Poetry and Class - Page 2

Artdecogoddess · 10-28-2011, 02:46 PM

More seriously...

I read a lot of almost anything - I am kinda a printed word whore.
But when it comes to poetry I don't.
I do read the 9 word thread rather religiously.

There is all of the above in that thread. Darkness, art, pain, beauty, joy, contempt and anger and so much more.

When I write - my goal is often to get something out of my head - where it is taking up space and warmth and intensity. So even if the poem isn't about the more painful memories of my youth - its in there somewhere in my word choice, phrasing etc etc.

ADG

Ginger · 03-15-2012, 11:38 AM

I got my MFA from an Ivy League school and that's where I learned about class.

I thought I knew about class, but as a young person whose family had a rural, aspiring-to-middle-class background, and having earned a mediocre public education, I felt very different from my classmates. Example: I was told—and I know it sounds unkind, but it really wasn't—that I had no "leisure skills," meaning, I didn't ski, or play tennis or racquetball. Someone else asked what camp I went to every summer when I was growing up, and I said I didn't go to camp—the shock on her face! It was priceless! And here's my last example, though I could go on: I went to Europe with a lover. I spent my life's savings. She spent her allowance.

Talent is a great equalizer, though—and while a good education enhances it, there is a point where talent is either there or it isn't.

I learned to keep putting my work in places where people who could support me in some way, would see it. Every fellowship, award and publication I received for a very long time, were through the sadly but aptly named "slush pile." In other words, I was completely anonymous to the people at the gate. Eventually, I started meeting people and relating to them as friends, and we bonded around our work, and became a support for each other. It happened very slowly, though, because I let my ridiculous life get in the way.

My advice to poets feeling shut out—and I've been there—is this:

If you want to be heard, start listening. Go to as many readings as you can. Find the poets you admire in your city, and read them—not because you're kissing ass, but because you love the work and it fuels you. Also, go to as many open readings as you can, to practice reading your work in front of strangers, and let your mutual love of poetry connect you with people. As you begin to find your community, you'll find your audience, and maybe even your voice.

10-28-2011, 02:46 PM	#21
Artdecogoddess Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Preferred Pronoun?: She - but read me however! Relationship Status: Blissfull! Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Baltimore Posts: 399 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,596 Thanked 888 Times in 199 Posts Rep Power: 5087998	More seriously... I read a lot of almost anything - I am kinda a printed word whore. But when it comes to poetry I don't. I do read the 9 word thread rather religiously. There is all of the above in that thread. Darkness, art, pain, beauty, joy, contempt and anger and so much more. When I write - my goal is often to get something out of my head - where it is taking up space and warmth and intensity. So even if the poem isn't about the more painful memories of my youth - its in there somewhere in my word choice, phrasing etc etc. ADG __________________ [ Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you...it means that you do not treat your body as a commodity with which to purchase superficial intimacy or economic security; for our bodies to be treated as objects, our minds are in mortal danger. It means insisting that those to whom you give your friendship and love are able to respect your mind. It means being able to say, with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre: "I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all the extraneous delights should be withheld or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give. Responsibility to yourself means that you don't fall for shallow and easy solutions--predigested books and ideas...marrying early as an escape from real decisions, getting pregnant as an evasion of already existing problems. It means that you refuse to sell your talents and aspirations short...and this, in turn, means resisting the forces in society which say that women should be nice, play safe, have low professional expectations, drown in love and forget about work, live through others, and stay in the places assigned to us. It means that we insist on a life of meaningful work, insist that work be as meaningful as love and friendship in our lives. It means, therefore, the courage to be "different"...The difference between a life lived actively, and a life of passive drifting and dispersal of energies, is an immense difference. Once we begin to feel committed to our lives, responsible to ourselves, we can never again be satisfied with the old, passive way." Adrienne Rich

03-15-2012, 11:38 AM	#22
Ginger Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Femme lesbian Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: East coast Posts: 2,416 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,829 Thanked 12,309 Times in 2,057 Posts Rep Power: 21474851	I got my MFA from an Ivy League school and that's where I learned about class. I thought I knew about class, but as a young person whose family had a rural, aspiring-to-middle-class background, and having earned a mediocre public education, I felt very different from my classmates. Example: I was told—and I know it sounds unkind, but it really wasn't—that I had no "leisure skills," meaning, I didn't ski, or play tennis or racquetball. Someone else asked what camp I went to every summer when I was growing up, and I said I didn't go to camp—the shock on her face! It was priceless! And here's my last example, though I could go on: I went to Europe with a lover. I spent my life's savings. She spent her allowance. Talent is a great equalizer, though—and while a good education enhances it, there is a point where talent is either there or it isn't. I learned to keep putting my work in places where people who could support me in some way, would see it. Every fellowship, award and publication I received for a very long time, were through the sadly but aptly named "slush pile." In other words, I was completely anonymous to the people at the gate. Eventually, I started meeting people and relating to them as friends, and we bonded around our work, and became a support for each other. It happened very slowly, though, because I let my ridiculous life get in the way. My advice to poets feeling shut out—and I've been there—is this: If you want to be heard, start listening. Go to as many readings as you can. Find the poets you admire in your city, and read them—not because you're kissing ass, but because you love the work and it fuels you. Also, go to as many open readings as you can, to practice reading your work in front of strangers, and let your mutual love of poetry connect you with people. As you begin to find your community, you'll find your audience, and maybe even your voice.