Warning! Poetry!

Posted by Kellie | March 12, 2010 | 20 Comments

I would hugely appreciate such a warning, as I am incredibly wary of poems. They are dangerous, wily creatures that lie in ambush, lurking stealthily beneath words in my personal scary wilderness. Seemingly restful and innocent, luring me in closer to the stunning flourishes, the polished simplicity, the sweetness of gentle phrases, incredibly lovely to SNAP/?crunch&%^!wallop – and suddenly I’m dazed, leaking blood or tears and left aching in the dust. Or I see something fluorescent green with a clunky gait, seventeen heads and galloping backwards and am told to my bafflement “Oh, that’s a poem.”

Poetry represents my first concrete, unpleasant realisation that language could be mean. My teacher opened my mind to the beauty of poetry, so readily created in six little lines of rhyme, in something called (so delightfully to a besotted seven year old) a “lim-er-ick”. The giddiness lasted 10 minutes, until Mrs Sumpton told the whole class to make up a limerick about someone – and all but two of my classmates wrote a limerick about me. Kellie. Jelly. Telly. Belly. Oh, the inhumanity.

and in my bumbling fearful heartbreak I
find myself as useless in consolation as
I imagine; no more, no less … I loathe this
mortal question

Years passed, and I still wrote poetry (though not limericks if I could avoid it). I even took a poetry class at university and enjoyed every angst hounded syllable of it. I have several favourite Australian poems memorised, and songs that I classify as poetry with music. Nowadays, I read poems if they happens to be included in what I’m reading – generally through my Segullah journal subscription. But I worry that I just “don’t get it”, that the greater meaning is slipping past me, that I’m too dumb or trying too hard. Are poems (and all their lyrical layers) actually simple to understand?

in easy silence, tucking corners easily and
smoothing out the years of complication.

I love words. I love the way that some people can string them together just so to sear a picture in my imagination;

and someday you will run to me with
muddy hands and
pull on my shirt and
lay your head in that warm place between
my neck and my shoulder and

or share a relationship;

Rippling syllables, staccato-like words,
round his soft ears as he pretends to bend
around my life and understand. He sees me,

or a thought;

The quality exceeds the sum total of addends.
Add you up again—
and consider multiplication.

or a question;

Did she walk reluctant or
Grasp with arms open
To have her name forever
Braided with tragedy?

or pull my thoughts to the deeper in everyday

Silver lines snake up my belly
and my daughter claims them
with childlike pride and I’ve

I’m not a poet, and I know it. Like envying people who can sing in tune and on stage, I wish that I could create the music, the cascade of phrase and emotion into such precise, stunningly packaged morsels. But I can’t.

O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart…
…But behold, I… do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

But Lord, for the effort, and beauty, and connection that such talented women put into their poetry, I’m glad that somehow, somewhere, they are creating something that simply takes my breath away in connection and admiration.

Alleluia.

Do you like poetry? What do/don’t you like about poetry? Do you understand poems easily? Do you write poetry? Do you count song lyrics as poetry? What is poetry to you? What are some of your favourite poems, poets or poetesses?

Comments

20 Responses to “Warning! Poetry!”

Jennie
March 12th, 2010 @ 6:10 am

This is great, Kellie! I’m afraid I’m not a poetry lover. I like my writing a little more concrete. I always try to take poetry so literally and that always leads to frustration. I can’t believe I just admitted that here!
Gwenevere
March 12th, 2010 @ 7:41 am

I skipped over all the poems in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, however I’m been mesmerized by the poem that is “The Divine Comedy” (wish I knew Italian)

I’m not convinced that poetry is any more difficult to understand than any other parable or story…really. Poems require the reader to think and reflect. If you do that as a reader, then poems aren’t that much different, but I’m not so sure that most readers are reading for a challenge or to learn, they are reading for entertainment.

sewmanybooks.blogspot.com
wendy
March 12th, 2010 @ 8:22 am

I love this.

I like SOME poetry. If it’s very symbolic, I really don’t get it. My mind doesn’t think symbolically. This, then, is where I disagree with Gwenevere. I think deeply about many things and enjoy that process. I don’t often read to be entertained. Symbolism, however, is very challenging for me and without some outside help, leaves me lost and confused.

But some poems really do speak to me. And when I find poems I DO mostly understand, or poems that move me to tears, I wonder why I don’t read poetry more.

I am grateful for the poetry I had to memorize in highschool, and for my college classes that exposed me to more. I have tried to recall or re-memorize snippets of poems from my youth. I love Wordsworth, especially “The world is too much with us” and want to memorize Jabberwocky again. I remember loving Whitman. I will always remember Robert E. Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” for how artfully he put into words some of my childhood angst.

I have tried to write poetry, however lamely. Nothing very symbolic, but playful poems for friends, or descriptive poems, or pour-my-heart our poems.

