Some Thoughts On Poetry & Reviews . . . .

Photo K. Iuppa
Lake Ontario, Stormy Skies

Poetry Quote of the Day:

“There’s a sense in which poetry is not so much the writing of words as much as it is the movement of breath itself.  To write it you must pay attention to the breathing of poetry, to all speech as breath, to the relationship of our thoughts and emotions and the actual way they fill our bodies.  This is the emotional, physical centering of the activity of poetry~ Robert Hass

Sit with this quote a while. Let it sink in the movement of your breath.  Read aloud a favorite poem.
Read it slowly. Feel the music of the line wash over you, its breath and your breath.  Now read one of your poems aloud. Read slowly. Again, appreciate the music of the line.


For me, poetry is music, and through the music the images and meaning arise.  I want to be carried away by a poet's artistry.  I  want to hang on their words and listen intently.  I want to know more.
This is the ways it's been since I was small.

The poem that hooked me as a child was Robert Louis Stevenson's  "The Swing" (A Child's Garden of Verse).

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,

   Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

   Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

   Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

   Over the countryside—

Till I look down on the garden green,

   Down on the roof so brown—

Up in the air I go flying again,

   Up in the air and down!

To this day, I love this poem, and whenever I see a swing, I jump on and recite each line as I pump higher and higher.  Mind you, I don't jump off anymore.  I just let the swing wind down.

That said, I think I have revealed two ways of finding poetry in your life.  Reading, yes, always a good choice, and engaging with life, both in and out doors. Sometimes, when I am feeling antsy, especially after spending too much time working on a keyboard, I get up and go out.  It can be a brisk walk on the canal,  or along the lake shore, or a trip to the thrift shop, or sharing a cup of something with a friend. You need to find that balance between being a observer and a doer.  Balance is the key word to this elusive enterprise.

I have made a promise to  the Blog Revival group to be a bit more 'mindfully' balanced this year.  We'll see how successful  I am.

On Reviews:

I have been reading a lot of  book reviews lately, hoping to be steered in the right direction; wanting to discover some authors based on good recommendations.

Reviews can spread the word and increase an author's visibility.  All of us who have had  the "good review" experience are eternally grateful that the reviewer didn't tell us the feared "bald" truth, whatever that may be, like " shelve the pen, and buy dancing shoes, dearie."  

That said, I think I can articulate what I'm looking for in both poetry and prose.  I'm looking for "instinct."  The writer who writes from head, heart, spirit, who risks saying something that is both wild and tame. My personality is willing to listen closely.  I've been known to think about an image, an idea, a form, a sentence for a long time, and I remember.

 It's my promise to write reviews of books  that deserve to be remembered. 

 

 

 

    

 

This is called A Poem

 

photo by K. Iuppa

Resonance, that is a  poem's musicality, is the single most important element in creating a lasting poem.  How often I have hung my hat on lines that become ever-lasting due to the way a poet has selected  his/her words (ideas and images) to build metaphor that takes my breath away.  I read and reread these poems often; never tiring of them.

Since I spent the earlier part of the summer writing lyric nonfiction essays, I have been very fussy finding the right rhythm for my recent poems.  I keep snipping at  these poems, trying to settle in.  This summer has been both difficult and rewarding.  I used to say that I was writing about human nature through nature.  But the truth is, nature can't be controlled.  It's unpredictable and quite frankly scary, and human beings and their patterns of behavior are actually easier to figure out if you stop to think about it.  Of course, the way you figure out human behavior is to take yourself out of the equation.  That will give you a necessary distance, and like horse's vision, the ability to see things from both sides.  But, sometimes, it's best to have time that is unfettered by the demands of so many others.  I think this is the reason so many writers seek a retreat or residency away from their normal busy life.  I have never had the opportunity to go away for long periods of time.  I think my MFA years were the closest getaway experiences. 

Most of this summer has been spent in recovery.  I think the bouts of illness in early June made both Peter and I realize what is most important.  So we hunkered down and kept to ourselves, working steadily on the gardens and getting healthy (head, heart, spirit).  Family came to visit, which allowed us to catch up with our siblings. 

We've been taking car rides west, stopping along the way at Mennonite farm stands and businesses (bakery, meat market, and so on).  The other day, we went into the meat market because it's only open on weekends (Friday-Saturday).  As we were looking through the meat cases to see what they offered for sale, we were eaves-dropping on a conversation between the Mennonite butcher/purveyor and two satisfied customers.
What was strange about this conversation was the Mennonite butcher was relaying a story about deceit.
Another customer had brought back some lobster tails and had claimed that they were spoiled.  The butcher,  after a brief discussion about the handling of the said lobster tails, gave the customer  a replacement order of tails.  He said he was heartsick over this loss.  Then, after a day or so, the unsatisfied customer returned with money to pay for the replacement order.  This gesture surprised the butcher and he felt it was important enough to share the story of "good faith."

Of course, I understood and appreciated this parable, but I confess I was stuck on lobster tails.  It seemed to be an incongruous food, especially for people who live a "plain" life.  It still seems "all wrong" to me, which is hilarious, because I'm letting my idea of "plain and good" dictate what they can and cannot eat.  Who is to say that Mennonites don't eat lobster?  Peter and I talked about this at dinner last night.  Assumptions come up every day.

More important, than this little story, is the Mennonite produce. We bought some corn on Friday and it was exceptional and I'm sure GMO free. So all of you who are from our area, you need to seek out these farm stands.  These are in Waterport NY.


I'm a bit sad that summer is galloping to its end.  Here we are at the beginning of August.  In several weeks, my sister will be here, and the college semester will be gearing up.  Life's engine will  continue to chug along, and once again I will be caught in the demands of several worlds.

So from now until then, I promise to be here now, and put all of my concentration into my daily work.