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  1. SoulGalaxyWolf

    SoulGalaxyWolf Active Member

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    Poetry vs. Prose?

    Discussion in 'The Craft of Writing Poetry' started by SoulGalaxyWolf, Jan 21, 2019.

    I always preferred prose over poetry. It's not like I don't like poetry. I enjoy reading poetry and how it could be lyrical, narrate a story, or something insightful. I just want to know other's opinion for poetry and their love for it. It would be neat to know some people's favorite poems or poets, and some books of poetry that they like. I'm recently learning about meter in poems. I never knew about that, and I was thinking to incorporate some of the things I learned into poetry I will write in the future.
    Any insights would be greatly appreciated :)
     
  2. Iain Sparrow

    Iain Sparrow Banned Contributor

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    I'm not particularly fond of Poetry, but I do rather like her stepsister Lyrics. It's good to know both. There are times I need to compose a passage that is more lyrical in nature, and listening to songs or reading poetry help me set the tempo.


    “I’m so relieved my prayers were answered and you’ve come back to us, but it can’t be safe for you, not the way things are now. My uncle is very worried you’ll be found out.”

    “Rose, what do you believe in?”

    “What do you mean?”

    “It’s a simple enough question. Indulge me — what rules your stars?”

    Valerie caressed the locket that hung from her neck, rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger, then in a lilty, singsong voice, began anew. “Are you moonstruck by the pagan ways, searching the constellations for omens and boiling entrails on Solstice Eve to curry favor with the goat god? Or are you smitten by the meddling gods of antiquity, we creatures great and small moved like pieces on a chessboard, mere amusements in a parlor game? Perchance you’ve met the new god who tinkers not in the affairs of Man, a convenient deity invented by a cult of impotent men that meet in secret and plot great mischief? Such men put their faith in divine reason, but do they tally the cost? No, I think not. I know the God you pray to, the Lord of our hopes and fears, his Son, our Savior — ” Valerie arched her back and thrust her arms out, face and palms lifted heavenward in mock crucifixion. “We try best we can to walk in his footsteps. But these are bad times. They’ve made it a crime to mention Him in a certain light, and now, God leaves us only breadcrumbs to follow.”
     
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  3. Potato

    Potato Member

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    Emily Dickinson is my favorite poet but some people think her stuff is a bit heady or sort of ridged but I like it.
     
  4. OJB

    OJB A Mean Old Man Contributor

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    There are four elements to poetry: Rhythm(meter), Imagery, Figures of language, and Sound.

    While a lot of poets start with writing lyrics, I've always suggested that people start with Dramatic dialogues (A character giving a speech.) I think working with characters gives a poet the change to explore different voices and have fun with the whole idea. With lyrics, new poets fall into the trap of writing dairy entries and not poems.
     
  5. Daphne Thissen

    Daphne Thissen New Member

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    I've never gotten myself to like "old" poetry, but that's probably because I can't quite relate. Of course some of the more well-known ones are the exception.

    Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night (Dylan Thomas), Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep (Mary Elizabeth Frye), and I Carry Your Heart With Me (Cummings).

    No, I sometimes still consider myself a Tumblr-kid. Where a different kind of poetry emerged. The brutal kind, written by millenials who were too young to know the things they knew, while at the same time being too young to know the things they think they knew. I found a poem on Tumblr, Mouthful of Forevers, by Clementine von Radics. I bought her book and I think she's my favorite poet now.
    I think "modern" poetry in general is my favorite. Simply because I can relate and because the prose is so different.
     
  6. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

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    I used to have trouble understanding a lot of the famous poets. Often times, I had no clue what message they were trying to get across. I found that starting with anthologies was the easiest way for me to approach poetry. Anthologies usually do a good job of having informative notes. Another mistake I made was to read through a poem quickly and/or not rereading it. All this has changed, however. After many, many years of studying poetry, it's something I read quite often now. It just takes some dedication and a willingness to learn.

