Comments on: Poets http://www.sharpsand.net/2007/03/22/poets/ Joseph Duemer's blog about reading, writing, politics, birds, food, & weather Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:31:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: jd http://www.sharpsand.net/2007/03/22/poets/comment-page-1/#comment-2951 jd Fri, 13 Apr 2007 02:15:52 +0000 http://www.sharpsand.net/2007/03/22/poets/#comment-2951 Well, Rephot, I can't help you edit your poetry because I have already got students who take up that particular energy & who pay tuition for my expertise. Perhaps that sounds harsh, but I don't mean to be dismissive. You sound like a smart person & I can certainly see the appeal of Epicurianism. In Asia, poets often served in the government so as to earn a pension that would allow them to retire to a little cabin in the country in order to cultivate a garden & write poems. The problem for an artist in our particular society is that you have to find a way to make a life in which you can honor the values of the imagination. To do that, you usually need to at least take cognizance of the values of the marketplace. Or, to put it bluntly, stay in school & take what you can use. When you go to college you will find a lot more freedom to pursue the values of the imagination. Of course, if you are a genius or have a trust fund, you can ignore this advice. Dylan never went to college & I teach his work in my classes! In either case, if you love poetry, look up these names & read their work: William Blake, William Wordsworth, William Carlos Williams (So many Williams!), Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, E.E. Cummings, Wallace Stevens, Hayden Carruth, Robert Creeley & then just follow your instincts. Start with any couple of anthologies of poetry & then out-distance your boring teachers. But beat them on their own terms, not by running away from them. You may have to serve at the emperor's court fo a while before you can retire to your Epicurean paradise to pursue your artistic inclinations. On the other hand, your poetry may be deepened by having to confront daily reality. Well, Rephot, I can’t help you edit your poetry because I have already got students who take up that particular energy & who pay tuition for my expertise. Perhaps that sounds harsh, but I don’t mean to be dismissive. You sound like a smart person & I can certainly see the appeal of Epicurianism. In Asia, poets often served in the government so as to earn a pension that would allow them to retire to a little cabin in the country in order to cultivate a garden & write poems. The problem for an artist in our particular society is that you have to find a way to make a life in which you can honor the values of the imagination. To do that, you usually need to at least take cognizance of the values of the marketplace. Or, to put it bluntly, stay in school & take what you can use. When you go to college you will find a lot more freedom to pursue the values of the imagination. Of course, if you are a genius or have a trust fund, you can ignore this advice. Dylan never went to college & I teach his work in my classes! In either case, if you love poetry, look up these names & read their work: William Blake, William Wordsworth, William Carlos Williams (So many Williams!), Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, E.E. Cummings, Wallace Stevens, Hayden Carruth, Robert Creeley & then just follow your instincts. Start with any couple of anthologies of poetry & then out-distance your boring teachers. But beat them on their own terms, not by running away from them. You may have to serve at the emperor’s court fo a while before you can retire to your Epicurean paradise to pursue your artistic inclinations. On the other hand, your poetry may be deepened by having to confront daily reality.

]]> By: rephot http://www.sharpsand.net/2007/03/22/poets/comment-page-1/#comment-2941 rephot Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:36:59 +0000 http://www.sharpsand.net/2007/03/22/poets/#comment-2941 hey, i'm a 17 year old poet, and i would love for you to help me edit some of my work. Like you, i have discovered bob dylan and john lennon and dylan thomas pretty much simultaneously. I love Kerouac's on the road, the beat hipness. I want to be hip, leave my worries about colleges and money and such- i have no clue what to do with my life. I consider myself an Epicurean, but where is the best place to live a leisurely life? What job would best allow it? I'm smart, but hate school... I have written a total of ten collections of poetry, about four of which are fairly good, in my opinion- however, no one else has seen them, and i really need another poet to look at them. I like your blog, so i suppose you will do as well as any. Email me if you would be will to help. It will be brilliant. hey,
i’m a 17 year old poet, and i would love for you to help me edit some of my work. Like you, i have discovered bob dylan and john lennon and dylan thomas pretty much simultaneously. I love Kerouac’s on the road, the beat hipness. I want to be hip, leave my worries about colleges and money and such- i have no clue what to do with my life.

I consider myself an Epicurean, but where is the best place to live a leisurely life? What job would best allow it? I’m smart, but hate school…

I have written a total of ten collections of poetry, about four of which are fairly good, in my opinion- however, no one else has seen them, and i really need another poet to look at them. I like your blog, so i suppose you will do as well as any. Email me if you would be will to help. It will be brilliant.

]]> By: Nancy Bauer http://www.sharpsand.net/2007/03/22/poets/comment-page-1/#comment-2271 Nancy Bauer Sun, 25 Mar 2007 11:54:01 +0000 http://www.sharpsand.net/2007/03/22/poets/#comment-2271 You have such a rich life --poetry, birds, bonzai, an obviously lovely home site, good food. I get to know you. You have such a rich life –poetry, birds, bonzai, an obviously lovely home site, good food. I get to know you.

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