finally the "Hurricane". All of these items seems concrete to my mind. :) Finally, the last thing I noticed was that unattemped is not a word.
Natalie Goldberg: Overlooking a fact can ultimately cost you a case. Therefore, I agree with "The Power of Detail". No matter what, details are very important to any writing. It sets the facts straight and allows for those dark areas to be brought to light. I think the way Natalie Goldberg described it, was enlightening yet true. " Our details are important. Otherwise, if they are not, we can drop a bomb and it doesn't matter" (p 43). Even in the legal field, attorney's are always telling their paralegals to get the facts. The facts are essential to settling a case. This is probably one of the most important chapters of her books because the little things really do mean a lot. Therefore, writing down the little details can make all the difference in the world.
Further, the structure is interesting. She capitalized several words such as "Heart", and "Calm". The meaning behind this is a mystery. Each capitalization, in each line is located roughly in the middle or end. There seems to be no pattern at all to this style of writing.
Finally, there are only a few concrete images that I was able to gather. The first that stood out to me was "narrow Banks". Next, the "unattempted Gauze" and finally the "Hurricane". All of these items seems concrete to my mind. :) Finally, the last thing I noticed was that unattemped is not a word.
Natalie Goldberg: Overlooking a fact can ultimately cost you a case. Therefore, I agree with "The Power of Detail". No matter what, details are very important to any writing. It sets the facts straight and allows for those dark areas to be brought to light. I think the way Natalie Goldberg described it, was enlightening yet true. " Our details are important. Otherwise, if they are not, we can drop a bomb and it doesn't matter" (p 43). Even in the legal field, attorney's are always telling their paralegals to get the facts. The facts are essential to settling a case. This is probably one of the most important chapters of her books because the little things really do mean a lot. Therefore, writing down the little details can make all the difference in the world.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Shakespere, Mullen, Berrigan
Shakespeares sonnets are difficult to understand. What I am able to gather from studying his pieces is that he wrote about love. The passion he put into describing his love is quite robust. Further, it seemed this piece jumped around. For example he went from writing about loving someone to his "misress' eyes are raven black"(188). This made understanding this sonnet difficult.
Berrigans piece was relatively difficult to understand as well. There was reference to Marilyn Monroe and how he was upset with her for eating "King Korb popcorn"(xv). Next he Continued on to talk about some lady, probably still Ms. Monroe but I'm not sure about what the connection he is trying to make.
Finally, Mullens piece was very short and to the point. He described a ice cream truck and how it would help him cool down with a ice cream cone. This was a descriptive poem yet I could understand what he was trying to get at.
Berrigans piece was relatively difficult to understand as well. There was reference to Marilyn Monroe and how he was upset with her for eating "King Korb popcorn"(xv). Next he Continued on to talk about some lady, probably still Ms. Monroe but I'm not sure about what the connection he is trying to make.
Finally, Mullens piece was very short and to the point. He described a ice cream truck and how it would help him cool down with a ice cream cone. This was a descriptive poem yet I could understand what he was trying to get at.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
First Blog Post--EVER!
Welcome to my Creative Writing Blog for CRTW-201! Wish me luck--poetry is not in this girls blood.
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