Gertrude Stein....wow. I could actually stop right there for this blog and leave the rest to the imagination but I'm not. I have to say her poetry is unlike any other I've ever read in my entire lifeand let's just say that the form did not exactly catch my fancy while reading it. Just reading through one of her free verse works last week made me feel so many emotions at once. Obviously "frustrated" would be a big one to set in play, maybe even confusion. I have the utmost respect for people that can actually get through her poetry in one sitting. You can tell this woman was actually a genius and strived to be different. She seems to stress routine of everyday conversation as it is processed through our head. I really can't see myself thinking in this form or manner or at least talking like this at all. I guess you could say that reading this aloud can sound a lot like OCD from an outside perspective. But what do I know right? I've learned a long time ago that in the so called "fine arts", what doesn't sound or look great to me, may be a complete work of art for another. There's always a reason that someone writes or does something a particular way. It's not there by accident. Although this form of poetry makes me feel queasy to a point, it is poets like Stein that give the arts such diversity within the works. With that claim, I have a hard time dismissing her poetry altogether despite my opinion.
Julie Mclsaac writes a few poems on her blog that are worth referencing. The one I chose, "The Old Punk" may be a lot more formal than Stein's but has a free verse feel to it. You can definitely see that Stein with her "Patriarchal Poetry" paved the way for aspiring poets for many generations to come. Especially with feminism prevalent in her poetry, Mclsaac also uses the stance in her writing. As I said before, this woman's poetry is nowhere near as confusing as Stein's but you can definitely somewhat of an influence in her works. http://lemonhound.com/2013/09/27/julie-mcisaac-after-basho/
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
As I read through the works of Paul Laurence Dunbar this week, I found his poems both intriguing with his use of dialect and his use of puzzling metaphors. First used in "We wear the Mask", Dunbar uses the object of a mask to stress the idea of how a person hides his emotion through just putting on an everyday fake smile. I guess you could say this poem really spoke to me because everyone has those days where we struggle to keep on fighting. We do our absolute best to show our strength in the time of weakness and put on a front of having everything under control. But in reality, sometimes we can be broken inside and it's all we can do just to put on a that famous fake smile of ours and go about day to day life. This poem wasn't exactly the most puzzling thing in the world to figure out but him using this symbolism is pretty spot on.
"When Malindy Sings" was another poem that stood out with its unique dialogue. It is really amazing to me how he can use this type of accent in his writing and still know exactly what is going on. You could almost tell that Dunbar knew exactly how to use the accent in the appropriate way. The culture must've been prevalent in his past for him to imitate it that well.
As I was searching for current poems, the options were not very limitless as I expected but I came across a poet from Winnipeg named Jon Paul Fiorentino. His poem "In Perfect Winnipeg" shows his cultural attachment to his country as he lists the different activities performed in each providence. Not a lot of similarities between these poets at all, but as far as cultural, they both are true to their roots.
http://lemonhound.com/2013/09/27/jon-paul-fiorentino-two-poems/
"When Malindy Sings" was another poem that stood out with its unique dialogue. It is really amazing to me how he can use this type of accent in his writing and still know exactly what is going on. You could almost tell that Dunbar knew exactly how to use the accent in the appropriate way. The culture must've been prevalent in his past for him to imitate it that well.
As I was searching for current poems, the options were not very limitless as I expected but I came across a poet from Winnipeg named Jon Paul Fiorentino. His poem "In Perfect Winnipeg" shows his cultural attachment to his country as he lists the different activities performed in each providence. Not a lot of similarities between these poets at all, but as far as cultural, they both are true to their roots.
http://lemonhound.com/2013/09/27/jon-paul-fiorentino-two-poems/
Thursday, February 13, 2014
formalization overkill?
