After reading the poem “True/False” by Dean Young, I can’t help but feel worried about future literature and the advancing poetry of the modern day. Reading “True/False” was a concrete example that anyone can write anything, and if the publisher likes what you have written then they will publish it in hopes that others will enjoy it just as much as they did. There is no “standard” that someone who is going to be published must follow. In other words, someone who wants to be published doesn’t have to have a certain degree from college or have any kind of credibility beforehand. The poem, “True/False” is a simple list of statements that the reader must deem as either as true or false. There is not much more to that. Sure anyone can read it and think that there is a “deeper psychological” meaning hidden in the words. But for some reason I don’t feel like that at all about this poem. It is more likely that this poet had been previously published and wondered if he just wrote random thoughts down, would he be able to get published. And he got what he wanted. He wrote down random facts that he thought was clever, numbered them, and called it a poem. And behold! A poem is born. But in all honesty can we call this poetry? Is this real skill? Hell, I could write a list of things I did in a day and call it “My Day,” and say it’s a poem. If the publisher likes it, then he’ll do his thing. But if he doesn’t then it dies there. But really why aren’t more people writing like Shakespeare, or Dickinson, or Poe? Because it’s hard and takes true talent, which unfortunately not everyone has. It’s good to write because you enjoy writing. It is however ridiculous to think that everything you write is an amazing piece of work that will affect society. Just because you have a pen in your hand it doesn’t mean that you are a good writer. The sooner people realize that, the sooner we’ll get less of what people deem “poetry” and get real works of literature.
Now I’m not saying all poets have write in flowery English but they should at least have the training of what is universally considered “good” poetry and be trained in the classics before they develop their own style. Once you have the fundamentals, you have the building blocks to make your own work good.
*Donya Botkan*
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Beneath Speech
Beneath Speech
To start with, I have to say Purr, which mean to utter a low, continuous, murmuring sound expressive of contentment or pleasure, as a cat does, is an excellent name for a poem collection.
For the poem itself, I regard it as a funny poem exploring the nature of english, or language itself. As the first line of the poem has said, the undersides of words. The meaning of second stanza is quite easy to understand. For the third stanza, one side convex and one side concave could mean the shape of the night sky, when perceived as a part of the whole sphere earth.
‘This must be like winter for fish’ does not make a lot of sense to me at first, but it seems more understandable after reading ‘and all the nouns went seamless as ice and slightly opaque.’ To the writer, she feels that all nouns are cold and smooth like ice, which may explain why this must be like winter for fish, also the next sentence, ‘if she put out her tongue, she might stay there forever.’, I guess perhaps it is because the nouns are like ice and the tongue would be stuck by the ice, or another possibility that, there are so many nouns in this world, thus it is impossible to read them all, so that the tongue would be stretched outside the mouth for a long long time.
In the last stanza, the smell of snow connects with the previous mentioned winter and ice. I cannot get what ‘because or so to cover me’ until it is raised in the class. I think it is cool for the poet not to add quotation there though, hence it allows more space for interpretation. Because or so, this little words, cover me like snow, and makes me ‘beneath speech’. I do not regard this poem as that random as in discussed in the class. I think it is well written with complete and closely linked imageries.
* Chan Wing Hong*
To start with, I have to say Purr, which mean to utter a low, continuous, murmuring sound expressive of contentment or pleasure, as a cat does, is an excellent name for a poem collection.
For the poem itself, I regard it as a funny poem exploring the nature of english, or language itself. As the first line of the poem has said, the undersides of words. The meaning of second stanza is quite easy to understand. For the third stanza, one side convex and one side concave could mean the shape of the night sky, when perceived as a part of the whole sphere earth.
‘This must be like winter for fish’ does not make a lot of sense to me at first, but it seems more understandable after reading ‘and all the nouns went seamless as ice and slightly opaque.’ To the writer, she feels that all nouns are cold and smooth like ice, which may explain why this must be like winter for fish, also the next sentence, ‘if she put out her tongue, she might stay there forever.’, I guess perhaps it is because the nouns are like ice and the tongue would be stuck by the ice, or another possibility that, there are so many nouns in this world, thus it is impossible to read them all, so that the tongue would be stretched outside the mouth for a long long time.
