[New-Poetry] from the Writer's Almanac

[Chris Lott]

On Sun, May 3, 2009 at 10:29 AM, TheOldMole <Opus40-01 at opus40.org> wrote:
> Speaking as the worthless guy, it makes no difference if the lines don't get
> in the way of your appreciation of the poem, some difference if they do.
>
> I wonder, though -- are there any elements of craft that are worth
> discussing, or is scansion the only worthless one?

Worthless might be putting it too harshly (about elements of craft, it
is CERTAINLY not applicable to you)... but in practical terms the fact
that scansion is so personalized makes it rather less valuable, or at
least moves it into a different-- and honestly more interesting-- area
of interest.

More importantly, I wasn't as interested in an argument as I was (and
still am) in simply seeing how different people scan the lines in
question. I mean, since it was explicitly brought up... If that could
be done without arguing about right and wrong (that's the worthless
part), it would be very interesting. Anyone care to share their
interpretation?

Personally, I think all elements of craft are worth discussing, even
if sometimes particular claims might be of dubious value.

c