I am new to appreciating poetry. I used to "not understand" it. But I belong to a friend group that is well-read and fhese women make regular references to various poems so a few years ago I was inspired to "try harder". I found some helps: Read a poem aloud. TWICE. Slowly and with pause. (And even better, after reading it aloud have it read aloud to me by someone else.) Activate my mind's eye and life experience. These simple practices have helped me immensley to gain confidence and deeper appreciation for poetry. NOW, I am eager to engage with a poem. I find poetry FEEDS my SOUL much like scripture feeds it.
Here is one of my very favorite poems which I found at the very beginning of my efforts to "try harder" to "understand" poetry.
Thanks, it is this kind of guidance that I find helpful. And for me, slow down, revise until you're sick of it; read it aloud,sleep on it, then inflict it on somebody (with discretion. One tends to learn which ears can hear us. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Wendell Berry. Gary Snyder, William Stafford and W.S. Merwin. Their sense of wonder and love of the living earth uplifts and comforts me. Sometimes, when I am out in the woods, a line or two from one of their poems pops into my mind in the most wonderful way.
Wendell Berry. Like any poetry, I love how he consistently places words on paper that live in my heart…that I am so totally incapable of expressing…how does he know that feeling I have hidden away and don’t share. I enjoy many poets works…well known, less known. They speak my hidden feelings that I can not put words to. Wendell Berry also speaks to caring for and preserving our earth. In my mind, he stands for small farmers and homesteads, like I see here in our rural communities.
Fred, your commentary has been the source of much thought. What is the difference in prose and poetry? Poetry brings a more emotional response. Consider Wordsworth's poem:
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
The poem describes an emotion evoked by the daffodils that AI could not duplicate.
I have always been impressed with the poetry of your essays, Fred. I don’t think it will be a big stretch for you to write poems. I was especially impressed with what Lisa also was today. Your choice of words really hit me with an emotional reaction to your hard circumstances. Embargo was powerful!
"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words. " - Robert Frost
There are many times when I pause in appreciation of your poetic/lyrical writings: "..if only to break the self-imposed embargo on neglected grief and bewilderment of the past five years, life diminishing day by day in the dilution of a life companion. "
Like Eudora Welty and Wendell Berry, you share about 'place' and transfer that tone to us through sensitive writings. You already are a poetic, and you are a beacon of light to your readers.
It seems these days I always have a book of poetry with me. Shorter than a novel, but no less thought provoking. Poetry has three elements that draw me in: the visual look of the poem on the page (why did the poet structure the words *just so*?),the way the poem sounds when read aloud and the content of the poem itself.
Poems can bend language in such wonderful ways. Poets I currently enjoy: Joe Wilkins (When We Were Birds is a beautiful book). Joe is a writer from Montana who teaches at Linfield University here in Oregon. Chris Dombrowski (Ragged Anthem is wonderful) and is also a Montana poet (yes, there's a theme here). And a favorite writer of mine for years has been Indian / Native American writer, Sherman Alexie.
From your list, Joy Harjo and Ada Limon are both fantastic. Cate mentions Gary Snyder and William Stafford, who are a couple of others that I enjoy.
I think all forms of the arts speak to our lives and feelings in a way nothing else can, and that is certainly true of poetry. The poets you will be reading are all wonderful - to them I would also suggest Billy Collins, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. At its best, poetry gives you the felt sense of being known and understood, and that is no small thing, particularly when life is challenging. I hope you enjoy your class, Fred. Dive in and see what happens!
I am new to appreciating poetry. I used to "not understand" it. But I belong to a friend group that is well-read and fhese women make regular references to various poems so a few years ago I was inspired to "try harder". I found some helps: Read a poem aloud. TWICE. Slowly and with pause. (And even better, after reading it aloud have it read aloud to me by someone else.) Activate my mind's eye and life experience. These simple practices have helped me immensley to gain confidence and deeper appreciation for poetry. NOW, I am eager to engage with a poem. I find poetry FEEDS my SOUL much like scripture feeds it.
Here is one of my very favorite poems which I found at the very beginning of my efforts to "try harder" to "understand" poetry.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46712/introduction-to-poetry
Thanks, it is this kind of guidance that I find helpful. And for me, slow down, revise until you're sick of it; read it aloud,sleep on it, then inflict it on somebody (with discretion. One tends to learn which ears can hear us. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Wendell Berry. Gary Snyder, William Stafford and W.S. Merwin. Their sense of wonder and love of the living earth uplifts and comforts me. Sometimes, when I am out in the woods, a line or two from one of their poems pops into my mind in the most wonderful way.
Wendell Berry. Like any poetry, I love how he consistently places words on paper that live in my heart…that I am so totally incapable of expressing…how does he know that feeling I have hidden away and don’t share. I enjoy many poets works…well known, less known. They speak my hidden feelings that I can not put words to. Wendell Berry also speaks to caring for and preserving our earth. In my mind, he stands for small farmers and homesteads, like I see here in our rural communities.
poetry will bring your nature writing up to the next level
I would like to think that is true!
Fred, your commentary has been the source of much thought. What is the difference in prose and poetry? Poetry brings a more emotional response. Consider Wordsworth's poem:
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
The poem describes an emotion evoked by the daffodils that AI could not duplicate.
I have always been impressed with the poetry of your essays, Fred. I don’t think it will be a big stretch for you to write poems. I was especially impressed with what Lisa also was today. Your choice of words really hit me with an emotional reaction to your hard circumstances. Embargo was powerful!
"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words. " - Robert Frost
There are many times when I pause in appreciation of your poetic/lyrical writings: "..if only to break the self-imposed embargo on neglected grief and bewilderment of the past five years, life diminishing day by day in the dilution of a life companion. "
Like Eudora Welty and Wendell Berry, you share about 'place' and transfer that tone to us through sensitive writings. You already are a poetic, and you are a beacon of light to your readers.
It seems these days I always have a book of poetry with me. Shorter than a novel, but no less thought provoking. Poetry has three elements that draw me in: the visual look of the poem on the page (why did the poet structure the words *just so*?),the way the poem sounds when read aloud and the content of the poem itself.
Poems can bend language in such wonderful ways. Poets I currently enjoy: Joe Wilkins (When We Were Birds is a beautiful book). Joe is a writer from Montana who teaches at Linfield University here in Oregon. Chris Dombrowski (Ragged Anthem is wonderful) and is also a Montana poet (yes, there's a theme here). And a favorite writer of mine for years has been Indian / Native American writer, Sherman Alexie.
From your list, Joy Harjo and Ada Limon are both fantastic. Cate mentions Gary Snyder and William Stafford, who are a couple of others that I enjoy.
Enjoy your class, Fred!
I think all forms of the arts speak to our lives and feelings in a way nothing else can, and that is certainly true of poetry. The poets you will be reading are all wonderful - to them I would also suggest Billy Collins, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. At its best, poetry gives you the felt sense of being known and understood, and that is no small thing, particularly when life is challenging. I hope you enjoy your class, Fred. Dive in and see what happens!
Galway Kinnell, too. Oh…there are too many to explore!