Sometimes I read something so annoying I just have to respond, although I probably should not. Im particularly intrigued by poetry handbooks -- in fact have written a bibliographical essay on them, as there are so many being published now, perhaps more than ever before. Unsurprisingly, most of them are terrible, though some, such as Stephen Frys The ode Less Traveled, are excellent. I recently discovered a particularly annoying one, Poetry: Tools & Techniques, by John C. Goodman, published by Canadas Gneiss Press in 2011. In this entire book, the author finds no room for any serious discussion of meter or lyrical genre. The coup de grace to his own ignorance comes in his definition of New Formalism as predominantly decorative, concerned with the clever use of language and rarely delving into deep emotion or the existential concerns of life. Seriously? Leaving aside the question of where the boundaries lie in terms of who is or is not a member of this movement, does Goodman really want to argue that Dave Masons Ludlow, or Dana Gioias poems to the memory of his dead son in The Gods of Winter, or the poems of Phillis Levin, Molly Peacock, A. E Stallings, etc. etc. are all mere emotional fluff? Here, chosen almost at random, is a poem by Mark Jarman: After Disappointment To lie in your child’s bed when she is gone Is calming as anything I know. To fall Asleep, her books arranged above your head, Is to admit that you have never been So tired, so enchanted by the spell Of your grown body. To feel small instead Of blocking out the light, to feel alone, Not knowing what you should or shouldn’t feel, Is to find out, no matter what you’ve said About the cramped escapes and obstacles You plan and face and have to call the world, That there remain these places, occupied By children, yours if lucky, like the girl Who finds you here and lies down by your side. Is this cunning sonnet predominantly decorative, concerned with the clever use of language and rarely delving into deep emotion or the existential concerns of life? Please.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 20:01:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015