"Poems, everyone! The lad reckons himself a poet!"

[andrewducker]

"Do you have a favourite poem, and if so, what is it?" asks an anonymous Amer-Glaswegian with a balloon phobia and gorgeous dogs.

Um, no.

I've tried to like poetry repeatedly, but I just can't get my head around most of it. Most poetry just bounces straight off of me, which is odd, because there are a lots of song lyrics I really like and let's fact it, with the kind of music I like, the difference isn't that huge.

There are some poems I like because they have some resonance, like Phillip Larkin's This Be The Verse, but even then they lack the emotional power of vast numbers of songs, books, comics, films and other media.

Sorry.

Comments

[kpollock.livejournal.com]

I refer you to my previous article "Why be a famous atrist?" (photocopy about 10 years ago).

BTW: if you don't have it I actaully (for once) do!

[andrewducker]

link!

[kpollock.livejournal.com]

At home. On paper.

[andrewducker]

photocopy!

[kpollock.livejournal.com]

scan?

[andrewducker]

scan!

[moniqueleigh]

Hey, thanks for the link! I'd never read that poem before. & yes, it does have resonance...

[allorin.livejournal.com]

Does music lend the 'poetic' lyrics of songs additional meaning then? Or help you to relate? If poetry was set to music, would you find it easier to absorb?

[andrewducker]

I think the music makes it a lot easier to absorb- it makes it more likely that I'd listen to it repeatedly, drilling it in to my brain.

I believe that most poetry is supposed to be spoken aloud rather than read - possibly if I went to poetry readings rather than simply reading it myself I'd enjoy it more.

Re:

[allorin.livejournal.com]

I think that's quite true.

[kpollock.livejournal.com]

I'm not keen on poetry much these days. Shame, cos i was passable at writing the stuff at one time.

[wordofblake.livejournal.com]

I like "Sailing to Byzantium" and "the circus animals desertion" and pretty much any other poem by WB Yeats