[New-Poetry] poetics is childish

[Anny Ballardini]

*Soricomorpha: Talpidae*



*To the Old Mole*

* *

mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals
mammals

mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals
mammals

mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals
mammals



Asia,

North America,

Europe

the majority of members_ MOLES

cylindrical bodies, covered eyes

underground

living

boars & sows

in labor

_semi- & aquatic_

invertebrate

eaters

mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals
mammals

mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals
mammals

mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals mammals
mammals









On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 4:49 AM, John Jeffrey <jjeffreymail at yahoo.com>wrote:

> I set down to write, as I said I would earlier, my attempt at defining
> poetry's unique point--and I had big complicated plans--but it fizzled.
> Here's how it went:  I started out fighting David Graham's simple definition
> that poetry's unique point is lineation (see below).  Then after trying to
> make light of it, there it was, the truth of it, laid out likes lines of
> molehills.
>
> And yet I still want something more romantic in there, some mention of
> music, or brilliance, something about the curve of a woman's calf.
>
> But no, lineation it is.  Sigh.
>
> John J
>
> --------------------------------
>
> I don't agree with the lineation theory.  Or more precisely, I don't agree
> that all there is.  There has to be more!  There just HAS to be!  (He cries,
> hands to head.)  Otherwise, I could just break out anything into lines and
> cobble a poem, like:
>
>
> MOLE (animal)
>    by Wikipedia
>
> Moles are the majority of the members
> of the mammal family Talpidae in the order
> Soricomorpha. Although most moles burrow,
> some species are aquatic
>      or semi-aquatic.
>
> Moles have cylindrical bodies covered
> in fur, with small or covered eyes;
> the ears are generally not visible.
> They eat small invertebrate animals
>      living underground.
>
> Moles can be found in North America,
> Europe and Asia. Male moles
> are called boars; females are called sows.
> A group of moles is called
>      a labor.
>
> Hmmm.  Wait a minute.  Maybe that changes my mind.  Now I see that you
> can't really separate defining what poetry is without also defining (or
> trying to define) what good poetry is, because I've actually read poetry
> worse than that "poem" above.  But I've never believed that they're not
> poems, just that they're bad poems.  So then, yes, maybe the only real way
> to distinguish it is the lines...
>
> Crap.  He's right.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: David Graham <grahamd at ripon.edu>
> To: NewPoetry <new-poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu>
> Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 5:18:42 PM
> Subject: [New-Poetry] poetics is childish
>
> Verse is written in lines, not paragraphs--that's about the only definition
> I know of that holds water.
>
> As soon as you attempt anything more--e.g. poetry "foregrounds" language
> itself more than prose does; poetry is more metaphoric; poetry is lyrical
> rather than narrative at base, etc.--you soon find so many exceptions
> thronging that it's pointless to continue.
>
> So:  poetry's "unique point" is lineation.  Yes, I know there is such a
> thing as a prose poem.  But I've never seen any definition of that which
> did
> not rapidly dissolve into mysticism.  I like to call them things "prosies,"
> but the term has not caught on, I notice. . . .
>
>
> On 9/22/08 3:43 PM, "Roger Day" <rog3r.day at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I agree with you. But I was also wondering what you might describe as
> > poetry's unique point compared with other genres?
>
>
> ====================================================
> David Graham
> grahamd at ripon.edu
> Home Page:
> http://web.mac.com/drjazz/iWeb/Site/About%20Me.html
>
> Poetry Library:
> http://web.mac.com/drjazz/iWeb/Site/DGPoLibrary.html
> ====================================================
>
>
>
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-- 
Anny Ballardini
http://annyballardini.blogspot.com/
http://www.fieralingue.it/modules.php?name=poetshome
http://www.moriapoetry.com/ebooks.html
I Tell You: One must still have chaos in one to give birth to a dancing
star!
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