Reading Response #9

In the chapter covering subject, I was relieved to read I can still incorporate fantastical elements in my poetry. I feel there is a good deal of emphasis on avoiding hackneyed subjects and ideas in our writing. However, I am a big fan of fantasy and mythology. They are a part of my psyche. So the thought of me not being able to explore those areas because they are passé was unsettling. I felt a great deal better after this chapter giving advice on how to address even the clichéd.

Classmate Response #6 Stasay's "Bed Intruder Poem"

Really cool poem! I enjoy how you took the perspective of the intruder making his confession to the police officer. It was a nice twist at the end. My favorite line was, “Hey, homeboy! You’re not / Parking that Lincoln in this park”. I had a good laugh with that one! I have a contraction/rearrangement of my favorite parts of your piece below.

"Bed Intruder Rearrangment"

Animal instincts consume

Me.

The helpful garbage

Can rolls. Under

Dimly lit ledges.

As fingers grip

The ledge

My feet balance.

A swift pull and finally,

I could see

Her.

Glass instantly fogs

With unsatisfied passions. Slowly,

It opens.  

My feet hit the floor.

My limbs extend

So close to the ebony trophy

When all I hear

is

“Hey, homeboy! You’re not

Parking that Lincoln in this park.”

I really enjoyed the formatting in your poem. That seemed to be the strongest point in your piece. So what I did was try to go overboard with that. I also switched the verbs into the present. I know that they make sense in the past with the perpetrator recounting his story to the officer, I just wanted to see how the piece changed with a change in tense. Anyways, you have a great piece, I hope this helps with future revisions!

Random Impulse- Be

Just a free write I cooked up.

We are all immigrants of existence. None hold claim or first right. It wouldn’t matter though; most of us are still foreigners to being. We strut around, mimicking what we see and pretending to understand what it is to live. Only lost. Lost but never questioning. Or never questioning the right entity. Or not phrasing the question in the right manner.

Satisfied with only experiencing a shadow of what is self, of what our potential is. Most don’t care, knowledge is damning. Some do feel the despair of lacking. Its ok, there are pills for that. Just be a good citizen and feed the grotesque zone eater.  It’ll be over soon. A bird in the hand is worth more two in the bush. Don’t worry what else could be in the bush, take your pittance and smile. Hurting is bad, because if you hurt that means you’re feeling. Enjoy the numb. We’re all immigrants.

Junkyard- Week 6

Watched an old Johnny Depp film entitled Dead Man the other night, and enjoyed several quotes from the movie. It didn't hurt that the character, William Blake, is mistaken for the poet of the same name.

If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: infinite.- Bill Blake

The eagle never lost so much time as when he submitted to learn from the crow.- Nobody

That weapon will replace your tongue. You will learn to speak through it. And your poetry will now be written with blood. -Nobody

And finally, an excerpt of a piece from the poet, William Blake.

From, "The Everlasting Gospel"

The vision of Christ that thou dost see
Is my vision’s greatest enemy.
Thine has a great hook nose like thine;
Mine has a snub nose like to mine.
Thine is the Friend of all Mankind;
Mine speaks in parables to the blind.
Thine loves the same world that mine hates;
Thy heaven doors are my hell gates.
Socrates taught what Meletus
Loath’d as a nation’s bitterest curse,
And Caiaphas was in his own mind
A benefactor to mankind.
Both read the Bible day and night,
But thou read’st black where I read white.

Random Impulse- Maybe?

From one of my psychology horizon classes after a 3 hour session, I wrote it in persuasive form, but I felt like when I wrote it it had some poetic value to it. I really enjoyed Nietzsche's ability to incorporate prose and poetry into his writing, and that is something I am aspiring to at the moment. I look forward to and encourage any ideas and lines y'all think useful in poetics!


I want to post to express my pleasure with tonight’s session on mothers. I’m not a particularly gifted orator and it is usually hard for me to verbally express my thoughts in a clear way, especially when hearing other’s input on the subject (I tend to get lost in my thoughts). If my latter writings seem hubristic, I apologize; it is simply the way I was. Actually, I don’t, I want to give you a honest view of me. I thought very highly of myself.

As I stated earlier, I feel my ‘Wild Man’ is my pre-sobriety self. In high school and my first round of college, I was what I considered the quintessential male. Young, smart, affable, womanizing, skilled, well-received, and tough. I was the king, not jack, of all trades. I was able to perform extremely well at any task asked while still leading a ‘wild’ jubilee-oriented life. Coincidentally, my nickname in those days was ‘Wild West’. I oozed confidence from my various accolades in academics, athletics, service, social triumphs and scholarships.

Post-fallout, I needed a radical change. I had to throw out everything I associated with my addictive ways. I took up God and humility. I locked away, with little inventory, near all of what I was. It was necessary for me to sustain and survive. I grouped it all together. For awhile, I thought I was a ‘better’ person.

Presently, I have begun to question my whole-hearted dismissal of all of the things that made me, me. I feel I am life-preserving, but am I still life-giving? While it is hard for me to really correlate my ‘Wild Man’ with my mother possessing the keys, this discussion has really touched a spot in my current struggles, and I appreciate the words we have passed tonight. I’m beginning to think the ‘Wild Man’ I have locked away isn’t necessarily so wild, but some of him can, in fact, be embraced.

Junkyard- New Old Stuff

You keep your mouth shut or I'm going to come over there and slap your face. You're not talking to Dusty Rhodes buddy, you're talking to a couple of men. - Ric Flair( the guy who I loved growing up and who inspired me to participate in real wrestling)

I've been thinking a great deal about oration and delivery in poems lately, and quite frankly I can't stop turning back to the "professional" wrestling I grew up watching as a child(before it turned to too much script). Ric was always my favorite, and his improv skills were second to none. I enjoyed his ridiculous over-the-top hubris and boisterous nature on the stage. I still enjoy it now(Ric). I would really like to be able to develop a poem that captures the essence of his performance: pride, shamelessness, ego-driven, wild, womanizing, materialism-exalting, and entertaining( I could go on, but you get the point!) I don't know if it is even possible to use words to capture live performance to the degree I desire, but I think that is my new project. Link below if you would like to see what makes me smile!(My favorite part is near the end with Ric's 'Space Mountain' quote)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szKcLNmM1j8

Reading Response #8

Balance is what I gleaned from the ninth chapter on voice. For every pitfall in poetry, there is a counter using the same logic (or folly). I most enjoyed the explanation on “the dangerous because”. I like the idea of the poet not showing all his cards. It is also what annoys me about poetry.  Some published poetry (and maybe I haven’t read enough to fully appreciate) seem to lack any real substance and just aren’t enjoyable to read. Sometimes I just want something that is easily accessible and can be mostly enjoyed in a short time.

I definitely feel there is a fine line of leading the reader and allowing the reader to develop the conclusion. I worry that this ability is not something that can be fully developed practice alone. Reading other poems, balance almost seems like an intuition. Practice breeds.

Reading Response #7

The chapter on form and structure has probably been the most helpful for me thus far. One of the most difficult tasks for me in poetry is making use form in my work. I have a hard time figuring out where to

drop down to the next line or stanza. I can usually find a logical place to apply enjambment or an end-stop, but logical stopping points don’t always make an interesting read.

My favorite quote, “But a sizable part of our argument…suggests that so-called ‘creative’ and ‘critical’ imaginations should not be divorced from one another…” This idea helps convince me of the utility in practicing critique of other people’s work. I don’t really like having to analyze others’ work because I’m not skillful at it. My conclusion is starting to feel like a broken record, but I guess only more practice will aid.