THIRTY-SEVEN
CENTS |
|
A ROSE IS A ROSE--AND A VINCA ISN'T.
When Gertrude Stein said, "A rose is a rose is a rose," she was called
a "literary cubist" by her friends but widely ridiculed by less
sympathetic critics, who found her guilty of carrying to extremes weird
repetitions and seemingly nonsensical manipulations of words. It may
make a difference to some to hear the flowers in Lee Ann Russell's
photograph above called Sweet Williams or phlox or vincas--no one is
calling them roses--but whatever we call them, we agree that the beauty we
see is the same. Also, most of us agree with Shakespeare's Juliet, who said, "A rose by any
other name would smell as sweet." The sight of the flower and the
scent of the flower may register the same on our sensibilities, but as
poets we are well aware that how we respond to beauty is personal or
individual. A successful poem may very well cause us to feel the way
the poet felt, but the poem is not required to accomplish that task.
That is why we say of a book or a film (or, yes, a flower), "This
experience means this to me even if it means that to you, or
even to the author." The most enjoyable part of a poetry reading for
me is to hear a poet introduce his or her work with a background story
that enriches the work It is possible to misread a work--and I am
guilty frequently--so when I see what the poet saw or smell what the poet
smelled, I may or may not agree that the poem succeeded. But isn't
it fun to turn our lives into what we call art, even if our critics
disagree that is is art indeed? Next month at the state convention
it will be our good fortune to hear two fine poets reveal what they have
done with their lives in the poem-building process. Meanwhile, keep
at it, and maybe someday your critics may say. "Your poem is a poem is a
poem."
Next Issue Missouri State Poetry Society
National Federation of State Poetry
Societies
|
HAVE YOU READ THE LATEST ISSUES OF ONLINE NEWSLETTERS?
Remember to read Spare Mule Online and Strophes Online at the addresses given on the Contents menu. You can keep up with members who get newsletters by mail by remembering to read them on the Net. The July 1 issue of Spare Mule Online is now available. Strophes does not appear again until August 1 in order to give a complete list of winners of the NFSPS contests. MSPS
SUMMER CONTEST MSPS STATE CONVENTION
|