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Monthly Archives: September 2014
T.S Eliot Lite
Stumbled on this on You Tube, for what it’s worth. Was looking for him reading his lecture “The Music of Poetry.” Not there. Figures. TS Eliot Lite
“The Second Coming”–Circles or Lines? Cyclical or Linear? – History, Life and “Us”
I had a fascinating exchange of emails with a gifted poet recently about a poem he had written entitled “Circles.”Initially, I had mis-read the poem, missed his intent and allusions (happens to all of us on off days ;). And … Continue reading
The Music of Poetry: Prosody
OK, soapbox time. Maxed out. Had my fill of the effulgence of tone deaf poetry lately. Most poetry written today exhibits a tin ear on the part of the poet and dooms it from the get go. The problem with … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, poetry, Rants
Tagged contemporary poetry, free verse, prosody, Seamus Heaney
6 Comments
The Anonymous Ancient Poets Often Said it Better and More Memorably
Haunted by these lines tonight, their rawness and honesty. A straight shot of the unvarnished longing in everyone’s heart. No dodges, frills, or confounding metaphors. Said to date from 16th century, but it feels earlier, more primal than than that … Continue reading
Have Hit a Major Roadblock – POETS ON POETRY – No “Emotional Slither!”
My library is fated to swell and I to be buried in the falling, cascading books from the shelves. An appropriate end for a misspent life, I suppose, monomaniacally focused on books. Have unearthed a modest looking old paperback anthology … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, poetry, writing
Tagged Arnold, criticism, e.e. cummings, Emerson, major poets in English, poetic theory, Poetry, Shakespeare, Shelley, TS Eliot, Wallace Stevens, Wordsworth
6 Comments
Apropos of Byron (previous post) and his Romancing …
What woman could withstand the following blandishments and adulation? [ Byron did, after all, write an epic poem about Don Juan (considered his masterpiece)–and no one challenged his qualifications to speak with authority on Don Juan, either ;)] But back … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Literature, poetry
Tagged ", "She Walks in Beauty as the Night, British Poetry, Byron, Romantic poets
11 Comments