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Post by Gerry on Jun 17, 2024 12:15:31 GMT -5
Stephen Dunn used to say that all good poetry should have a "but" in it. I think he was paraphrasing this quote by Auden: “Poetry might be defined as the clear expression of mixed feelings.” Thoughts?
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Post by denise on Jun 19, 2024 12:26:57 GMT -5
I struggle with this quote a bit, Gerry. Did Auden mean this literally? Was he saying that, to be successful, the poem must be clearly expressed so that it is understood by the reader? All readers? Or perhaps only that there are myriad views/interpretations and that fact must be clear?
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Post by bluebird on Jun 24, 2024 7:27:24 GMT -5
I like the Auden quote that "poetry might be defined as the clear expression of mixed feelings. Amazing to
think about it that way, and doing so makes a lot of sense to me re why we write at all; it's almost as if we
are arguing out something in our own selves, our own minds as we try to truthful about what we are feeling
and what sometimes confuses us until we just have to write about it to clarify it in some way for ourselves.
I'm going to try to remember this. Maybe like this: a good cake or a good salad has all the right ingredients
in the right order (so to speak) ha ha....but I think it does work so I'm going to put my third poem through this
sieve and see if doing so makes the poem more intriguing. I kind of like the idea of a poem being sort of like
cooking.
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