In the last stanza, the smell of snow connects with the previous mentioned winter and ice. I cannot get what ‘because or so to cover me’ until it is raised in the class. I think it is cool for the poet not to add quotation there though, hence it allows more space for interpretation. Because or so, this little words, cover me like snow, and makes me ‘beneath speech’. I do not regard this poem as that random as in discussed in the class. I think it is well written with complete and closely linked imageries.
* Chan Wing Hong*
Monday, March 23, 2009
I had no classes today!
This morning
I woke up
I checked my MIX email account
and found that
both of my teachers
could not make their classes today!
BIG SMILE!!! : )
my ENG teacher was officially fired
by my classmates after failing
for the fourth time
to send an email to notify the students her absence.
Tied up by ropes on a big wood cross
her body was burnt in the fire
ignited by the assignments and tests papers
graded B minus or below
and the fake sick leave certificates
found in her drawers.
The students hope
this would stop her from being absent
for another time.
As the flare rose up
like an old-fashioned smelly pink tongue
struggling to squirm
like the words that slowly moved along and
clogged the blood vessels
of my fiction writing teacher
who was buried
by papers of short stories assignment
which were either about
death of lover(s),
explosions,
car accidents,
divorce of couples,
childhood memories,
or all of the above.
She had her eyes closed when
the plot that circuits over and over again
in this world
happened to her finally
and she whispered to herself
'Oh! No! Not another cliche!'
Yes
things end suddenly.
And I have learned
so much today.
Hence, I typed them up
as a beautiful poem
for one of my eight blog posts.
* Chan Wing Hong*
I woke up
I checked my MIX email account
and found that
both of my teachers
could not make their classes today!
BIG SMILE!!! : )
my ENG teacher was officially fired
by my classmates after failing
for the fourth time
to send an email to notify the students her absence.
Tied up by ropes on a big wood cross
her body was burnt in the fire
ignited by the assignments and tests papers
graded B minus or below
and the fake sick leave certificates
found in her drawers.
The students hope
this would stop her from being absent
for another time.
As the flare rose up
like an old-fashioned smelly pink tongue
struggling to squirm
like the words that slowly moved along and
clogged the blood vessels
of my fiction writing teacher
who was buried
by papers of short stories assignment
which were either about
death of lover(s),
explosions,
car accidents,
divorce of couples,
childhood memories,
or all of the above.
She had her eyes closed when
the plot that circuits over and over again
in this world
happened to her finally
and she whispered to herself
'Oh! No! Not another cliche!'
Yes
things end suddenly.
And I have learned
so much today.
Hence, I typed them up
as a beautiful poem
for one of my eight blog posts.
* Chan Wing Hong*
DREAM OF A NEW PATRIOTISM
The poem "DREAM OF A NEW PATRIOTISM" by Matthew Rohrer seemed to really captivate my attention. The poem begins with the line "people tend to pair off, but not me." This single line represents a complete thought that I think is rather intriging. It is very true that people couple up with one another, though not everyone does. The speaker seems to be one of the people who breaks this mold by saying "but not me." This is a concept that he keeps constant throughout the entire poem. Besides the first line I was also drawn to the line that stands alone between the two stanzas of the poem. This line reads "then I awaken from my stupor." I do not think the meaning behind this line is nearly as significant as its placing. To me, it represents a turning point for the poem. Since it is placed between the two stanzeas of the poem it seems to bear a deep meaning for the poem. The speaker seems to make a clean realization; thus "I awaken from my stupor." Overall, I am a little confused by the poem's meaning. I really agree with the first stanza because the thought and direction seems to be clear. Though the second stanza seems to be a little less directed. I do like the overall meaning that the poem represents: some people do tend to beleive that they are alone even though the really aren't, but I think the poem is a little loose and the end and the meaning falls behind.
Katy Haines
Katy Haines
Response to "Hello" a poem about rats!
The poem “Hello” by Naomi Shihab Nye was interesting to me for a few reasons. I liked the way it was presented…fairly easy read. You don’t have to do a lot of decoding or re-read each line for comprehension. Secondly, I think the poem is great because it really dissects and examines a situation. (Living with a rat) And in doing so, Nye pulls a lot of meaning out of her rat roommate.
Most importantly, I enjoyed the poem because it’s about a rat. Not that I’m much of a rat fan, but I like all of the things that just the mentioning of a rat in writing can imply. The rat works as a good symbol, and I am a symbolism fan.
