6x9inBorderSc.jpg)
Book 3:
The Perfect
Example
I used to write toward the
dream of “permanence.” I intended my poems to speak in
“universal” terms so that unimaginable audiences, looking at the
thousandth translation, 100 years post-print and galaxies away, could
relate to the spirit of my writing. But I realized that languages'
open-source words themselves already contained that spirit, and what
I had been writing was just an echo of the dictionary: combinations
of the pre-existant; derivative, redundant, bereft of me.
The beauty of poetry is not
primarily in the parts that “translate well," but in the parts
that stale: that which resonates in its time and place with a local
life and – like all things truly alive – dies as that time
breezes past.
Some hold up poetry as the
pinnacle of language-in-use. So the question follows: what is that
use, what is it doing, what is its effect? I thought long and hard on
this (neither an act nor a phrase that I coined), and concluded that
poetry localizes the universal: it points out where flesh is
channeling some spirit; it mortalizes the everlasting. Poetry finds
an old idea alive in some creature for an intense and passing moment.
This is not a lofty goal, but a lowly one; not an axiom, but a
parable; not a thought, but a feeling.
The use of writing and
speaking, I think, is not to contain a Concept (that is the duty of
the words themselves) but to share a moment – green and brown,
living and rotting, subtle and heady (communication is the
stalk-whiskered, root-webbed scalp of the soil horizon).
And the pinnacle of writing
and speaking, immanent and perspectival as it may be, is to give a
perfect Example: visible from a few shifting angles; tangible with
the right tempered touch; dead before we hear it speak, but alive
again at the moment we perk our ears to listen; a ghost that seems to
smell and taste like earth, but really ever only primes us to smell
and taste the earth for ourselves.
Like our anchored &
radiating hearts, poetry is boundless in its simple limits, true to
its nature, a perfect example: no more, no less.
I do not think you could have worded this introduction more perfectly. I agree wholeheartedly with everything this post contains. "The beauty of poetry is not primarily in the parts that 'translate well', but in the parts that stale: that which resonates in its time and place"... I love this idea.
ReplyDeleteI have just begun to write poems again, and it is almost as if you read my mind and put into exact words what I have been searching for to describe my recent revelations. Before, similarly to what you mentioned in your first paragraph, I tried to cater and "universalize" my words for readers. This led to impersonal poems that were not very fun to write. As of late, I have been writing for poems for the sole purpose of expressing my own feelings and thoughts for myself. This has led poetry writing to become much more pleasing and satisfactory for both myself and readers. It only took one friend who said that my poem resonated and evoked feelings/memories in her for me to feel accomplished. Like you said, poetry is all about sharing those life-moments... Often times, poems fail to resonate to all readers in a particular place and time, but the world is large and the Internet is forever.. When we do find that one poem that resonates deeply with our lives and seems to perfectly express our unvoiced thoughts, it is all worth it. Poetry truly does localize the universal.. and it is truly magical when a reader and writer shares those life moments.
Experiencing the excesses is what young adulthood is all about: it's important to indulge initially in that stifling veneration of words-as-words (any real writer finds themselves in that lexical infatuation at the beginning ... some never leave: see New Yorker poetry).
DeleteAnd it's important to figure out how to use those words as tools to express your own inner reality (welcome to, what I call, the "journaling" phase ... expressing what is).
And at some point, SPOILER ALERT, you'll go beyond that, to use poems as a tool for showing what can be, or should be, as a dream or a lesson or a beacon to hope toward. Some people call it "fiction," but I like to call it "philosophical meditation."
But no rush to get there, Michelle -- enjoy the ride: there's a lot inside you yet to explore. Dive deep.
I agree completely, Michelle. It is interesting to know that other people also feel like they must cater to an unknown audience when they write. Although writing is very much an activity that we do for ourselves, we all have this notion that we must please an audience. It is not so we can be praise high and holy, but more so that we know that other do relate to our emotions and that other have gone through the same experiences that we go through.
DeleteI, too, just started getting back into my poetry and I'm at that point where I'm trying to find just the right words to fit what I want to say so the message is "universal". I do this because, since it has been so long since I've written anything, I feel anything and everything I write is out of place.
I will definitely be taking into account what you have written here JK. Enjoying the ride is more important that the end-game.
I understand the point that poetry is supposed to vocalize the universal, however so many poems that readers try to interpret are either unclear or don't resonate with their views. The definition of universal is that it affects all people in the world and is applicable to every case, and that is simply not true. I think it is more accurate to say that poetry opens the gates for people to make their own opinions and interpretations about what is being presented, not trying to be fed a "universal truth."
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of poetry not trying to contain a concept but rather share a moment, that portion really spoke to me. Overall this piece was very interesting and had some great insight JK. Can't wait to read more.