On Fugitive Poems Poem by Sidi Mahtrow

On Fugitive Poems



A fugitive poem is like being rescued
By a fireman from a house
When there is no fire
And when there is no house.

Or, being saved when tied
To the railroad tracks
When there are no tracks
And there is no train.

Such it is when someone speaks of a 'fugitive poem.'
It does not exist,
If it has never before been published.
And cannot possibly be 'fugitive poetry.'

What then are fugitive poems?
They seem not to have been widely known
But remain in the minds of those
Who have seen them once; before they're gone.

Nowhere in the literature of the works of poets
Is a description what constitutes 'fugitive' (as I know it.)
Something as explanation of the products of paper and pen
Even those written famous and lesser men.

Look you world and wide
To books in print and other wise,
You'll find not a word as what or when
This title for poetry did begin.

The best that can be determined
In 'Webster's Dictionary of the English Language'
Published in 1840 (with many a revision.)
In which not only for poetry but all composition
Is given the 'fugitive' name and classification.

For you see Noah, most wise
Was great in defining terms, unknown otherwise.
So it is that he recorded for us to understand
What was meant by the term 'fugitive composition'
Of which he wrote, 'such as are short and occasional
And so published that they quickly escape notice,
As in a newspaper.'

And to Noah we now ascribe,
The definition of this Poetry known worldwide,
As 'fugitive' when it appears.
And then quickly disappears.

But what of that 'fugitive poetry' about which we write
It was written by Poe 'in a bleak December' night
When called upon he was
By a wise crow with a cause.

One who was most learned and who
Answered questions due
When the poet upon a midnight dreary,
While he pondered weak and weary.

For the crow (raven preferred by some)
Was none other than the one
Who came to be known as Nevermore.
When he came tapping at Poe's door.

A fugitive poem, I think not
As Poe wrote this poem that is not soon forgot
Although it most certainly did appear
In a Rag published for daily use, the New York Evening Mirror.
(Which itself was soon to disappear.)

What makes the story of its publication most interesting
Was the editor's prefacing
That the poem was to appear
In the 'American Review' sometime near.
He wrote that the poem was the 'most effective single
Example of ‘fugitive poetry' ever published in this country...'

Now, I ask, could this be a fugitive,
If it had not yet been printed for the public to see,
It therefore had not been used as bird cage liner,
And destined to be forgotten by the paper's reader.

So even some hundred fifty years or so in history,
It does appear, that editors, compounded the mystery
As they didn't know what constituted
Fugitive Poetry (or composition if it mattered.)

Noah shall have his say
And tell us that 'fugitive' once seen, has had it's day.
But let it be said,
That 'fugitive poetry' once before the public laid
Can be recalled, to be seen again.
The question is, by whom and when?

IF you recall a poem, so much the better
To pay homage to the poet who put to the letter
With paper and pen
From beginning to end.

But a new breed of fugitive has arisen
In this century of man's invention.
Look about and you will see
Writing erased from history.

With the invention of chemical pulping
Paper came cheap but there was lurking
The residue of sulfur in the fibers
That slowly leads to the paper's demise.

And political correctness raises its wrath
Ensuring old writing doesn't deviate from the path.
Thus avoiding hurt feelings of those
Who might be offended, I suppose.

And then there are the old 78's
That spun on turntables gone of late.
Along with their companions 45's and 33's
Have all gone to their place in successive histories..

Some may remember the beta version
Of recordings that VHS did spurn.
Now both are victims of progress
Destined to the trash heap; they pass.

Even newspapers (if that is what they be rightly called)
Are going away, fastest of all.
As stockholder and publishers fear
Readers silently disappear.

Which brings us to the encrypted words
Offered to appease computer nerds.
They disappear into the void of space
(Never mind if issued too much in haste.)

Those electrons residing there
On bits of silicon or other elements, rare.
Are destined to return to their peaceful state
Erasing all that they encompassed; that's their fate.

All will become 'fugitive' compositions
That's a fearful premonition.
As words lose their meaning, as before,
'Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore.' '

Please reference the Works of Edgar Allen Poe, page 251(Volume 5, published 1903, P. F. Collier and Son) where in the notes, is described the way in which 'The Raven' published in January 1845, came to the reader's attention. Excerpts occur frequently on the Internet.

As further proof of 'fugitive compositions', the word pokerishness appears in the Mirror's editors screed of 'The Raven'. However, the term is unknown to the current reader.

Buried in the Internet is a composition, a thesis where the author defines pokerishness as spooky or 'spookyness'. I think not, it is more likely that Hawthorne's description of a visitor as pokerishness as being uncompromising or with a stiffness. (The Raven exhibited this when he uttered the word 'nevermore' to all questions.)

The composition on Goggle does not give the author or title and only by contacting the librarian at Florida International University was I able to find the thesis written by James Gray Kane at Florida International University in 2002.

The thesis has much to say about Poe's Raven and the musical nature of the poem. It appears that Kane was a student at Florida International University who was awarded his Masters, but not much else is known.

This 'fugitive composition' should be revived and revered by Poe fans and the casual reader. Hopefully it will be! It's number in the search for 'pokerishness' is 41 and will probably descend further down the Goggle list as more pages are added to the Internet.

Otherwise, one might reference 'A Musicology for Literary Language' and hope to find Kane's thesis.

Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'

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