On Poetry
I bravely posted into the A215 Creative Writing conference confessing that I don't like poetry probably because as a schoolgirl I had to learn by heart and then recite 'How They Brought The Good News From Ghent to Aix' by Browning for an English exam. I was shocked when I re-read this poem for the first time for years as the words and rythm came flooding back to me - and I still hate it.
A fellow student replied, telling me that I did better than Browning himself and posted a link to an actual historic recording of Browning reading his own poem and having to keep beginning again as he'd forgotten it. This made me laugh muchly.
I moved on in the Creative Writing book to the poetry section as I need to get a grip and did the first activity. This was a timed activity of fifteen minutes and writing in lines about a photo - what happened before the photo was taken, what happened next, being a character in the photo and imagining writing a postcard to somebody based on the photo. A strange experience indeed. By the time I stopped writing I had something resembling a sort of poem! I impressed myself.
I am facing my demons?
posted by Buggles Balham High Road at 8:11 AM
.JPG)
11 Comments:
You've reminded me - A good few years ago I spent a couple of weeks writing poetry. I don't know what got into me but I thought I would try something different. I've still got the poems but they are hidden underneath all my photographs and stuff. I have a mental note to destroy them before I die. I couldn't possibly let anyone read them. :-)
That's the scarey bit Kat - showing them to others. We've got to do this in our tutor groups for critiques. I'm still at the Pam Eyres level of poetry.
Get those poems out and read them again. ;-))))
:-)
No need to get them out. It took me so long to write them I can almost remember them word for word. :-D
And now that you have engendered a certain level of interest, or at least curiosity - let us see them.
Yes, can we see your poems, Morning? I like Pam Eyres.
Hey Kat! Sinclair wants to see your poems and not mine - so there ;-))))
No chance. :-)
There's a mystique about poetry that simply isn't there with other literary forms. "Everyone has a novel in them" we're told, but nobody says "anyone can write a poem." Which is more difficult?
Poetry is just a particular way of using language. Don't be scared. A really good book is Getting into Poetry by Paul Hyland
At the moment I feel that poetry is more difficult Rob.
Thanks for the book recommendation-I've ordered it from Amazon and I know I shall be very grateful for your help.
Trying not to be scared ;-)
Good - hope you enjoy the book, which is very practical. Feel free to use me as your poetry correspondent,
BTW, if you want to see how far poetry can go, look at the experimental stuff on my colleague Robert Sheppard's blog (link from my blog). Now that IS scary...
Thank you Rob - and I shall. I've been to the Robert Sheppard link from your Blog before - but that was before I had the course books!
Now I shall visit and perhaps see things differently?
I am sort of scared but then why do a Creative Writing if a bit of scare doesn't come into it?
Do you know the book we've been sent as our OU materials? Apparently the hard cover is for sale in all good book shops and it costs a fortune. The edition we have as our materials is £19.99 in paperback and available everywhere.
As you can tell, I am enjoying the course already and it doesn't begin until February.
Post a Comment
<< Home