Poetry

I've just gotten into poetry after years of being apathetic towards the genre.

Of course, poetry's much more heavily structured in terms of sounds (rhymes), or line length (number of syllables).

Somehow, I was never introduced to how ideas are used in poetry. That's like learning about the format of a short story or novel chapter (title; several pages of paragraphs, perhaps with dialogue) without knowing the first thing about plot.

Most poems introduce a subject or an image, then change it to create action. This is called a volta in sonnets, but it's basically the bottom line of poems. This is where free-verse comes in, because they simply use ideas, with a loose or non-discernible structure.

Who else wants to talk shop? I like sonnets, fornyrðislag, troubadour ballads, and Cristina Perri Rossi's State of Exile.

I tend to make poems that rely on the rhythm or beat of it, which tends to make it hard to classify on Deviantart (unless it fits into the traditional fixed forms ones which they don't always).

Link so I can take a look?

Oh I'm going to die of embarrassment it's really not that good. I should have talked about Coolridge or something instead. But here http://phantasm1.deviantart.com/, my tumblr also has stuff.

Actually, you've got a pretty good start. Your use of imagery is very sharp, and you have great transitions from idea to idea.

Thank you, I wasn't fishing for a compliment or anything I swear.

edited 24th Apr '15 7:05:13 PM by phantom1

I was the one who asked to see your poetry in the first place. I know you weren't fishing. It's cool.

Okay, so anything else to say about poetry? Like more about influences and things? I mean this is kind of hard since there is only two of us.

I have only one influence at the moment, but I can talk about it a lot.

Cristina Perri Rossi's State of Exile. It was originally written in (Uruguayan) Spanish and, as the title implies, was written during Rossi's time in exile in the 70s. It was only published in 2008. The translation I read was by Marilyn Buck, who was imprisoned at the time.

The poems are all very short free-verse, less about imagery and more about introspection. Many of them are numbered, and only a sentence long:

I identified with the theme of exile very strongly, if on a smaller scale. Six months ago I'd been kicked out of my mother's house, and now I'm living a few cities away.

I didn't really enjoy poetry in high school or college because all anyone seemed to focus on was structure, and this formal, heightened, epic tone. I couldn't really connect with poetry the same way I could use prose.

Meanwhile, Rossi's poetry is definitely intense, but also informal. They'd almost be conversational, if they weren't so cynical.

It really freed me up for writing my own poetry. I have a couple of practice poems lying around. They're a little too much like Rossi's for my comfort, but I expect once I get around to other poems and keep writing, I'll develop my own voice.

Oh that's really cool, yes it's funny how personal things can effect how we view poems, and what we can connect with. Reflection over imagery has never been my strong suit, but it's a good thing to cultivate. It takes some time to find your own voice.

I actually liked it in college but yes it does tend to focus on form quite a bit. I think I was somewhat influenced by Coleridge but only to a point that sounds so pretentious to me, but I'm probably being overly self-conscious.

edited 26th Apr '15 4:22:02 PM by phantom1

I read a couple of my poems at an open mic where I'm friends with pretty much everyone. A few people came up and told me to keep going with poetry, which I'd love to do if I just had the time to develop my own voice.

My plate is full with acting school, work, looking for better work, and relearning Tagalog. I haven't even touched any of my plays for weeks. I mean, poems are shorter but the editing is so tedious.

Well that's good :), I'm always so scared of getting up in front of people. Oh yeah fair enough, it does take some time, and your plate seems pretty full already.

edited 4th May '15 10:47:31 AM by phantom1

I love poetry. It started in 7th grade, when we had to memorize one every week. (Ah, catholic school) and then I just started loving it. I write some, mostly free-form, but I've got a historical fiction sonnet I'm rather proud of and a villanelle that came out pretty good.

I recently fell in /love/ with "Mary Oliver, has anyone read her? "Wild Geese" is glorious. I want to write like that someday.

I haven't read Mary Oliver, but I looked up 'Wild Geese' and it is one of the gentlest poems I have ever read. Thanks for bringing her up. I'll definitely find more poems.

I'm currently reading through The Spoon River Anthology, which is much more dramatic.

One issue I run into with literature, and poetry in general, is exposure. How do I actually go about finding new, good work?

(also, I am also from Berkeley, CA. Hiya.)

I've been writing a lot, recently. I dunno if anyone /wants/ to see, but this's my blog for writing. Mostly free-form, but some other stuff mixed in.

I'm actually entering a competition next month at my Uni with a collection (all tagged "paintchip poetry" because they were titled after paint colors)

About ideas in poems, I got into Oscar Wilde a while back because of his stageplays. I guess I picked up a compilation of his poetry expecting the same snark and wit that his plays were famous for, like he was a 19th century Ogden Nash.

Instead, the satirists of his time rung just as true: Aesthete of aesthetes! What's in a name? The poet is Wilde, but his poetry's tame.

But I do enjoy aesthetic poetry a lot. Pablo Neruda's Ode to Ordinary Things (compilation) is another favorite of mine.

I've found myself more and more drawn to recent poets. Mary Oliver, for one. I've been reading a lot of her stuff in one of my lit classes. I mean, I like rhyming poetry, and structured stuff—Emily Dickinson and Tennyson are two of my favorites, but there's something about the way these flow.

I'm having a lot of fun with writing the stuff for my uni's creative works conference.