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Feeling stuck? Write a poem

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Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#41

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#43

Post by qntty »

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.

There's lots of good music made in the past, but I still read music review sites that review recently released music.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#44

Post by BlameKaneda » 

    If moths had eyes, would they be happier? 
    How do they know they're not dead? 
    Cavemen hunting for food 
    But not before they style the hair on their head 
    What would last longer in dinosaur times? 
    A blind man didn't stand a chance 
    Not with all them rocks about 
    I'd rather be a blind moth 
     - Karl Pilkington

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#45

Post by zabzonk »

BlameKaneda wrote: post #44

If moths had eyes, would they be happier? How do they know they're not dead? Cavemen hunting for food But not before they style the hair on their head What would last longer in dinosaur times? A blind man didn't stand a chance Not with all them rocks about I'd rather be a blind moth - Karl Pilkington

Moths do have eyes - they are very important to their survival and behaviour.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#46

Post by wincy »

MisterTea wrote: post #14

Wasn't there a similar article not too long ago which said go for a run/jog? Not a whole lot of real advice here other than an interesting suggestion to the age old advice I've heard my whole life: "Stuck? Take a break and do something different"

Maybe making up a poem while going for a run/jog would really help.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#47

Post by fruffy »

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.

As another person to whom poetry does nothing this is also a good example. I listen to a lot of Hip Hop, but the lyricism was never part of the appeal for me. I view the rapper's voice as merely another instrument. This includes the flow or cadence they may use.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#48

Post by mellosouls »

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.

This is a fair question but it's clear on the website it's mainly focused on contemporary stuff, partly because they consider it difficult to find.

That's not at all the case with classic poetry, I think.

Also, by definition, the canon is established - this initiative seems a good way of helping unestablished poetry into the spotlight.

Personally, I'd like to see a mix, with an emphasis on the contemporary; I think it would also draw a bigger audience, tho tbf I don't know what a modern poetry audience is looking for.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#49

Post by manifestsilence »

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.

Very cool! I'd like to add that: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/ also has an email list for poem of the day. I may do both. :)

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#50

Post by mushufasa »

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.

FYI I ran into a csrf error -- maybe I was logged in to another django site?

Also, I would suggest setting DEBUG=False for production?

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