[New-Poetry] Calling Dr. Giggles (& an unfunny poem)

[Rachel Loden]

Finnegan, thanks for that link (below) to The Dangerfield Conundrum, our
roundtable on humor and poetry at Jacket. It's at least a start, and of
course (hello Sam Gwynn!) an incomplete and imperfect one, on an even
larger, more boisterous discussion.

And if you're so inclined, have a look at Edward Byrne's blog One Poet's
Notes: he links to my not-very-funny poem "Reconstructed Face," which is
poem of the week at the Valparaiso Poetry Review for one more day:

http://www.valpo.edu/english/vpr/lodenreconstructed.html

Rachel Loden

________________________________

	From: new-poetry-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu
[mailto:new-poetry-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu] On Behalf Of jforjames at aol.com
	Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007 8:50 AM
	To: new-poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu
	Subject: Re: [New-Poetry] Calling Dr. Giggles
	
	
	Suzanne, there is no aversion. I was saying the editor of Poetry
wanted to see more humorous poems
	submitted to poetry...she stated that she wasn't seeing enough of
them.
	http://www.poetrymagazine.org/magazine/0706/
	David Graham tried to point out to her in a letter, as I recall,
that there were quite few poets who regularly published funny poems. 
	
	But I thnk the Poetry editor was correct...by & large we poets are a
dour lot. Jack Gilbert has a short poem that goes something like, 'The Greek
sailors don't play on the beach and I don't write funny poems'. (But he has
frolicked a few times.)
	
	Recently there was a special feature in Jacket on humor & poetry
that came out various discussions on the HumPo list.
	http://jacketmagazine.com/33/humpo-discussion.shtml
	
	Finnegan
	
	The total absence of humour from the Bible is one of the most
singular things in all literature.
	
	--Alfred North Whitehead
	quoted in Price's Dialogues of Alfred North Whitehead




	-----Original Message-----
	From: Suzanne Burns <atelierjewelweed at gmail.com>
	Bcc: jforjames at aol.com
	Sent: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 9:42 pm
	Subject: Re: [New-Poetry] Calling Dr. Giggles
	
	


	On 9/6/07, jforjames at aol.com <jforjames at aol.com> wrote: 

		One of the asst. editors of Poetry (in the special Humor
issue) complained that there was dearth of comic poetry among the many
submissions they get each year. 
		
		Finnegan



	What is this big aversion people have to funny, witty poems?  I have
never been able to figure that out.   I think humor is one of the highest
forms of intelligence.  Its a kind of emotional transcendance, an ability to
break through the bullshit and defalte it with laughter.    What could be
more valuable in a poem?  A lack of a sense of humor just stinks of
cowardice.
	
	Someone explain this to me please.
	
	Suzanne Burns
	


	_______________________________________________
	New-Poetry mailing list
	New-Poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu
	http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/new-poetry
	
________________________________

	Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail
<http://o.aolcdn.com/cdn.webmail.aol.com/mailtour/aol/en-us/index.htm?ncid=A
OLAOF00020000000970> !