Poetics and Poetry Discussion

JC, I think that the English as a second language poets are trying to expand their readership either by writing in English or trying to translate their poems into English. Translating poetry into another language is not easy, and even if you know the 2nd spoken language well, the written language is another type of beast. I am very fluent in Czech and it was the only language I spoke until I was 4. I had to go to Czech school every Saturday into my teen years where we were taught grammar, literature, history, geography, culture and even religion (especially as it tied into Czech history) by exiles that were teachers. Even so, it is a chore to translate poetry English/Czech or Czech/English - though Czech/English is a bit easier for me. I'm pretty good with the translations but I would never put up anything in Czech that I hadn't had several people look over and proof read.

David Wood, I read " G8" and didn't like it much. Why imitate 19th-century rhyming verse?The battle against formal verse, especially sing-song formal verse, was lost about 60 years ago. You need to STOP writing and start reading. Whether you want to write contemporary poetry or not, you don't have a choice. If you're serious about writing better poems, immerse yourself in the work of good contemporary poets, like Charles Simic, Philip Levine, Mary Oliver, etc. If you're not serious about writing decent poetry, why bother to post?

Toheeb, I read some of your poems and don't think they're very good. I have a question I must ask ALL ESL poets on this forum. Why? Why write poems in English? Do you hate your first language? Were you prejudiced by your teachers against your first language and toward English? I don't understand this desire to write and post bad poems in English. It's tough enough to write a decent poem in one's first language. And if you insist on writing ESL poems, then you MUST immerse yourselves in the best CONTEMPORARY English-writing poets available. Imitating 19th-century English verse won't improve your art. Whether you want it or not, you're a contemporary poet trying to create contemporary poetry. Stop writing! Start reading poets like Mary Oliver, Kay Ryan, W.S. Merwin, Tony Hoagland, Bob Hicok, Charles simic, etc.

The world looks on to world leaders to bring about change at the G8 summet this week. As a poet I have written a poem called G8 that I hope you will read. As poets all we have are words as our armour to use. The strongest weapon is the pen. So I invite all who read this to write a peom about the G8 summit and put it on PH for the world to read.

Hello fellow poet, I invite you to read my poems and please leave a comment about them, I would be honored to receive your criticism, words of advice and encouragement... Thanks ~" TT" ~

Could the word " should" be made redundant from modern language.....and if it could, .....should it?

Because you asked, Lamont:

WaterFall

My tears are
Hidden in
The wet dew
Drop sparkle
Of the sun
Shining through
Loneliness

My sorrow
Cascades down
Into a
Deep green pool
Of more brand
New days spent
Without you

© Alice Vedral Rivera – 9/21/12 cz 6: 30pm

I'd like to know if any of my poetry friends have thought about what's going to happen to their poetry after they've died? Have you made any arrangements for both published and unpublished manuscripts/; poems?

You can go on forever here, pointing out how people can improve their poems, but they will never come close to writing good poems if they haven't immersed themselves, not only in poetry, but in the ideas of their time and the world of ideas. They will never write good poems if they aren't in love with words and language, want to do fresh and innovative things with it to make it, as opposed to them, shine; they will never write thought-provoking work if they continue to see poetry as a means of communication, refuse to allow language to say itself, continue to force their own unoriginal ideas into torturous and outdated forms. The best poets were watchers and listeners and thinkers and people of vision long before they sat down to write. They respect language and words, don't want to cheapen it/them by penning sentimental rhymes. Sentimental poetry is an escape – like heroin. It's a refusal to see reality, a cheap fantasy, a kick in the teeth for the thinking person.

JC - That was a very good critique of a poem I wrote in 1998. How about this one written in 2007.....

Deprivation

Seduced by vague trace
of carnal recall
separated
by time warped constraint
of restricted lust

Stranded in canyons
flooded with hunger
we writhe - twisting
and turning in the
belly of the beast