poetry

[msagara]

I started my writing life as a poet, published a few pieces in University reviews, and then embarked on my life as a professional liar -- which is to say, a writer of fiction.

Every so often, however, I have the same compulsion that used to drive me into the corners of crowded rooms, with scraps of paper and a pen I stole from some bewildered stranger, and I write poetry.

KP and I were discussing poetry tonight. Or rather, we were discussing a collection of poetry which I thought should have been severely edited before it saw print -- because had it been, I would have loved it. I know that poetry is hard to edit -- but oddly enough, while I would not touch a single word of the same writer's -prose- (or most prose, really, as I'm not a line-editor for other's work), I would fiddle all over the place with other's poetry, if allowed.

I'm not sure why. In fact, I'm not sure why I write the poetry, because there is not only no intent to have it published, there is an active intent to have it buried.

Anyone else?

Comments

Re: rhyming

[msagara.livejournal.com]

Actually, Larry, unless you think Shakespeare stinks (don't ask me), I -can't- read his sonnets for the reasons stated above; I can't comment on the quality of his poetry, for that reason, although -if- it's read aloud, it will sometimes move me in way that it can't on the page; my own internal rhyming-response gets in the way.

Re: rhyming

[larryhammer]

Interesting.

---L.

Re: rhyming

[msagara.livejournal.com]

I consider it an unfortunate character flaw, but any attempts to alleviate it have always failed...

Re: rhyming

[larryhammer]

If that's how you're wired, I find it hard to call it a character flaw. It's ... how you're wired, that's all.

---L.