david rutkowski
02-15-2004, 03:49 PM
Experimental Poetry
Merriam-Webster online (http://www.m-w.com) defines the word poetry as follows:
Function: noun
1 a : metrical writing : VERSE b : the productions of a poet : POEMS
2 : writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm
3 a : something likened to poetry especially in beauty of expression b : poetic quality or aspect the poetry of dance
Notice "meaning, sound, and rhythm" in the second definition. For the sake of discussing various aspects of poetry, I would call "meaning", content; "sound, and rhythm", I would call form. One might say that in poetry, form and content are truly inseparable. Yet, we can say this poem is "about" this or that, and uses this or that technique to convey, reinforce or enhance its meaning.
So let's experiment.
Form can be manipulated in endless ways, from the sonnet to one letter per line poems to poems in the shape of an easy chair. At this point in time, such conspicuous manipulation of form could hardly be considered "experimental." All form seems to serve the purpose of setting up a quest, a hurdle which the writer needs negociate in order to achieve a novel melding with a poem's content. An interesting side effect of form is that it often leads the writer to choices of expression demanded by the form. For example, if I chose to write in quatrains in which the first word of every line rhymed, and I wanted to write about coffee, I might start thinking about "lean" "bean" "caffeine" "Racine" "preen" ...
racine informs a morning lucid and
lean as jambon in a parisian cafe
preen your dactylosmile o lovely stranger
lean into my solitude with perfumes ablaze
Even in this sorry impromptu, the form took the content into areas unforeseen (hmm, another rhyme word). But, I contend, merely coming up with novel constraints, although interesting, can hardly be considered experimental, unless the constraints refashion the content of a poem in a fundamental way. For example:
Basic English Basic English was an idea promoted in the 1930's or so to help fill a need for an international language. A vocabulary of about 1000 English words and grammatical guidelines were offered as means of expression which most non-English speakers could master in a few months of serious study. What would be the characteristics of Basic English Poetry? Perhaps, that simplicity is often the most elegant solution to a problem, be it interpersonal or poetic. The limited vocabulary would encourage an accessible style which might spill over into the content of the poem, reducing experience to its most basic terms. In Basic English poetry, allusion would probably be minimal, and metaphor, to be appealing, would likely need to be a bit more inventive than usual.
pick the setting suns
one by one throw them
over the page like anger
then sit quietly
they will come to your open hands
to drink
Extended Basic English What if one were to extend the honed down language into a direction, into the the realm of dentistry, for example, then use that newly defined constraint to write poems, probably judiciously avoiding any poems about dentistry itself. How would Rilke (or any poetry luminary) advise a young poet in those terms? How would one write a eulogy? A sestina? A napkin poem in a singles' bar? The tension between what one wants to say, and the words one has available for expressing ideas could possibly be a well-spring of dramatic vignettes.
Fairly simple computer programs can verify that the chosen word domain is adhered to (the programs to verify Basic English documents are indeed Basic English). The first tier of criticism could be as simple as a binary thumbs up.
There are other areas of experimentation I hope to explore in future postings: combinations of prose and verse, essay poems, false translations, among others. Later ...
Merriam-Webster online (http://www.m-w.com) defines the word poetry as follows:
Function: noun
1 a : metrical writing : VERSE b : the productions of a poet : POEMS
2 : writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm
3 a : something likened to poetry especially in beauty of expression b : poetic quality or aspect the poetry of dance
Notice "meaning, sound, and rhythm" in the second definition. For the sake of discussing various aspects of poetry, I would call "meaning", content; "sound, and rhythm", I would call form. One might say that in poetry, form and content are truly inseparable. Yet, we can say this poem is "about" this or that, and uses this or that technique to convey, reinforce or enhance its meaning.
So let's experiment.
Form can be manipulated in endless ways, from the sonnet to one letter per line poems to poems in the shape of an easy chair. At this point in time, such conspicuous manipulation of form could hardly be considered "experimental." All form seems to serve the purpose of setting up a quest, a hurdle which the writer needs negociate in order to achieve a novel melding with a poem's content. An interesting side effect of form is that it often leads the writer to choices of expression demanded by the form. For example, if I chose to write in quatrains in which the first word of every line rhymed, and I wanted to write about coffee, I might start thinking about "lean" "bean" "caffeine" "Racine" "preen" ...
racine informs a morning lucid and
lean as jambon in a parisian cafe
preen your dactylosmile o lovely stranger
lean into my solitude with perfumes ablaze
Even in this sorry impromptu, the form took the content into areas unforeseen (hmm, another rhyme word). But, I contend, merely coming up with novel constraints, although interesting, can hardly be considered experimental, unless the constraints refashion the content of a poem in a fundamental way. For example:
Basic English Basic English was an idea promoted in the 1930's or so to help fill a need for an international language. A vocabulary of about 1000 English words and grammatical guidelines were offered as means of expression which most non-English speakers could master in a few months of serious study. What would be the characteristics of Basic English Poetry? Perhaps, that simplicity is often the most elegant solution to a problem, be it interpersonal or poetic. The limited vocabulary would encourage an accessible style which might spill over into the content of the poem, reducing experience to its most basic terms. In Basic English poetry, allusion would probably be minimal, and metaphor, to be appealing, would likely need to be a bit more inventive than usual.
pick the setting suns
one by one throw them
over the page like anger
then sit quietly
they will come to your open hands
to drink
Extended Basic English What if one were to extend the honed down language into a direction, into the the realm of dentistry, for example, then use that newly defined constraint to write poems, probably judiciously avoiding any poems about dentistry itself. How would Rilke (or any poetry luminary) advise a young poet in those terms? How would one write a eulogy? A sestina? A napkin poem in a singles' bar? The tension between what one wants to say, and the words one has available for expressing ideas could possibly be a well-spring of dramatic vignettes.
Fairly simple computer programs can verify that the chosen word domain is adhered to (the programs to verify Basic English documents are indeed Basic English). The first tier of criticism could be as simple as a binary thumbs up.
There are other areas of experimentation I hope to explore in future postings: combinations of prose and verse, essay poems, false translations, among others. Later ...