    Finally, in my experience, English classes in school don't spend a lot of time on poetry, and I don't think the general public appreciates poetry as much as novels (and they don't think it's as sexy). But I've read that poetry book sales have been going up, which is a good sign.
     
  7. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    I like poetry I can understand. I’ve no time for the stuff that leaves me bewildered (which is the majority of it if I’m honest). For that reason my favourite poet is William Carlos Williams.
     
  8. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    I am so very VERY picky about poetry—to the extent that I claim I don't like it ...which isn't actually true.

    If a poet gives me that moment, that one insight that makes me go, "Yes, that's IT—I never thought of it that way before!" then I usually like that poem. But self-absorbed poets who witter on and on about their personal lives and loves, or who try too hard to be clever are not my thing at all. I tend to fall off the branch fairly quickly. Especially at poetry readings where they often adopt a drone-y poetry-reading tone. Aaargh. Just read the damn thing in a normal voice! Spare us the lugubrious crap....

    That being said, I do have a few favourite poets. A few are dead. Carl Sandburg—the energy in his poetry lifts me right off my figurative feet. Norman McCaig—whose insights into parts of Scotland I particularly love are expressed with the kind of precision that takes me there. Norman's poetry often carries a little sting in the tail as well, which makes me regard the subject of the poem differently from how I saw it before.

    My favourite living poet is Scottish poet Robin Robertson, whose book, The Wrecking Light, took me totally by surprise. I galloped through it, and then actually went straight to the front and read the whole thing again, all in one day. Its penultimate poem, "At Roane Head," is a chiller, once read, never forgotten.

    A great poet has the ability to think outside the box, to look at some ordinary thing and see it as significant or unusual. That's a storytelling gift I would love to have. I don't have that instinctive gift, but I certainly appreciate people who do.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2019
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  9. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Oh, poetry readings.... argh! What’s that name for them? Anyway, I couldn’t agree more. Twatty little 19 year olds reading their poems with ‘attitude’, followed by lots of whooping and cheering from the equally twatty 19 year olds in the audience.

    Poetry slams... that’s it!
     
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  10. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    What’s wrong w that, gramps?
     
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  11. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    "You gotta ask, you'll never know..."—Satchmo
     
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  12. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    I don't get poetry but I love to read it. It's very verb conscious and handles metaphors like a dream. That's mainly what I use it for
    to help me construct better descriptions and build towards an emotional 'punchline' or metaphor. I don't have a lot of favorites - anything that catches my eye I'll read but Jill Hoffman's Mink Coat really made me start to see poetry in a different light.
     
  13. Muller

    Muller New Member

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    Poetry is a different beast than prose. And yet, like prose, there are many different beasts within poetry. I think it's just a matter of finding what you like.
     
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  14. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Now you see, I don’t really know what that means.
     
  15. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    [tapping from bed throne]

    ...but when you say;

    ‘William Carlos Williams, innit...’

    ...it is like a circular argument, Trumpian, or back to school...

    Surely, when you hit your 20s or later on, you discover something more challenging/engrossing or curious or more difficult than ‘Orwell said it all’ or ‘Winston Churchill’ or ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’?
     
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  16. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    I don't know I just feel like poets pick precisely the best verbs. They're verb conscious. I don't often feel that way about starting writers we tend to play it safe.
     
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  17. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Are you saying I should have, in some way or another, developed beyond William Carlos Williams? Or are you saying it's cliched to like WCW?

    I have no ambitions, mat, not a one, so if it's either of the above, so be it.
     
  18. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    I was being a pompous ass lovely @Jud.
     
  19. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    A poem that, for me, typifies poetry. Just one of many examples.

    Have You Seen But a Bright Lilly Grow by Ben Jonson.

    Have you seen but a bright lily grow
    Before rude hands have touched it?
    Have you marked but the fall of snow
    Before the soil hath smutched it?
    Have you felt the wool of beaver,
    Or swan's down ever?
    Or have smelt o' the bud o' the brier,
    Or the nard in the fire?
    Or have tasted the bag of the bee?
    O so white, O so soft, O so sweet is she!
     
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