Thinking about this compels me to pull out my unread Dickenson collection!
Giggles
March 12th, 2010 @ 9:07 am

Poetry has always been a part of my life. My mom has always written poetry and has even been published in many children’s magazines. That’s the level of poetry that she loves.

My high school English teacher was wonderful at teaching poetry. He didn’t make us analyze them too deeply, just learn them and think about them for us. One poem he introduced us too is “Terrance this is stupid stuff” which is a poem about how stupid poems are. But there are a few lines in it about how when you are ready, when you need them, poems are there. But if you aren’t ready for them then they make no sense.

Poetry is so much more than rhyme and meter. It’s art with words. Try reading the book “Love that Dog.” It’s about an elementary school boy and how he first hates poetry in school and then his journey with poetry.

And my favorite poet? That would be my husband who has written only one poem that I know of, and it was about us and he read it to me on our wedding night.
Angela
March 12th, 2010 @ 9:17 am

I remember as a freshman in college reading “The Love Song of J. Alfred Proofrock” by T. S. Eliot and the line, “I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each / I do not think they will sing to me” and thinking those words, somehow, precisely explained the way I’d been feeling. Nothing else had been able to capture it. I still have a soft spot for that poem. I fell in love with Gerard Manly Hopkins in college too and still turn to “Thou Art Indeed Just, Lord” when I’m feeling sorry for myself. (“Wert thou my enemy, O thou my friend / How would thou worst, I wonder, than thou dost / defeat, thwart me?”)

Some contemporary poetry leaves me cold (the editor at The New Yorker and I rarely agree, it seems) but I’ve been very glad for the chance to keep teaching, because it keeps me on the look out for great poetry. I admit I probably wouldn’t be seeking it out as actively otherwise. But I’m so glad when I do.

Great post!
Edje Jeter
March 12th, 2010 @ 9:59 am

“I’m not a poet…” I disagree, but it’s still a great post.
jendoop
March 12th, 2010 @ 10:23 am

A teacher ruined poetry for me too. 11th grade English, my usual teacher was awesome, but for one week we went to another teacher’s class to preview AP English. The first assignment was to analyze a poem with a friend. I had a lovely friend (a cute boy) after much deliberation we conquered the poem. The next day the teacher bluntly proclaimed us “WRONG” and we got a D for the assignment. Surprise, surprise – I didn’t take AP English and have since felt uncomfortable with poetry.

Looking back on it I feel that getting graded for analyzing poetry is a lot like getting graded for visual art – it should be more about the effort than the end result. Despite that logical rationalization, I feel that deep inside I just don’t have what it takes (understanding of symbolism, intelligence, vocabulary, pixie dust, whatever..) to understand poetry. There have been a few poems that I have appreciated, but I appreciate them privately for fear of being “WRONG”.
Melissa
March 12th, 2010 @ 10:27 am

Yes, definitely. There are so many different poetic styles. I fancied myself a poet for a little while. But my poetry is too simple perhaps to be called poetry? I love the sheer volume of meaning that can be expressed in a few well crafted lines.
jenny
March 12th, 2010 @ 10:52 am

There are definitely poems that I don’t “get”, but I, too, love words. I love them strung together; I love how they feel on my tongue and how they sound to my ears; I love how they evoke emotion and response; I love how some words can mean the same thing, but that one of them just manages to convey the right “feeling”.
There are too many poets for me to list my favorites– just too many! And I definitely think that *some* song lyrics can be beautifully poetic. I think that a few bad “experiences” with poetry can sadly lead people to completely shy away from it, be intimidated by it and dismiss it, but the beautiful thing about poetry is that there is so many different “types” (as you pointed out with the song lyric reference.) Thanks for sharing your thoughts on poetry, that was great.
Tay
March 12th, 2010 @ 11:12 am

That was a bad teacher, Jendoop. Especially since most answers are right so long as you can provide proof and evidence.

And Kel, your writing is lyrical and beautiful to read. Reading your thoughts is a lot like eating my favorite ice cream.

Poets who take themselves too seriously bother me (Ahem, TS Eliot). But those who write as a journey to discovery are inspiring. Keats, for example, wrote to discover meaning in everything. Even little things like a Grecian urn.

But because he taught me for a few hours in creative writing and then in a series of lectures, I’m afraid I have a deep and abiding love for Leslie Norris. I’m still a little devastated that he died because he really got it. He told us to write a small poem about anything. And then he recited a few spectacular ones, followed by the big reveal that they were written by 5 and 6 year olds. Yeah. So, the simpler the better (especially in subject) and more profound. Beautiful man with beautiful words.
Melissa M.
March 12th, 2010 @ 11:34 am

Tay, I had Leslie Norris for a creative writing class, too, and he was one of my favorite teachers. He was a wonderful writer, poet, and teacher!

