[New-Poetry] What is bad poetry?

[David Graham]

Some interesting juxtapositions in Ron Silliman's latest blog.

http://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/

Silliman presents a link to Robert Pinsky's latest Poet's Choice  
column <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/ 
2006/06/08/AR2006060801348.html>, in which Pinsky takes the old  
warhorse for a leisurely run around the track.  Pinsky's typically  
intelligent take on "what is bad poetry?" quotes a famous Edgar Guest  
poem and gives it is due as a skillful piece of writing appealing to  
a mass readership.  Pinsky understands that this kind of sentimental  
verse, glib and shallow as it is, nonetheless isn't easy to write,  
and does meet a real desire  among huge numbers of readers.  He goes  
on to say that such desires are most often met these days by the  
lyrics of pop music of all kinds.  A decent analysis, I think.   
Pinsky closes with a poem by Marianne Moore about which he does not  
need to say much--a different kettle of fish entirely from Edgar  
Guest, obviously.

Silliman doesn't make any comments on Pinsky's piece, just presents  
the link under a photo of Pinsky in a possibly photo-shopped  
pugilistic pose.  But it's not hard to imagine the luscious sarcasm  
RS might indulge in, were he to find Pinsky's remarks worth  
responding to.  His opinion of Pinsky's work is hardly a well kept  
secret.

Thus it was with fine amusement that I see, just above the Pinsky  
link, some lines presented as an example of palpably *good* poetry.   
They are by Lisa Robertson, and come from her "new and wonderful" and  
even "great" book, in fact an "instant classic":  *The Men*.

What is good poetry, then?

Here's a taste--

Men deft men mental men of loving men all men
Vile men virtuous men same men from which men
Sweet and men of mercy men such making men said
Has each man that sees it
Cray as men to the men sensate
And their poverty speaking to the men
Is about timeliness men is about
Previous palpability from which
The problematic politics adorable
And humble especially
Young men of sheepish privilege becoming
Sweet new style

--Lisa Robertson

And one more excerpt:

Each man – I could write
His poem. He needs no voice.
But what would I take from it. Our facades are so
Minor. What would I begin to say
If his words were
My poem. I am preoccupied with grace
And have started to speak expensively – as in
Have joys
Which look like choice
Ill-matched to its consequence
As laughter to a fall – bad memory
Poorly researched life
The men’s
Cocks
And their faces
As we do so
Fall upwards.

--Lisa Robertson



For Silliman's typically interesting and detailed analysis, see his  
blog (address above).



==========================================
David Graham
grahamd at ripon.edu
Home Page:
http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/GrahamD/index.html
Poetry Library:
http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/GrahamD/poetrylib.html
==========================================



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