UMMMM...WHAT?

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/