Kellie, you’re a poet and you don’t know it. Seriously, so much of what you write is poetic. I loved this post. And I do love poetry, even when I can’t understand it.
mormonhermitmom
March 12th, 2010 @ 11:35 am

I don’t mind poetry that reveals universal themes, I don’t like stuff that is sooooo abstract all you can do is scratch your head and dismiss it, and I love a clever limerick (if it isn’t nasty or a putdown).

I’m not a poet in any sense of the word but I admire those who are. My favorite is Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss).
Amy SO
March 12th, 2010 @ 3:34 pm

I wrote a blog entry once about how poetry should come with a warning, sort of like the one on cigarette packages…only read the poems in this collection that you LIKE, and if you don’t like it read the next one! The response to poems is so personal, and everyone is looking for something different.

I love, love LOVE poetry. LOVE IT! That said, I am perfectly comfortable with knowing that quite a bit of it doesn’t resonate with me. I like knowing, though, that every poem resonates with someone!

Have any of you read Susan Howe? She is a BYU professor…awesome poet!
Emily M.
March 12th, 2010 @ 3:41 pm

I like the idea of reading and writing poetry. But it’s more work for me to read poetry than it is to read prose. It’s more like reading scriptures. I read novels to escape, and when I read poetry I can’t just consume all those words in huge quantities. I have to slow down and think, and I don’t often take the time for that.

But I would like to.

I love all the poems you linked to, Kellie. One thing I love about the poetry Segullah publishes is that it’s both accessible and layered–meaning that you should be able to appreciate it both the first time you read it and many times after.
Carrie Snider
March 12th, 2010 @ 5:35 pm

Awesome post. I agree, poetry does seem to be waiting to ambush us at any time. Look out! Sometimes it’s a good thing.
Selwyn - Kellie
March 12th, 2010 @ 10:36 pm

Indeed, poetry is a subject that EVERYONE has an opinion! And I am chuffed and relieved that I am not the only person who reads and says “…HUH?”

Giggles, for me your comment “Poetry is so much more than rhyme and meter. It’s art with words.” sums up poetry for me. That, concurrent with I don’t know what art is, but I know what I like!

Jendoop – it never occurred to me that you could be marked wrong for a poem analysis, let alone receive a D!

And thank you all for the recommendations for other poems to read (not that my thanks in any way implies I will understand them! )

Here is my shortest recommendation, in the form of my favourite haiku by Roger McGough:

The only problem
with Haiku is that you just
get started and then
Sue
March 13th, 2010 @ 12:03 am

I love poetry but prefer to read and write poems that are pretty accessible (probably because I minored in English and became weary of constantly over-analyzing all things written). I generally like to use rhyme and forms, though I’ll go with free verse when it seems to fit the moment.

I have one book of poetry published, entitled “His Children.” A website with about 175 of my poems can be found at http://susannoyesandersonpoems.com. I’m trying to get more of them up there, but it’s a time-consuming process.

As for my favorite poets, they are Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson and ee cummings, among others.

Enjoyed your post! Thanks.

=)
Cissy
March 13th, 2010 @ 12:28 am

Such great thoughts here! And I loved the excerpts. Sometimes I just want poetry–mostly the old reliables from last century. I’m astounded by the ability that so many have to say true, wise, beautiful things in perfect, concise, rhymed ways. I swear I think in rhymes after such a dose.

And then, occasionally, my cynical side says: so if I write down a lovely or non-sensical sentence in a vertical direction, would that be poetry?

Reminds me of that post a couple days ago about polarity: one day I need, the next I despise. Yikes, that sounds human.
Terresa Wellborn
March 13th, 2010 @ 1:33 am

Poetry, yep, I drink poetry, nearly daily when I can. It’s delicious.

I had a discussion with an LDS blog friend a few weeks back. She feels that a poem *must* rhyme, where I tend more towards free verse (especially after some grueling undergrad English lit classes that forced me to fit my words into iambic pentameters, haikus and such).

I write poetry because I find it demanding and yet finite. It can be a novel’s worth of thoughts condensed into just a few lines. I find poetry more concise, do-able at the moment than spinning out an entire manuscript.

My fave poets include but are not limited to:
William Stafford, Ellen Bass, Lucille Clifton, Rita Dove, Mary Oliver. Rich, Sexton, Bishop, Plath are also very good.
Michelle L.
March 16th, 2010 @ 10:27 am

I’m in awe of poets. Poems are jeweled creations and seem to stand the test of time better than most prose.

My son printed off Billy Collins’ “The Lanyard” for Christmas and wrote me a letter to go with it. It makes me tear up to even think of it.

I love the Segullah poems you linked too. I happen to believe that Segullah is publishing some of the best poetry of our time. I also love:

Blood and Milk by Sharlee Glenn

Early Harvest by Melissa Bradford

Inheritance by Darlene Young

and so, so many more.

Keep writing poets! I need to to open my heart.