poetry

the question of what makes good poetry doesn't have a simple answer. poetry has always been something i have struggled to grasp by myself, and i appreciate the insight of my classmates as we delve into the workings of a poet's mind to find out what exactly s/he is talking about.

as i think about poetry, i have to ask myself what do i think makes good poetry? i don't ask myself that because i think that i am a good judge of poetry. but sometime, i have to answer, what am i going to decide to teach my middle school or high school students, and why?

one of the things that i have come to appreciate about poetry is the ability of a good poet to strike the cords of my heart with words.

and e.e.cummings does just that. half the time i don't understand what in the world he is saying, but i do know that it sounds amazing. :-) oh, and he does some neat things with spacing and punctutaion, too.


"O Sweet Spontaneous"

O sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
doting

fingers of
purient philosophers pinched
and
poked

thee
,has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thy

beauty .how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy knees
squeezing and

buffeting thee that thou mightest concieve
gods
(but
true

to the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
lover
thou answerest

them only with

spring)

The Greatest Dilemma

I think one of the great dilemmas of my life has been whether to use a pen or a pencil while taking notes in class.

There are pros and cons of each, of course, but I have never seem to come to a great conclusion. The influencing factor to which I use at any given time largely has to do with what I have available.

Pencils are wonderful. As an English major, they evoke a feeling of antiquity and creativity. It is also incredibly empowering to know that you can erase whatever you write down.

On the other hand, Pens have a quality that cannot be equalled. The grace and sense of finality that they bring to a piece of paper is satisfying. And yet, the type of Pen greatly matters. Just any old cheap Pen really brings down the effect of your writing, but a nice, elegant Pen with dark ink just sharpens the appearance of what you write. There is of course, the horrifying occurance of a mistake being made with a Pen. A remedy has been attempted for this in the making of Erasable Ink, but the quality of this ink is poor and not worth using. Because of this, extreme caution must be exercised while using a Pen, lest the appearance of your paper be marred by mistakes.

For the moment, my mind has not been worried over which utensil to use, as I do not possess a high quality Pen. I write in Pencil, for now, and write with pride.