Posts
Donald Justice, lauded modern poet, wrote in his "Poem" -
"This poem is not addressed to you,
You may come into it briefly,
But no one will find you here, no one,
You will have changed before the poem will."
Its last two lines:
"And it does not matter what you think,
This poem is not addressed to you."
REALLY?
If your words do not speak to the reader, do not expect her to listen ... or to come back for more.
Here is a snippet from SUNDAY MORNING by Wallace Stevens, another lauded modern poet:
"Emotions on wet roads on autumn nights,
All pleasures and all pains, remembering,
The bough of summer and the winter branch,
These are measures destined for her soul."
One snippet was a slap to your face, the other was a murmur to your soul.
Which did you like more?
“You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose.
That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words.
That is your role, your gift.”
- Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Another quote:
“Writing is something you do alone.
Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story
but don't want to make eye contact while doing it."
- John Green
John Green nailed it!
ReplyDeleteWe can write for ourselves, but eventually we have to write for others.
I actually like Donald Justice's Poem better. It spoke more clearly to me. And more personally. Indeed I will change before his writing does... perhaps because of what I read (his words or those of someone else).
ReplyDeleteWallace Steven's words are beautiful - and remote. Not addressed personally to any of us.
How I loved The Night Circus. A book I will read again and again, taking something different from it each time - based on my mood, and the ways that life has shaped and changed me...
Alex:
ReplyDeleteDidn't he though? :-) I think the truest writing is when we do both.
Elephant's Child:
That is why Justice is lauded. :-) Yes, each of changeds while prose remains. Or does it?
The same play by Shakespeare evolves before your eyes over the years as you, yourself evolve.
I will have to see if I can find an audio version of THE NIGHT CIRCUS.
Thanks for visiting and staying to chat with me. :-)
I can identify with John Green somewhat, yet I've never read his works. I believe a storyteller's purpose is to take us to another world, into another's life, or into thoughts we never considered. Because of our having contact with the words of another, we can see things in a different light.
ReplyDeleteD.G.:
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly. We can look through another's eyes and perceptions and grow. Reading is a magical experience, isn't it? :-)
Justice's lines did nothing for me, but I like Wallace's. I read poetry (so many writers don't!), and the best ones seem to move with the rhythm of our own emotions and experiences.
ReplyDeleteI've heard good things about the Night Circus, so eventually I'll get around to it.
By the way, there was a poll/competition in Ireland just this month on what poem people thought should be the country's favorite poem. Seamus Heaney won (of course) with his "When All the Others Were Away at Mass." And it is lovely and emotional.
Helena:
ReplyDeleteYou and I much alike with that Justice snippet. Wallace's poems always strike an evocative chord deep within me.
The Night Circus strikes me as to have an unhappy ending -- and I get those just by living my life! But I may take a chance on the audiobook of it! :-)
I do not wonder that Seamus Heaney won that competition!
How goes it with your attempts at disguise?
I haven't done the practical disguise work yet--just realized over the weekend I should go for it, and since then I've been at work. But this weekend and the next I'll try to get some stuff together (Goodwill should be a good resource) and then get out of my comfort zone and try going about "under false colors" (old Victorian term).
ReplyDelete