Poetry is Experience: The Writer's Responsibility
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Poetry is Experience: The Writer's Responsibility (From Poetry Free-for-all, Blurbs of Wisdom)
Extract
"A reader comes to a poem for one reason: she wants to experience something herself, to feel something herself. She doesn't care what the writer has experienced or felt; she wants those things for herself. That's why successful poetry is reader-centered, not writer-centered."
What do you think?
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Originally posted by DeadPoet:
True.
Poetry is Experience: The Writer's Responsibility (From Poetry Free-for-all, Blurbs of Wisdom)
[b]Extract
"A reader comes to a poem for one reason: she wants to experience something herself, to feel something herself. She doesn't care what the writer has experienced or felt; she wants those things for herself. That's why successful poetry is reader-centered, not writer-centered."
What do you think?
[/b]
I read a poem...if it applies to me, if it tells a story I had gone through and had the feeling myself....I will like the poem. -
For those who are too lazy to click the link.
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Poetry is Experience: The Writer's Responsibility
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Why does a reader come to a poem in the first place? Is it because she wants to know about the poet? Is it because she wants to know what the poet feels about something? Is it because she wants the poet to lecture her about something? Absolutely not.
A reader comes to a poem for one reason: she wants to experience something herself, to feel something herself. She doesn't care what the writer has experienced or felt; she wants those things for herself. That's why successful poetry is reader-centered, not writer-centered.
And how do we experience things? Fundamentally, through the senses. We see the shape of dogwood blossoms, we hear the sound of rain on leaves, we smell fresh cow dung. Our experiences are rooted in specific, concrete, immediate sense perceptions.
And that is precisely the function to poetry: to create experiences for the reader. The only way it can do so is through focused, detailed sensory perceptions--images. It's not an accident that the word "image" is the root of "imagination"; poetry is that use of language which allows the reader to have an experience in her imagination.
For that reason, abstraction frequently is the enemy of successful poetry because abstractions are not things we ever directly experience. Abstractions are generalizations drawn from experience and, as such, are at least one remove away from direct experience. We never actually experience "beauty"; we see a rose, a seashell, a face, which we identify as "beautiful," but that identification is a process of generalization based on similarities both of sense perception and of emotive response to those sense perceptions. Only the immediate, the concrete, the tangible produce both the sense perception and the accompanying emotive response; the generalized and abstracted conceptualizations themselves lack the capacity to do so.
Poetry often deals with generalizations and abstractions; successful poems, however, are those which do so in concrete, specific terms which allow the reader to experience something. It's of little use to the reader to be told the writer has experienced 'enlightenment' for instance. So what? The reader doesn't care about the writer; she wants to experience it herself. That's why a poem would have to present the experience of "enlightenment' in direct sensory terms, not generalized abstractions.
Certainly, very good writers use generalizations and abstractions, but they almost inevitably do so in concrete, imagistic terms. Pope's Essay on Man deals with the abstract conceptions of a particular form of universal order, but the poem is a great one in part because Pope is able to express the abstract conceptions by means of a wealth of specific, perceptible images. For example, when Pope says
"Hope springs eternal in the human b.reast:
Man never is, but always to be blest"
he follows with a concrete illustration:
"Lo! the poor Indian, whose untutored mind
Sees God in clouds, or hears Him in the wind;
His soul proud Science never taught to stray
Far as the solar walk, or milky way;
Yet simple Nature to his hope has given,
Behind the colud-topped hill, an humbler heaven;
Some safer world in depth of woods embraced,
Some happier island in the watery waste,
Where slaves once more their native land behold,
No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold!
To be, contents his natural desire,
He asks no angel's wing, no seraph's fire;
But thinks, admitted to that equal sky,
His faithful dog shall bear him company.
The abstract conception is realized (in the sense of made tangible and perceptible) in specific, concrete terms.
Shakespeare does the same thing with the abstract conception of "love" in "Sonnet 116," where love, among other things, becomes concretized as the North Star, always visible and providing a reliable guide: "It is the star to ev'ry wand'ring bark." Similarly, Keats, in recognizing that he is unlikely to live long enough to achieve those things he wishes and that they therefore have no value to him, describes this recognition not in abstract terms but in a concrete image:
"--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink."
Keats portrays himself standing on a desolate beach staring out into the vast ocean where "Love and Fame"--implicitly described as ships--sink and are lost forever. These concrete images communicate far more than any quantity of pure abstractions ever could.
Beginning writers almost universally lack the skill to deal adequately with abstractions and are therefore told to avoid them until they have acquired considerable experience. Focus instead on communicating with the reader through focused, concrete images because these are what allows the reader to have the imaginative experience that is what poetry is all about.
In other words, ask not what the reader can do for you, but what you can do for the reader. -
if i am creating art... I am expressing myself... sometimes I would not be thinking of the audience... it exists for its own sake... not for people or for success..
Perhaps its successful i communicating the expression because of a shared experience... -
Usually a beginner writer, in this case a poet, started off by wanting to share his/her emotions/experiences with the reader via his/her poems. This is a good thing and I strongly encourage you to pick up your pen and draft your first poem.
At this stage, the focus of the poems is about ‘self’ in the highly ambiguous term ‘self-expression’. These poems are mainly about ‘this is how I feel’, ‘this is what I did’, etc. i.e. about ‘me’, my experiences, my emotions and my feelings. Such writes usually received praises from friends, family members, and colleagues. I am not surprise if these poems also receive very positive comments in some poetry forums. Some of my works were even highly praised in other oversea poetry forums.