One poem that stuck out to me out of the works of Robert Frost is one of his shorter poems called "Design". The overall structure of the poem seems to be overly dominated by similes and metaphors. Examples include "I found a dimpled spider, fat and white, on a white heal-all, holding up a moth like a white piece of rigid satin cloth" and "like the ingredients of a witches broth". Frost uses the characters of a moth and a spider as a metaphor in his writing to further emphasize the point he is trying to get across. His overall form is very "by the book" when using these different types of comparisons and very difficult to understand. For the common person reading this, confusion can be prevalent because the type of language used in the poem is very formal like. At first glance, even for me, the poem's linguistics distracted me from trying to understand the meaning of the poem.
Another poet I found, Christine Shan Shan Hou, writes a poem with some similarities and glaring differences in her writing. Her poem, "Heavy Head Cubism" talks about the modernization of the world and how civilization has taken over some of the more peaceful things in life. First off, she uses different similes and comparisons in a couple places, for instance " I am cruelest
when bumbling and weeping like a paper lily hiding from rain." Opposed to Frost's poem, Hou uses more modern language in her writings. Obviously, Frost has his own time period working against him, but for me, Hou's poem was that much more easy to read and understand. Sometimes being too formal in your writing is overkill. Don't get me wrong, Frost's poem is great but sometimes you don't need the full display to get what something means. http://lemonhound.com/2013/12/22/christine-shan-shan-hou-three-poems/
Another poet I found, Christine Shan Shan Hou, writes a poem with some similarities and glaring differences in her writing. Her poem, "Heavy Head Cubism" talks about the modernization of the world and how civilization has taken over some of the more peaceful things in life. First off, she uses different similes and comparisons in a couple places, for instance " I am cruelest
when bumbling and weeping like a paper lily hiding from rain." Opposed to Frost's poem, Hou uses more modern language in her writings. Obviously, Frost has his own time period working against him, but for me, Hou's poem was that much more easy to read and understand. Sometimes being too formal in your writing is overkill. Don't get me wrong, Frost's poem is great but sometimes you don't need the full display to get what something means. http://lemonhound.com/2013/12/22/christine-shan-shan-hou-three-poems/
Thursday, February 6, 2014
A Glimpse of a Car Shop
Walt Whitman's "A Glimpse" really shifts its reader back to the time period of when the poet himself lived. Lines such as "Of a crowd and of workmen and drivers in a bar room around the stove late of a winter's night" and "amid the noises of coming and going, of drinking and oath and smutty jest" really personify the surroundings for the time period. Whitman does a wonderful job at putting us in that small town bar where all the drivers and workers go to relax and take a load off. Although short, Whitman cuts right to the point of his poem when he uses a small child as the object of attention. In the very last line "There we, two content, in happy being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word" draws the eye of affection and completely changes the direction of the poem. When Whitman puts the last few lines in, he gets the point across of having an emotion so innocent that doesn't fit in the surroundings that it touches the reader.
In comparison, a blog I came across posted a series of poems written by Krystal Languell. One of her poems named "Hydraulic" really caught my eye. She writes a situational poem about sitting in a car shop and waiting for the full report about what is wrong with his or her car. Along with this, she writes that a discussion is taking place between the men fixing the car. The men have fixed the car but the person in the poem learns their lesson about taking their car to be fixed in with places that do not claim sales tax.
Although the poem in this situation doesn't match up to the formalness of Whitman's, they do show similarities. One of the major one's is the situational poetry used by both poets. As mentioned before, they both take the reader into the situation and make them feel as if they were actually there.
Languell's poem: http://lemonhound.com/2013/09/27/krystal-languell-five-poems/
In comparison, a blog I came across posted a series of poems written by Krystal Languell. One of her poems named "Hydraulic" really caught my eye. She writes a situational poem about sitting in a car shop and waiting for the full report about what is wrong with his or her car. Along with this, she writes that a discussion is taking place between the men fixing the car. The men have fixed the car but the person in the poem learns their lesson about taking their car to be fixed in with places that do not claim sales tax.
Although the poem in this situation doesn't match up to the formalness of Whitman's, they do show similarities. One of the major one's is the situational poetry used by both poets. As mentioned before, they both take the reader into the situation and make them feel as if they were actually there.
Languell's poem: http://lemonhound.com/2013/09/27/krystal-languell-five-poems/
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