tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13638090.post6485126289657495359..comments2023-10-28T03:20:59.400-06:00Comments on What Silence: Poetry, Go, and St. John's WortJeremy Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256074521855601742noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13638090.post-49707229269834023782008-11-19T10:21:00.000-07:002008-11-19T10:21:00.000-07:00Good poetry does flow. I dislike poetry as well, t...Good poetry does flow. I dislike poetry as well, though in my case I think it's because it doesn't hold a visceral appeal to me. I can appreciate its beauty intellectually, but it doesn't draw me. I think it's because I see language as a tool more than a medium. It is there to convey, not be admired in itself; and so i find beauty of poetry simply <I>boring</I>. Give me substantive thought, and I will be all over it.<BR/><BR/>It's kinda like the aesthetics of cooking IMO. A visually pleasing meal is certainly visually pleasing, ahem, but I will be damned if I put any significant effort into making a meal <I>pretty</I> -- or pay someone else for it.<BR/><BR/>Poetry, I think, it like spending hours to make a really beautiful dish which will be eaten in a few moments. Lots of form, little substance.<BR/><BR/>of course this isn't the case for all poetry. Once, as a teenager, I read a poem which really stuck with me. Had all poetry been like this, i would have been a lover of it:<BR/><BR/><I>You must be to the east, west, north, or south -- there is no fifth choice.<BR/><BR/>You must be on the ground, under ground, or above the ground -- there is no fourth choice.<BR/><BR/>You must be, or not be -- there is no third choice.<BR/><BR/>You must -- there is no choice.</I>Victorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964804781965361460noreply@blogger.com