Interesting, Frank. I revel in an image that corresponds lightly and weirdly with itself, twice or more in a poem. Clarity is not what I am working toward.
That’s advice Baker gives to his students, I imagine because sometimes they get the idea that obscurity is a virtue and assume we can see what they see even if it’s not actually there in the words of their poem.
Clarity of language, imagery, metaphor, even meaning. Here are two examples of poems that are clear as a bell, both from award-winning collections:
Baker again: “In my little universe, bad poets are those who write unclearly about clear things. Good poets are those who write clearly about unclear things.”
Amy and Radha, I love this interview and the poems too, and find Amy's experience and advice so resonant with my own--the role of not knowing and the role of just-keeping-on -even-when-there's-no-road. I've always also found themes emerging from batches of poems, rather than them inspiring the poems, though when you've found a thread, it can help more poets emerge. Thank you both!
Great line: “Writing poetry is not journaling.”
That should be on a T-shirt, like David Baker’s advice “Don’t be afraid of being clear.”
Interesting, Frank. I revel in an image that corresponds lightly and weirdly with itself, twice or more in a poem. Clarity is not what I am working toward.
That’s advice Baker gives to his students, I imagine because sometimes they get the idea that obscurity is a virtue and assume we can see what they see even if it’s not actually there in the words of their poem.
Clarity of language, imagery, metaphor, even meaning. Here are two examples of poems that are clear as a bell, both from award-winning collections:
https://poets.org/poem/geodes
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55518/the-universe-as-primal-scream
Baker again: “In my little universe, bad poets are those who write unclearly about clear things. Good poets are those who write clearly about unclear things.”
So exciting. As my full-length ms evolves, I wonder if the poems that don't support the impulses will live in a chapbook. Wonderful conversation.
Amy and Radha, I love this interview and the poems too, and find Amy's experience and advice so resonant with my own--the role of not knowing and the role of just-keeping-on -even-when-there's-no-road. I've always also found themes emerging from batches of poems, rather than them inspiring the poems, though when you've found a thread, it can help more poets emerge. Thank you both!
What an extraordinary example, Frank. thank you.