#16
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#17
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As The Poems Go
as the poems go into the thousands you realize that you've created very little. it comes down to the rain, the sunlight, the traffic, the nights and the days of the years, the faces. leaving this will be easier than living it, typing one more line now as a man plays a piano through the radio, the best writers have said very little and the worst, far too much. |
#18
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My Rx would be Robert W. Service. He's most famous for his poems about the Klondike Gold Rush, but all his stuff is great. He had a wonderful sense of humor... Google: "The Cremation of Sam McGee", or "The Men Who Don't Fit In", and see what you think? Don |
#19
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Quote:
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guitars: 1978 Beneteau, 1999 Kronbauer, Yamaha LS-TA, Voyage Air OM Celtic harps: 1994 Triplett Excelle, 1998 Triplett Avalon (the first ever made - Steve Triplett's personal prototype) |
#20
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I have read a lot of Frost, Robinson, and Dickinson. I think that Billy Collins is quite accessible.
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Peace, Jimmy Optima dies, prima fugit |
#21
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Leonard Cohen is (was) a modern day musician/poet well worth a read.
His book “The Flame” is a wonderful collection of some of his contemporary work.
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"pouring from the empty into the void " |
#22
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Yeah I guess I may have started out on the wrong foot. 😂
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HD-28 Hog GS Mini |
#23
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Poetry is just musical speech -- that said it's a broad field. That first part, musical, can bring pleasure and it can also bring abstraction. Music is very abstract, yet it doesn't necessarily bother us that it is so. I know the feeling of which you speak, the "what the heck is he talking about or trying to say?" thing. Yet, some poets do seek to make an immediate description, story or point. Some do that but then have another layer intended just below that first one. Some intentionally or not aim for that "What is that?" response from the get go. Also since poetry has been written in some form of English for over 500 years you have antiquated language and usage to deal with sometimes as well. A whole lot of times I'll read a poem (and I read a lot of them for my project) and I'll say just what you say above. If there's some beautiful word-music or a phrase that catches me and grabs me I may then continue and not only ask that question but try to answer it. That attempt at understanding someone or their poem slowly can be pleasurable. The musical part of musical speech may lure you in. There's no test, no score, on that understanding. Part of why I do my Parlando Project with music is that a lot of song lyrics, including popular songs, are not understandable in a quick read, I got it! way. We allow that because the musical part of musical speech is even more overt in songs with lyrics. My project generally must use work from before 1925 (poets or their rights holders are either wary or uninterested in their work being performed with music, and pre-1925 work is in the public domain.) I've got multiple examples of most of the pre-1925 poets suggested upthread performed, sometimes with acoustic guitar. Poets who I like from that era who usually have some kind of accessibility on first read (and quite often if you let them sink in and brew, more layers underneath): William Butler Yeats. Beautiful word music! There are pieces where he's being puzzling or referring to esoteric symbols (Yeats was more into the occult than Jimmy Page) but most readers get pleasure on their first reads or listens. Carl Sandburg. Sandburg has longer poems in a Walt Whitman of the early 20th Century mode, but I also like the short Imagist poems that sometimes ask you to consider something after you've read a poem of less than 10 lines. For example, did you every ask yourself, what kind of cat is the fog like in his famous cat's feet poem? I'd suggest short poems if you want to test if "understanding slowly" may be something you want to try. I strongly suspect Woody Guthrie wouldn't have been Woody Guthrie without Sandburg. And Bob Dylan sought him out at the very time his songwriting was exploding. Robert Frost. A great example of a poet many think they get on first reading but often has something sly to say on further reflection. I certainly thought "Oh, I get it!" right off as a teenager with Frost -- and I thought him trite and full of simple homilies in my youthful foolishness because of that. Edward Thomas. Less known in America than in the UK. Trivia is that he's the guy Frost's "The Road Not Taken" was written about. A knowledgeable nature poet who draws lessons from nature. Someone mentioned Emily Dickinson above. Like Frost the poem you think you enjoy quickly often rewards second thoughts or questions. Sara Teasdale. Once had a considerable readership early in the 20th century, and then fell out of fashion. Complicated short love poems. Edna St. Vincent Millay is another from that era. One of my most popular posts this summer compared Millay to Joni Mitchell. Langston Hughes. Takes Whitman and Sandburg forward from an Afro-American's viewpoint then prefigures Gill Scott-Heron. Has profound points but generally wants to be clear about his message. Claude McKay. Like Hughes thought of as a "Harlem Renaissance" poet, but was originally from Jamaica. His love poems are generally sad, but it's a lovely sadness. There's a search box on my frankhudson.org blog site to let you easily find my presentations of the above poets. One last thing to suggest (besides -- shameless plug -- listening to my performances of these poets with music) is to that when you open a poetry book, to read the poems you think you might like aloud. Poetry can't be effective silently.
