I read an interview with Robert Frost where he was complaining about "modern" poets (I think Allen Ginsberg, etc) just slapping down words without thinking. He was a very meticulous poet who went over his poems many many times.
In the same book as that interview were interviews with other poets, including Allen Ginsberg. Some poets were more uptight about what they were doing, some of them were more picky than others, some had a looser definition of poetry and so forth. A lot of personality goes into a poem.
I dislike a picky attitude, but at the same time I don't like sloppy writing. I really like expressiveness and spontaneity. I like Jack Kerouac's idea of spontaneous writing.
I also like this part of Haiku: it comes to you, you say it, you are done. It was perfect. No revising.
-Jim
July 2, 2008 at 1:53 AM
Dear Mr. Frost,
I slapped some words on a page today and called it a poem.
I know you wouldn't approve, but you are dead and I am not.
"Dear Mr. Frost"
2 Comments -
Do you really think he wouldn't approve? I know little of Frost, but I think he might, at least in some way.
July 1, 2008 at 12:41 PM
I read an interview with Robert Frost where he was complaining about "modern" poets (I think Allen Ginsberg, etc) just slapping down words without thinking. He was a very meticulous poet who went over his poems many many times.
In the same book as that interview were interviews with other poets, including Allen Ginsberg. Some poets were more uptight about what they were doing, some of them were more picky than others, some had a looser definition of poetry and so forth. A lot of personality goes into a poem.
I dislike a picky attitude, but at the same time I don't like sloppy writing. I really like expressiveness and spontaneity. I like Jack Kerouac's idea of spontaneous writing.
I also like this part of Haiku: it comes to you, you say it, you are done. It was perfect. No revising.
-Jim
July 2, 2008 at 1:53 AM