[New-Poetry] What I witnessed

[John Jeffrey]

-- "Now, was that applause for me, for the poem, or for the sentiments in the poem?  You know, applause can be so ambiguous."

THAT is what (at least) I am talking about, that sentiment makes many people raise their opinion of a poem, praising flabby, bland poems to the status of "powerful" if they agree with the point of view put forward by the poet.

John Jeffrey



--- On Wed, 7/2/08, David Graham <grahamd at ripon.edu> wrote:
From: David Graham <grahamd at ripon.edu>
Subject: [New-Poetry] What I witnessed
To: "new-poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu & Views" <new-poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu>
Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 9:00 AM


I haven't read CD Wright's book & have no opinion on it as poetry, journalism, or anything else.  I confess her work has left me cold for some time, but I also haven't kept up with it.  
The Poetry Of Witness, though, is a phrase that I find interesting, in part because of its basic ambiguity, coupled with the fervor with which it often is deployed, both by fans and by skeptics.  
Back in the late 1970s I witnessed a wonderful moment at a reading given by Robert Francis.  This would have been in Amherst, Massachusetts, at the Jones Library.  After reading a number of his charming, simple-seeming lyrics to the polite murmurs of the audience, Francis then recited a fairly strident anti-war poem--to enthusiastic applause.  
The poet stood there, looking quizzical for a long moment (I am aware how studied his performance may have been), waiting for the applause to subside into smug silence.  Then he very delicately inquired, "Now, was that applause for me, for the poem, or for the sentiments in the poem?  You know, applause can be so ambiguous."



  
 

========================================David Grahamgrahamd at ripon.edu
Home Page:http://web.mac.com/drjazz
Poetry Library:http://web.mac.com/drjazz/iWeb/Site/DGPoLibrary.html==========================================


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


      
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/pipermail/new-poetry/attachments/20080702/bdff6b58/attachment.html