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----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... Last edited by FrankHudson; 09-21-2021 at 10:54 AM. |
#24
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I studied Advanced level English literature, and read mostly the 20th War poets, Owen, Sasson, Brooke, Graves etc, but whilst some are remarkable, few are entertaining.
Another book of the '60s which I loved was *The Mersey Sound" McGough, Henri, Pattern -still wonderful, delightful and funny. Ivor Cutler - weird, and hilarious (must be read in a Scots Accent!) Much on CVD and download. Another Brit - Henry Normal (light but perceptive). Dylan Thomas of course, (essential reading) Leonard Cohen. mmm, and I wouldn't call myself a poetry fan.
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Silly Moustache, Just an old Limey acoustic guitarist, Dobrolist, mandolier and singer. I'm here to try to help and advise and I offer one to one lessons/meetings/mentoring via Zoom! |
#25
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Here’s a website that was started by Keillor. Lots of great poems and other interesting info (use the archive to access posts from other years):
https://www.writersalmanac.org/index.html%3Fp=4988.html
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“…we all assume the worst the best we can.” - Muddy Hymnal, Iron & Wine |
#26
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Two of my favorites traditional poets are Langston Hughes and Gary Snyder.
I've always really been drawn to song lyrics as a form of poetry too, so many examples there as well. Jason Isbell has done some great lyrical work in the last few years (Speed Trap Town, Yvette) but there are many, many more. As a high school English class project I dissected Pink Floyd's Animals album from a lyrical perspective.
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EMTSteve a couple guitars too many |
#27
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Thanks again amigos for all the great recommendations and suggestions, I really appreciate it.
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#28
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Not to put too fine a point on it, but if you are in your 70s, then you are in your 8th decade.
For quite some time, my favorite poet has been Gary Snyder (see my sig)... easily accessible (though there's depth if you take the time), he writes in some places about the importance of plain talk. Though, if you're looking for lyric, rhyming poetry, it's probably not the thing.
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"What have I learned but the proper use for several tools" -Gary Snyder Bourgeois DR-A / Bowerman "Working Man's" OM / Martin Custom D-18 (adi & flame) / Martin OM-21 / Northwood M70 MJ / 1970s Sigma DR-7 / Eastman E6D / Flatiron Signature A5 / Silverangel Econo A (Call me Dan) |
#29
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Frost, of course.
e.e. cummings. Whitman. Bukowski. Sandburg. William Blake. Ginsberg. William Carlos Williams. Gary Snyder. Thich Nhat Han. William Butler Yeats. Oh, and Rumi, for sure. Here's a great book. In addition to Rumi, a poet named Kabir was a fantastic mystic poet from the same era. Robert Bly translated them into very easy English. https://www.amazon.com/Kabir-Ecstati.../dp/0807063800 |
#30
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Good choice...BTW, I often use the lowercase version of his name too, though scholars point out that he actually used the standard upper/lowercase for his own name most of the time, saving the all lowercase type for his poetry.
cummings was a fave of mine in high school and college, along with traditional Japanese Haiku (which I found closely aligned). I did hear James Dickey recite his poetry in person back in college. Enjoyed it but never became a big fan. What took me a long time to come around to were the sonnets of Shakespeare. If you can look past the tendency to "read the rhymes" and see the conversational breaks in the composition (use the same trick in his plays...it works!), he's a lot easier to understand and enjoy than you may think. Also, take him in small doses at first. But give him a shot. Plenty of riches there if you look for 'em. Cheers, Dirk
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I used to think I couldn't write songs. Then I regained my composure. Last edited by dirkronk; 09-23-2021 at 04:36 PM. |