you’re welcome, and answers… !-)
by pottygok
Posted to Poetry on 2003-08-27 12:29:00
Parent message is 506595
>This isn’t exactly a poem…I realize…It was kind of a >practice…I had the image but I just couldn’t get it >down.
Practice is always good. I look at it this way, at least you’re writing…
>What is the idea on economy of language–is that some >trend in modern poetry?
economy of language is, yeah, I guess a modern trend? Definately Yeats and after, Pound, Stevens, W.C.Williams especially. Anyway, the idea is to use as few as words as possible to maximize the effect of the poem. So, if you have two adjectives, the goal is always to find the one word that implies both. Same with verbs. Adverbs, especially, are deadly, because odds are there’s a word in English that means the v./adv. combo.
>Gerunds…isn’t working-what do you mean? Why isn’t it >working?
Gerund=any “-ing” ended verb. The reason gerunds tend to be avoided is because the constant “ing, ing, ing” sound is not pleasing to the ear. Again, the economy of language thing says that one “circling” should be enough, and two is just a bit much.
Sometimes, however, repetition is good. Allen Ginsberg’s “America” is my favorite poem, and that’s loaded with repetition. It’s just a matter of finding the right place. In these lines, I personally, don’t think it’s right.
>You have a technical eye. When you write are you always >trying to comply with rules of grammar?
Usually. I simply makes the poetry easier to read that way.
That, or I tend to write image centered poems (see the haiku board for my little discussion on this.) where the image is so key, that grammar sort of slips away. Haiku are a good example of this, uhm…Wallace Stevens’s “12 ways of looking at a blackbird” sort of.
>There’s nothing wrong with that if you can keep >inspiration flowing…I barely know what a gerund is…HA! >Thanks for the input. Basically, I’m still working on a >personal style.
Well, who are you reading? That usually will give you clues on how you write.