The Lounge Poetry Discussion: Thread Idea

[samsdmf]

I have done a quick search back in the Lounge archives and there seems to be nothing relating to discussing poetry. I am not qualified in Literature (English isn't even my first language), more of just an interested onlooker who would like to see how other people view things.
Would anyone else be interested in a weekly discussion thread on a poem?
If so how do you think it should be run; the standard method in this sort of thing is a poll of options nominated by the forum- the only problem with this is that I would like the thread to explore poems people may have never heard before and, a poll may edge people into their comfort zone, voting for poems that are familiar to them.
The other option is having a 'leader' each week who nominates a poem and nominated the next weeks leader.

Thought Id pitch this thread to see what you think, if we can get a reasonable bunch of people it could get quite interesting.

[KilgoreTrout]

I'd be interested.
Here's an easy one for starters:

Digging by Seamus Heaney

[arod18]

...or this one

[John Cole]

One Art


The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster,

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three beloved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

-- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) a disaster.

Elizabeth Bishop

[samsdmf]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd be interested.
Here's an easy one for starters:

Digging by Seamus Heaney

[/ QUOTE ]
Heaney is brilliant, quite possibly the greatest living poet.
What actually triggered my idea to make this thread was reading a book of Edgar Allan Poes Poems, Fairyland is possibly my favourite

[samsdmf]

[ QUOTE ]
...or this one

[/ QUOTE ]

This would also be a great starting point, stunning, topical poem.

Some other suggestions
Andrew Marvell: To His Coy Mistress is a bit naughty but very entertaining, Marvell was a very interesting writer

Wiliam Henry Davies : Leisure The Welsh seem to have a gift of putting sorrow into words, Davies; as a tramp, living in Wales with one leg knows what desperation is.

Wilfred Owen: Dolce et Decorum Est Quite possibly my favourite poem, although a bit heavy to start with- Written by another Welshman; one of the most honorific portrayals of war ever put into words

[Blarg]

I like this idea quite a bit. With the caveat that I am a poetry curmudgeon and think it has largely lost its way and come to deserve what could fairly be called its irrelevance in today's culture, and certainly its lack of popularity in it.

This, to me, is because it has largely lost its nature as song. Poetry is, like it or not, an elite use of language. You can't just be a total bungler and say your poem is good just because your mommy likes it. Without rhythm or rhyme, it may be an everyman's art, but it loses so much it becomes prose, often pretentious and overloaded prose at that. The public has turned from it quite naturally and deservedly, as it has become the case that pretty much everything, no matter how clunky and drab, can be called poetry without stifling a laugh.

If poetry is discussed, then going with familiar names or unfamiliar names would be okay, but I agree that we should probably skip an author's most famous poems, at least at first. Many of us have already sat through them in class or read them on our own. But many writers have quite a few other gems. Some of them may feel minor in comparison to their big ole heavy monsters, but for beginning discussions, the minor poems would be a quicker, easier way for us to get up to speed on what we like about these discussions without it taking forever, or much background research to really contextualize things.

[KilgoreTrout]

good post Blarg.

I agree that just because someone calls something a poem doesn't make it so. Poetry to me implies formal structure (though the structure can be something conventional like a sonnet, modern and contemporary poetry typically establishes an internal structure). It also means that the form is used purposefully (e.g. to conceal meaning, establish tempo, quicken or slow the readers' pace, impart action, etc.) in order to impress something bigger on the reader. Truely beautiful poetry blends structure an imagery into one cohesive experience.

There are a few ways to approach this. While there's only so far a discussion can go regarding the formal aspects of a piece, those aspects remain crucial. We can count syllables, alliteration, consonance, meter, etc. but I think the OP's intent was to break down individual poems and discuss themes, images, references, etc - concepts.

I think there's common ground. We have enough readers here to have all the bases covered.

[diebitter]

I like this idea.

[John Cole]

Then



You looked up vaguely

or you didn’t—even the memory

is dying. Then your whole body

breathed out, and the argument ended.



Heaven surfaced about you

like a glass tabletop, hard

and cold. Whatever you do



don’t turn me into poetry. Sorry:

I am done crying about it



but I am not done crying.



Here's a poem on the loss of a loved one by Daniel Hall, who, btw, will be reading in Lincoln, RI, on April 24th as part of the Galway Kinnell Poetry Series. I know most of you don't live in the area, but anyone who does and wants to attend can ask me for directions.