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Feeling stuck? Write a poem

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Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#31

Post by iscrewyou »

komali2 wrote: post #17

Wish I "got" poetry. Spent 4 years studying literature and got a degree in writing, and throughout it all poetry just annoyed me. I think I made a genuine effort but I couldn't get over feelings of "get to the point" or "so what?" Everything from Byron to Billy Collins. Doesn't do anything for me.

I have a suggestion you might like: Read (not listen to) hip-hop. Old school hip hop such as 2Pac, Nas, Rakim, or new school artists like Lupe, Common, Eminem. Hip hop is really poetry. It might help you understand the rhyme schemes and stanza structure.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#32

Post by criddell »

billfruit wrote: post #25
bdr wrote: post #8

Plugging a side project: if you want to be reading more poetry but don't know where to start, sign up at https://verse.press/ to get a weekly poetry "playlist" in your inbox. Sometimes it's a set of poems on single theme by different authors, sometimes it's a sampler of poems from a recently published book.

Does it only feature new works or does it take from the six centuries of great poetry we have in the English language.

The about page says

> My goal with the project is help people find great new poems.

To me, that sounds like it's focused on recent works.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#33

Post by montecarl »

iscrewyou wrote: post #31
komali2 wrote: post #17

Wish I "got" poetry. Spent 4 years studying literature and got a degree in writing, and throughout it all poetry just annoyed me. I think I made a genuine effort but I couldn't get over feelings of "get to the point" or "so what?" Everything from Byron to Billy Collins. Doesn't do anything for me.

I have a suggestion you might like: Read (not listen to) hip-hop. Old school hip hop such as 2Pac, Nas, Rakim, or new school artists like Lupe, Common, Eminem. Hip hop is really poetry. It might help you understand the rhyme schemes and stanza structure.

I really enjoy reading hip hop lyrics. I mostly use genius.com because the annotated lyrics can be very helpful. I would also suggest reading Kendrick Lamar. Here is one of my favorites, lyrically: https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-sing-about-me-im-dying-of-...

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#35

Post by billfruit »

criddell wrote: post #32
billfruit wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it only feature new works or does it take from the six centuries of great poetry we have in the English language.

The about page says > My goal with the project is help people find great new poems. To me, that sounds like it's focused on recent works.

That sounds hugely restricting the scope when so much of great poetry has been already written in the past.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#36

Post by 52-6F-62 »

snagglegaggle wrote: post #23
MrLeap wrote: post #13

In my hand I hold a chip. I skip to the kitchen to grab some dip. When I return with my liquid cheese, I drop to my knees and cry out 'Jeez!' For much to my dismay, My cat is in my bag of Frito Lay.

Cat, cat, why do you meow? I bend down to pet you now, but then you dart away.

cat drinks cold water

black as night against half moon

should have got a dog

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#37

Post by anamexis »

billfruit wrote: post #35
criddell wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The about page says > My goal with the project is help people find great new poems. To me, that sounds like it's focused on recent works.

That sounds hugely restricting the scope when so much of great poetry has been already written in the past.

It’s a newsletter dedicated to showcasing contemporary poets. Do you complain if there’s a radio show which plays new music because it’s excluding all of the good music which has already been made?

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#38

Post by 52-6F-62 »

komali2 wrote: post #17

Wish I "got" poetry. Spent 4 years studying literature and got a degree in writing, and throughout it all poetry just annoyed me. I think I made a genuine effort but I couldn't get over feelings of "get to the point" or "so what?" Everything from Byron to Billy Collins. Doesn't do anything for me.

I studied literature as well [granted, did not matriculate] but precisely because I fell in love with literature and poetry (already having been involved in music) in high school.

Did you ever read any Canadian poetry?

Some of our more celebrated poets were a little more literal, or prosaic, or largely storytellers. A prime example is Al Purdy (here performed by both himself reading, and in a dramatic presentation by Gord Downie [RIP]. Hopefully this is easily digestible as a sampling over pointing you to pages with words on them):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPKeczB3wrg

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#40

Post by hahajk »

jhedwards wrote: post #26
komali2 wrote: post #17

Wish I "got" poetry. Spent 4 years studying literature and got a degree in writing, and throughout it all poetry just annoyed me. I think I made a genuine effort but I couldn't get over feelings of "get to the point" or "so what?" Everything from Byron to Billy Collins. Doesn't do anything for me.

Have you read any Chinese poetry? AFAIK it inspired the "concrete" movement in western poetry. In just a few characters a Chinese poem can create a whole world. So while western poetry to me often just seems like word craft, Chinese poetry answers the "what's the point" question by creating a rich world in your mind with as few words as possible. It demonstrates that with just a few subtle linguistic cues the human m…

Would you recommend any English translations?
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