I am of two minds on this topic, which I consider almost every day. I have always used, as my guiding principle, utmost clarity of meaning while also trying to convey the magical, mystical quality that caused me to attempt a poem.
I have always found it to be a less interesting discussion when the topic bends toward “what is this poem about, what is the author actually trying to say?” I prefer the inquiry to be about a subject that is well established but still unknown, like love or virtually any topic: sunshine, quiet, trees, moonlight, the sound of wind, the vast stupidity, cupidity or grace of man.
Don’t make the nut so hard to crack that the pleasure devolves around a successful safe cracking but rather, show them the door, hand them a key of joint knowledge and let as many as possible enjoy.
Do 1 in 1,000 actually read poetry? Or is it 1 in 10,000? The world about us is absurdly replete with mysteries and wonders. Why couch their presentation in abstruse, convoluted, obscure language that is packed with archaic references so opaque that only a handful of people can or will attempt to read?
I guess you can see where I sit in this debate. The bottom line is that I do not want to make ANY reader guess whether the poem is about a statue or is it about a painting, or a song. Let’s instead spend our time discussing that statue’s impossible beauty.
Quite wonderful on both Poetry and the Bible.
Thank you, John!
I am of two minds on this topic, which I consider almost every day. I have always used, as my guiding principle, utmost clarity of meaning while also trying to convey the magical, mystical quality that caused me to attempt a poem.
I have always found it to be a less interesting discussion when the topic bends toward “what is this poem about, what is the author actually trying to say?” I prefer the inquiry to be about a subject that is well established but still unknown, like love or virtually any topic: sunshine, quiet, trees, moonlight, the sound of wind, the vast stupidity, cupidity or grace of man.
Don’t make the nut so hard to crack that the pleasure devolves around a successful safe cracking but rather, show them the door, hand them a key of joint knowledge and let as many as possible enjoy.
Do 1 in 1,000 actually read poetry? Or is it 1 in 10,000? The world about us is absurdly replete with mysteries and wonders. Why couch their presentation in abstruse, convoluted, obscure language that is packed with archaic references so opaque that only a handful of people can or will attempt to read?
I guess you can see where I sit in this debate. The bottom line is that I do not want to make ANY reader guess whether the poem is about a statue or is it about a painting, or a song. Let’s instead spend our time discussing that statue’s impossible beauty.