It is great reading your Substack creations and those written by Lyz Lenz and loving that i get to learn a new word or two every time for example; vacuity from you and ‘yeeting’ from Lyz recently. Writing poetry that doesn't come from a place of vacuity or deserve a good yeet into a garbage pile is a good goal. Thankful for writers!
I loved your first section on poetry, my favorite thing you’ve written. As a man about your age, the slant is where life is, and where the joy is, and where the meaning is. I can’t even explain that But I know it’s true, kind of like poetry.
Thanks so much, Ken. I love that Emily Dickinson quote because it's like a zen koan. "Telling the truth slant" requires a constant interpretation and interrogation. I can't explain it either, but that is where life, joy, poetry, and meaning are.
I see some similarities between your writing and the 19th century French "poetes maudits". Not that your work is derivative, but maybe they were a seminal influence.
I'll take that comparison any day, Jean. Thanks so much. And there are so many French writers who have deeply influenced me. Nathalie Sarraute. Marguerite Duras. Barthes. There's a similar vein they're tracing.
When teaching poetry, I used to suggest to students that if language and life fit together like a hand in a glove, maybe poetry wouldn't need to exist. But there is a gap that only poetry seems to be able to fill.
It is great reading your Substack creations and those written by Lyz Lenz and loving that i get to learn a new word or two every time for example; vacuity from you and ‘yeeting’ from Lyz recently. Writing poetry that doesn't come from a place of vacuity or deserve a good yeet into a garbage pile is a good goal. Thankful for writers!
Thanks, Polly! I'm off to look up "yeeting." What a wonderful sounding word—a word to keep in your back pocket for special occasions.
I loved your first section on poetry, my favorite thing you’ve written. As a man about your age, the slant is where life is, and where the joy is, and where the meaning is. I can’t even explain that But I know it’s true, kind of like poetry.
Thanks so much, Ken. I love that Emily Dickinson quote because it's like a zen koan. "Telling the truth slant" requires a constant interpretation and interrogation. I can't explain it either, but that is where life, joy, poetry, and meaning are.
I see some similarities between your writing and the 19th century French "poetes maudits". Not that your work is derivative, but maybe they were a seminal influence.
I'll take that comparison any day, Jean. Thanks so much. And there are so many French writers who have deeply influenced me. Nathalie Sarraute. Marguerite Duras. Barthes. There's a similar vein they're tracing.
When teaching poetry, I used to suggest to students that if language and life fit together like a hand in a glove, maybe poetry wouldn't need to exist. But there is a gap that only poetry seems to be able to fill.
That's such a great metaphor. It's all about the gap. The need for reconciliation.