But I am not so sure about that now.
Most of us stop at this stage. In fact, it is absolutely fine to stop here.
However some of you might want to take one-step further, i.e. to explore the ‘expression’ portion. To express something efficiently, you need to learn the necessary skills. It may be learning how to cook, dance, sing, and yes, also in the craft of poetry writing. In reality, learning the correct skills is especially important in poetry writing.
For these small group of people the shift is towards a reader-centered writing style. I am presently working toward this direction. I am working towards writing poems that, hopefully, are able to create experiences for you, the reader. And for me to do that, I need to take many factors into considerations, i.e. linkbreaks, meter, abstract/concrete, clichés, rhythm, grammar, spelling, etc.
I am not saying that those poems that I've written were bad poems. But the truth is they could be improved. For example, you've just writen a love poem based on your experience. But remember, there are millions of love poems out here. The only thing unique about the one that you have written is because it is based on your experience. Beside, you don't really care what other people think about the write. But wouldn't it be great to write love poems (also based on your experience) that stand out from the rest? Love poems that after years from now your children, grandchildren while reading them are about to feel what you've been exactly?
Unfortunately, there is no Internet workshop forum in Singapore. Creative writing workshop is also rare in this country. I have to teach myself poetry by reading books on poetry and from the handful critical workshop forums in the Internet.
So the question is which part of the term ‘self-expression’ do you wish to focus on?
For me, I am going back to kindergarten in poetry writing, back to basic, start all over again. (IÂ’ve deleted all my poems)
P.S.: This is just me hor. Please continue to feel free to post your poems here. It is so difficult to find someone who writes poems in this country. -
beacuse no one appreciates
and you'd only get critiques...
So who bother... -
If it is good, your friends, family members, etc. will appreciate it.Originally posted by mistyblue:beacuse no one appreciates
and you'd only get critiques...
So who bother...
If it is really good, most of the readers will appreciate it.
Okay, I agree with you that criticisms like ‘This poem suck!’ ‘You are a lousy writer’ is not at all helpful. But if he/she proceeds to point out why it sucks, why not give both of you a chance and read it with an open mind?
If you find their comments useful, great. Otherwise, just get over with it. DonÂ’t take it personally. -
well poems are the expression of self, since u have expressed ur self, tat's good enuff.. if anyone wanna express their criticism, ask them to do so with a poem!Originally posted by mistyblue:beacuse no one appreciates
and you'd only get critiques...
So who bother...
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Hey want to make my job here more difficult is it?Originally posted by tare:well poems are the expression of self, since u have expressed ur self, tat's good enuff.. if anyone wanna express their criticism, ask them to do so with a poem! 
Expression of self is only one side of the picture. Moreover, the decision whether to take the next step is really quite a personal one. I used to be happy at simply sharing poems with friends, only recently I decided to take a more serious approach to poetry.
Maybe it is just me, but there are so much to learn in poetry writing.
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hhahahaa...... well expression of self is the beginning mah, not the end.... ur article too long for me to read... oops! *siam*Originally posted by DeadPoet:Hey want to make my job here more difficult is it?
Expression of self is only one side of the picture. Moreover, the decision whether to take the next step is really quite a personal one. I used to be happy at simply sharing poems with friends, only recently I decided to take a more serious approach to poetry.
Maybe it is just me, but there are so much to learn in poetry writing. -
Yup you are right. This is what DPS (S) is for.Originally posted by tare:hhahahaa...... well expression of self is the beginning mah, not the end.... ur article too long for me to read... oops! *siam* -
just like there are different types of art
I guess there are different types of poetry
and poets..
some prefer to delve more into the technical aspects
a play with words and metre and rhyme
trying to seek the perfect way to convey an experience
others struggle with form
to peel away the unnecessary from the quintessential
leaving only the clarity of what they hope to say
ultimately I think its honesty
as in all art forms, the sensitivity of the artist
to his surroundings and experiences
helps him to detect what , for others,
the subconscious can sense
but thoughts and words cannot define.
In defining it, through visuals, through words, through actions
the reader/spectator has a window to the world
the same world shared by both readers/spectator and artist
but viewed through the artists' eyes
and in that sense, the rapport is shared
in a way, the artist lays open, vulnerable,
his experience of the world and leaves it to others to interpret
it is neither within his power to connect
nor to prevent mis-interpretation
for the viewer can only understand whatever he sees
through his own paradigm -
Art does not have to be good. It can be bad, it can be sad.Originally posted by DeadPoet:If it is good, your friends, family members, etc. will appreciate it.
If it is really good, most of the readers will appreciate it.
Okay, I agree with you that criticisms like ‘This poem suck!’ ‘You are a lousy writer’ is not at all helpful. But if he/she proceeds to point out why it sucks, why not give both of you a chance and read it with an open mind?
If you find their comments useful, great. Otherwise, just get over with it. DonÂ’t take it personally.
Mostly whatever I do, I don't like to see people's approval.
Mostly the comments are more anal than anything.
Have you been asked why you write like this, why can't you just write in simple english.
And my answer, is : This is a poem. (stupid!)
Anyways, I stopped writing for a long time liao.
Anyways, there is limited appreciation. For me, as long as it don't make $.
I'm not interested right now. Maybe in future... perhaps I'll write my own lines for mu tombstone.. or eulogy...
hahaha !