These are the archived discussions. To participate in active "Talk Literature" discussions go to the
homepage of ReadLiterature
Back To "Talk Literature" Archives
Posted by Michael Sympson on 18/11/2001, 15:54:11
One of the poets, I have translated said in a letter to a fan and wannabe poet something very interesting. After pointing out all the weaknesses and lack of talent - that's where democracy doesn't work, you can't be voted into talent - he recommended to write a poem on a flower. He didn't mean of course a jingle for a valentine's card, but a real and serious poem. Apparently the master's opinion was, if you can't do a poem on a flower than you didn't have what it takes to do poetry.
Benn himself did do a number of wonderful poems on flowers and plants - some of them are sheer magic. This is his only poem that found its way into the schoolbooks for third graders:
© tr. by M.S. 12/02/2000 - all rights reserved -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted by Lale on 19/11/2001, 12:41:56
I was just reading about Philip Larkin's utterings on poetry (Allan Massie, Literary Review, October). Here are a few gems (quotes in paranthesis are comments of the author of the essay, Mr. Massie):
'Real poems are not meant to be set to music; they are not meant to be made into posters, or read at "happenings", or to be diluted or distracted by anthing that is not themselves. They are self-sufficient as eggs.' ( "This is very good, at least until you begin to think about eggs, and remember that they may be boiled, poached, scrambled, fried and made into omelettes.")
'I think someone said -- I did, actually -- that poems were about yourself, novels about other people.'
'Poems don't come from other poems, they come from other poems, they come from being oneself, in life. Every man is an island, entire of himself, as Donne said' ( "only he didn't; quite the opposite, actually" )
And finally here is Philip Larkin on foreign languages:
'It's a language thing with me, I can't learn foreign languages. I just don't believe in them ... honestly, how far can one really assimilate literature in another language?' ( "well, of course, not at all, if you don't trouble yourself to learn it, but if you do, then quite a lot." )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted by Michael Sympson on 19/11/2001, 19:08:36, in reply to "Re: Poetic acid-test"
Well, I am not a fan of Larkin. I consider him a rather mediocre figure and his stuff struck me as particular uninspiring. In the letter it was Benn himself who made the statement.
Imaginative writing is the world seen through a temperament - so there is always a persona, which however is not necessarily identical with the author. It can be a projection from the author's imagination and he is putting it on the stage.
Now, a poem gives testimony to a mood or sentiment. (Which is not the same as being sentimental.) As I have just explained, this is not necessarily the mood or sentiment of the poet. A good poem doesn't describe - it creates a wordpicture, often subtle, even sublimically indirect, that evokes a specific response (like sublimical images spliced in, in an otherwise innocent enough film. Yeates essay on the subject is very instructive.)
So the subject matter of a poem doesn't really matter - it could be the telephone directory, if it answers to the formal requirements. An author's strong opinions are means to provoke strong responses.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~