Re- by Dana Isokawa; The Agricultural Revolution by J. P. Grasser; Smalltown Lift by Brian Blanchfield; #64 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti; Then by Jorie Graham; Don't Look Back by Kay Ryan; Theories of Time and Space by Natasha Trethewey;
Are we listening loudly enough? Trees live and breathe
- but i we could hear the tears they cry would we then stop the madness?
This "nutshell" I start with this peace postcard I received in February -- in honor of Earth Day. Tomorrow at the Gell Center more Earth Day celebrations... see Poetry Happenings.
Nutshell:
Two Poems by Finalists... For centuries, poetry has been an art that explores the mysteries, joys and sorrows of life through sound and form. It would seem in Western culture, the Renaissance elevated Greek and Latin models which enjoyed a privilege status up until the 20th century where "modernists" broke rules in every field.
I find it thrilling that poetry can branch out, exploring possibilities in so many different directions, where some works may well join the "classics" and still find original, delightful and surprising ways to do it!
So, who were the judges of these finalists? Why were they chosen and by what criteria? I do not know. The Poetry Foundation published Poetry, a monthly review.
Perhaps like the New Yorker choosing a poem because it reflects a theme in the issue, there is some thread in the selection that could be helpful to understand.
However, the question comes up, and came up again this week, just how to define what it is we want poetry to be -- or what it is that intrigues us and draws us into some poems and not others. There is no single answer about "taste" in art, what some call "good" or what some might shun out of dislike or indifference. What we see each week in a group, is the sharing of what we like, what baffles us, and on the whole, are glad to stick with a poem even if at first glance it doesn't look accessible or meet our subjective standards for what is worth the effort. I thank everyone for such an open-minded and open-hearted attitude!
Re- : The title is curious. Not Re: followed by a colon as if about to start a memo but a hyphen as if coming to the end of a line and broken, then connected to the rest of a word we may not expect or know. The hyphen acts as a preparatory hint, as after reading the poem there are multiple words with "re", repeats of the actual word "repeat" as well as examples of things that seem to repeat, and a diverse list of things that have multiple versions of themselves. Rep, is not quite repeat, but like the French répétition, means rehearsal and/or practice. Re, as in done again, for instance in rewired comes again-- with a chance to change! We did discuss the repeat of the number seven and how often it comes up, whether for 7 Brides, 7 days of a week, 7 deadly sins, 7 seas, as lucky number, etc. When is repeating too much? As for taking it from the top coupled with the example of how two things which cannot change gives yet another spin for contemplating the how of repeating mistakes, history, or the degree of inevitability of repeating them. However, the poem ends with reassurance of how seeds, pages, pauses, paint "at a slower distortion" allow more light.
Why in the second stanza is the 3rd line not indented? I'm not sure. Is it because "Silence repeated" wants to be noticed?
I think most everyone agreed, this poem was enjoyable and the process of "getting to know it" like the pleasure of meeting a new friend. Perhaps after 6 more readings, we'll have 7 more ideas!
The Agricultural Revolution: The poem starts with a question, referring back to the title. Instead of sermonizing, the poem explores evolution and revolution, invention, using unusual images. What is happy accident, breakthrough, luck or love? As the poem says, "We'll never know". Why did we change from chasing deer to agriculture, and all we might associate with metaphorical cornflakes, packaged for profit ?
Some found a hint of cynicism going from 3rd to 4th stanza.
Although not a sermon, the last line of the 4th stanza is an unfortunately accurate assessment of humans thinking to "control the world."
I find the the changing lineation of the tercets interesting but cannot see a reason for alternating lineated and indented lines. The enjambments give a breathless acceleration, but then break s the flow. Ending with the double meaning of "the rest was history" could mean we are headed for the end. What happens after "scarcity, need" to write the history? The use of past tense locks down the end of the "Agricultural era" but gives no hint of the next revolution.
Smalltown Lift: For sure, rural America. Wonderful short narrative with a scrambling of speakers, and yet, we see a"he" a possible "she" or a different "he", and yet an objective observer calls them "they", while one of the two of them refer to themselves as "we". There's a certain charm in the telling... a little spice if you go deeper and think of the backstory or start to entertain thoughts not of a young teenager but possibly a scene with a pick-up hitchhiker. Or maybe the lift in the title is about driving a fellow town mate home, or even a small lift of mood.
#64: The poem starts out describing "the stage set", and since Shakespeare did write 13 of his 38 plays as taking place in Italy, although none specifically that take place at Piazza della Rotunda, one definitely can adopt a theatrical mindset. Is the flower seller part of the play? Is she a Cassandra, a fortune teller, a version of Carl Sandburg's "Tomorrow" as an old crone? "All the world is a stage and we are but players in it" (As you Like It) comes to mind. But there is this juxtaposition between old and young which evokes the proverb, "too soon old, too late smart". The paradoxical detail of the youngsters' future as "very distant roaring" is a perfect note to confirm how unpredictable life can be. The heedlessness of youth to see what they could well become.
Then: Then vs. Now. Then as a sequence of events, or Then to introduce as one person said a sequence of events where words are placed with fine tweezers. Many
heard the roll and tensions as music or focused on what seems to count in the poem:
holding each other... A different tone than the dark humor of the other agriculture poem,
but a sense of a tragic ending albeit embroidered with a delicacy of feelings.
Can love help by being aware of the world, its history, our illusions of how we want it to be. The poem is mysterious and although difficult to understand, there is something arresting in it.
Don't look back: This poem also has short lines but no breaks for breath. It starts almost humorously but moves on to something serious, chopping up details of fish, geese on the way. Loss... regret, trying to understand -- and yet, if we lose our focus on the here and now, the risk of further loss. Fish do feel pain. Although we admired the image of them as "torpedoes of disinterest" the word "distinterest" also sparked discussion about the difference between that and "uninterested". So neckless cannot be reckless and on what do they rely to check on their fry? I write that to emphasis the touches of rhyme and obvious spelling play with goose/look and losses, loses. But back to the poem, tell me, how does it work for you? I was glad it prompted several stories, including the myth of Orpheus.
Theories of Time and Space: The opening line pulls us in, as does the "tome of memory / its random blank pages" and the killer closing with the photograph -- the who you were, and the idea that you would return, to see it. Indeed, written in 2006, so Hurricane Katrina and its devastation are present, but hinted in an ominous manner.
We didn't discuss the title, but certainly, that would be important to do. Why "theories"?
How to understand time, space, disasters, life... perhaps is not through abstract theories but a few well-chosen particular details that the poet provides.
The Thomas Wolfe novel You Can Go Home Again came up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can%27t_Go_Home_Again
So did "Icarus Montgolfier Wright" the 1956 short story and 1962 animated film co-written by Ray Bradbury, exploring the history and spirit of flight through the dreams of an astronaut preparing for the first moon mission. The story merges mythological and historical figures—Icarus, the Montgolfier brothers, and the Wright brothers—to symbolize humanity's eternal drive to conquer the sky
No comments:
Post a Comment