First, I’d say it is safe to conclude that rats are usually associated with something negative. In cartoons, they are the villains, live in sewers, and steal. In real life, the word “rat” is used to describe someone who is sneaky or untrustworthy. In the poem, the rat steals peaches knowing whoever finds the peachy mess will scream. The rat only comes out in darkness, disguises itself as a candle in a drawer, hides in closets, and doesn’t show its face while seeming to know the narrator is there. So basically, through characterization and careful description, the poem goes along with the common idea that rats signify negativity. Simply put, rats equal bad.
In the second stanza, the poem begins to analyze the situation and ask questions about the rat. Where is this rat’s mother and father? Where is their nest? When was the rat born? I think the narrator is wondering if the rat was born in her home, and if it is the only one. However, through questioning, the narrator is also looking at the rat more objectively and possibly more sympathetically.
Perhaps she is thinking about the fact that the rat is just a rat, and is living instinctually, as any rat would live. The rat isn’t necessarily behaving the way it does out of spite, or to purposely anger and frighten her. It just needs food like any animal. Maybe she is starting to see herself as less of the rat’s victim. Maybe her home happens to be where this rat ended up. Considering the nature of and amount of rats in the world this situation is just chance, not a punishment of some type or a planned grudge. It’s just life, the way things turned out. Bad luck. Maybe the rat is innocent, and maybe she is too.
As suggested in the poem, the narrator has certainly let this rat get the better of her. She has wasted energy being afraid, and cursing it. She has let the rat put stress on her, and has let it drive her into insanity. She has even not entered specific rooms of her home in order to avoid it! This is no way to live, and in the third stanza the narrator shows this realization.
Of course it isn’t ideal to live with a rat. But also, of course we cannot avoid nature. So it is time to do something about. Accepting the “rats” in our lives is what it all comes down to. As the poem ends, “… the shores of morning loom up lined with little shadows, things we never wanted to be, or meet, and all the rats are waving hello.”
Lastly, it is interesting to me that the poem ends with the title. Being that this ending/title word is “hello,” I’d say it is very suggestive of the poem's main theme of “accepting and/or living with rats.” And that makes me wonder further, is the poem really about a rat, as a physical pointy-nosed rodent, at all? Probably not. In my opinion, there are many “rats” and we are always living with them.
-Rachel Alberico
Most importantly, I enjoyed the poem because it’s about a rat. Not that I’m much of a rat fan, but I like all of the things that just the mentioning of a rat in writing can imply. The rat works as a good symbol, and I am a symbolism fan.
First, I’d say it is safe to conclude that rats are usually associated with something negative. In cartoons, they are the villains, live in sewers, and steal. In real life, the word “rat” is used to describe someone who is sneaky or untrustworthy. In the poem, the rat steals peaches knowing whoever finds the peachy mess will scream. The rat only comes out in darkness, disguises itself as a candle in a drawer, hides in closets, and doesn’t show its face while seeming to know the narrator is there. So basically, through characterization and careful description, the poem goes along with the common idea that rats signify negativity. Simply put, rats equal bad.
In the second stanza, the poem begins to analyze the situation and ask questions about the rat. Where is this rat’s mother and father? Where is their nest? When was the rat born? I think the narrator is wondering if the rat was born in her home, and if it is the only one. However, through questioning, the narrator is also looking at the rat more objectively and possibly more sympathetically.
Perhaps she is thinking about the fact that the rat is just a rat, and is living instinctually, as any rat would live. The rat isn’t necessarily behaving the way it does out of spite, or to purposely anger and frighten her. It just needs food like any animal. Maybe she is starting to see herself as less of the rat’s victim. Maybe her home happens to be where this rat ended up. Considering the nature of and amount of rats in the world this situation is just chance, not a punishment of some type or a planned grudge. It’s just life, the way things turned out. Bad luck. Maybe the rat is innocent, and maybe she is too.
As suggested in the poem, the narrator has certainly let this rat get the better of her. She has wasted energy being afraid, and cursing it. She has let the rat put stress on her, and has let it drive her into insanity. She has even not entered specific rooms of her home in order to avoid it! This is no way to live, and in the third stanza the narrator shows this realization.
