01-01-2012, 07:00 AM
"As to giving life advice - who does that?" (an answer to this is still germane to the poem, as a point of clarification and understanding, n'est-ce pas?)
Oh, on some of the other poetry sites there are all kinds of caretakers. People read what is written as being autobiographical and current, and express concern if something in the poem implies that the person is in some sort of danger, is experiencing difficult times, is close to dying, or killing themselves. It is also not uncommon because many non-poets use these poetry sites as kind of a public confessional to illicit responses of pity (what they call support). Kind of like when someone says, "you are not being very supportive", when what they really mean is, "your not telling me what I want to hear.") The bottom line, besides that unpleasant feeling that one gets from voyeurs under the guise of helping and concern, is a whole lot of drama, and very little poetry.
Although I chaff somewhat at the restriction put on some of the forums on this web site, it is far preferable than the total non-focus on poetry, and complete focus on game playing and drama that occurs on other sites, especially the larger ones.
"I am very interested in why a poet would not wish to clarify something in a poem."
There is a difference between clarifying a point, and giving the meaning of the poem, or detail the mental and psychological mechanisms that were operative while the poem was being created. Although one has to be complicit in making oneself that vulnerable, just the fact that they are trying to probe in such an intimate part of your life feels like a violation. To me it feels like they are trying to get to the muse within and suck it out. It is probably not that, but it often feels that way. Any poet knows, to some degree, even if it is unconscious, about the function of inspiration in creating something. Such questions related to inspiration feel violating, probably for two reasons: although poets may handle and use inspiration, they do not understand it (nor wish to jeopardize it by talking about it), nor have a rational way to describe it, and inspiration is often tied to very personal and intimate parts of ourselves we do not wish to reveal.
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If those answers vary to far from the topic I apologize. I suspect they might be, although they seem germane to me, they are less about function and mechanism, and more about the meaning or an explanation of the poem, and thus it becomes a matter of being an apologist, rather than that of a critic.
Should someone wish to clarify that distinction further, I would welcome it.
Dale
Oh, on some of the other poetry sites there are all kinds of caretakers. People read what is written as being autobiographical and current, and express concern if something in the poem implies that the person is in some sort of danger, is experiencing difficult times, is close to dying, or killing themselves. It is also not uncommon because many non-poets use these poetry sites as kind of a public confessional to illicit responses of pity (what they call support). Kind of like when someone says, "you are not being very supportive", when what they really mean is, "your not telling me what I want to hear.") The bottom line, besides that unpleasant feeling that one gets from voyeurs under the guise of helping and concern, is a whole lot of drama, and very little poetry.
Although I chaff somewhat at the restriction put on some of the forums on this web site, it is far preferable than the total non-focus on poetry, and complete focus on game playing and drama that occurs on other sites, especially the larger ones.
"I am very interested in why a poet would not wish to clarify something in a poem."
There is a difference between clarifying a point, and giving the meaning of the poem, or detail the mental and psychological mechanisms that were operative while the poem was being created. Although one has to be complicit in making oneself that vulnerable, just the fact that they are trying to probe in such an intimate part of your life feels like a violation. To me it feels like they are trying to get to the muse within and suck it out. It is probably not that, but it often feels that way. Any poet knows, to some degree, even if it is unconscious, about the function of inspiration in creating something. Such questions related to inspiration feel violating, probably for two reasons: although poets may handle and use inspiration, they do not understand it (nor wish to jeopardize it by talking about it), nor have a rational way to describe it, and inspiration is often tied to very personal and intimate parts of ourselves we do not wish to reveal.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If those answers vary to far from the topic I apologize. I suspect they might be, although they seem germane to me, they are less about function and mechanism, and more about the meaning or an explanation of the poem, and thus it becomes a matter of being an apologist, rather than that of a critic.
Should someone wish to clarify that distinction further, I would welcome it.
Dale
How long after picking up the brush, the first masterpiece?
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.