Of course it isn’t ideal to live with a rat. But also, of course we cannot avoid nature. So it is time to do something about. Accepting the “rats” in our lives is what it all comes down to. As the poem ends, “… the shores of morning loom up lined with little shadows, things we never wanted to be, or meet, and all the rats are waving hello.”
Lastly, it is interesting to me that the poem ends with the title. Being that this ending/title word is “hello,” I’d say it is very suggestive of the poem's main theme of “accepting and/or living with rats.” And that makes me wonder further, is the poem really about a rat, as a physical pointy-nosed rodent, at all? Probably not. In my opinion, there are many “rats” and we are always living with them.
-Rachel Alberico
Saturday, March 21, 2009
"A Friday at the End of August"
The poem “A Friday at the End of August” by James Harms is an interesting piece. I don’t even think that it is one of my favorites. However, there are several phrases that have a great deal of literary quality. I love the sound of “trill and sizzle” in the last line of the fourth stanza. “Trilling” and “sizzling” are two very different sounds, and I think it’s very artistic/creative to put them together that way—somehow it works. In the same line, “a fleck of voice,” is a very unique way to describe a voice. Another expression that piqued my interest was “wet music.” I was very curious/confused as to the meaning of this phrase. Is it some mysterious use of poetic license? My guess is that it refers to the music of “wetbacks.” I arrived at this conclusion based on the actual use of that phrase in the poem and the consistent references to Spanish and the migrant workers. If I’m right about the meaning of “wet music,” I will be a little disappointed—I prefer to think that it is some clever poetic expression rather than a reference to the racial slur. Such an interesting phrase certainly deserves a better purpose than that. I’m also incredibly curious why the author chose the phrase “solamente una vez, no más.” What significance does “only one time, no more” have at this point in the poem? Or is it simply one of the few Spanish phrases that the author remembers? Following the Spanish phrase, “the bones of language hung as always with laughter,” is a wonderful phrase. I like the notion of language and laughter being closely tied. “Bones” is also a great way to describe language because bones are part of the foundations of humans, just as language is a foundation for communication in society. Even though it’s not necessarily one of my favorite poems, I can still appreciate the beauty of some of the phrases in this poem.
Sarah Corra
Sarah Corra
Friday, March 20, 2009
Postcard Poetry
Postcard poetry is a fantastic concept—and I never would have thought of it myself. The poem from the handout named simply “POSTCARD,” is a great example of a postcard few people would ever have the guts to send. First of all, to just name it “POSTCARD,” makes me think that maybe the sender made a promise to send the recipient a postcard before having a disagreement with them, and naming it “POSTCARD” is the sender’s way of saying, “look, I sent you one. Happy now?” Also, to say that the sender is still “unsure of your worth as…a human being” is a brutal, biting statement. Vicious, even. And to say the same thing regarding their worth as a friend is pretty awful, too. Also, ending the poem with “You cocksucker,” is a bold, blatant insult that brings the sender’s point home. The whole thing, including the name of the poem, is written in all caps, which frequently is used as a way of yelling at someone via text. It also can just be any easy way to emphasize the importance of the statements being made (as if more emphasis is even necessary).
In addition to “POSTCARD,” I also enjoyed “Montezuma’s Revenge.” It has an amusing irony to it; there are also some nightmarish qualities to it as well. I’m not even sure I understand the poem. What does “natives” refer to in the first line? I think it sounds like savages or indigenous people because it also says “in my hometown,” which would make the speaker a native as well. I think the title is the best clue as to the meaning of the poem. We conquered them, now Montezuma is getting his revenge by invading “our Utopia” and cutting off our faces. It’s a very bizarre poem, and it almost sounds to me like a tourist’s worst nightmare, if you look at the idea of trying to make friends with the natives by letting them cut off your face.
Sarah Corra
In addition to “POSTCARD,” I also enjoyed “Montezuma’s Revenge.” It has an amusing irony to it; there are also some nightmarish qualities to it as well. I’m not even sure I understand the poem. What does “natives” refer to in the first line? I think it sounds like savages or indigenous people because it also says “in my hometown,” which would make the speaker a native as well. I think the title is the best clue as to the meaning of the poem. We conquered them, now Montezuma is getting his revenge by invading “our Utopia” and cutting off our faces. It’s a very bizarre poem, and it almost sounds to me like a tourist’s worst nightmare, if you look at the idea of trying to make friends with the natives by letting them cut off your face.
Sarah Corra
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