Friday, February 25, 2011

Calling All Poets!



The reaction to my last poem got me thinking. There are more than a few of us creating poetry out there in the blogosphere, Twitter, etc. To me, the old rules of poetry don't apply anymore. In one way, we're doing the same thing the old masters did. In another, the immediacy and flexibility and fast-paced nature of the internet means that we're taking poetry to whole new levels.

So how are we using poetry today? What does it offer that other forms of communication still do not? What IS poetry now? Is there a whole set of new "rules," or is the only rule that there are no rules?

I'm thinking about hosting a little poetry convention here at Clarity. I would invite a group of dedicated internet poets to talk a bit about their vision, their approach, and their thoughts about the poetic form. We can also share some our work. Hopefully, folks would comment and join in. Maybe we could all learn something from each other!

What do you think? Do you have some poets in mind? Who would you nominate? I certain can think of a few internet powerhouses!

12 comments:

Laurel said...

Not a poet
And I know it
Yet I wait all aflutter
To see the lines y'all will utter!

Shadow said...

sounds interesting. i'd definitely follow this convention.

Karen said...

Kay Lawson Gilbert
Julie Buffaloe Yoder
Mark Durfee (The Walking Man)
JoAnne McKay (Titus the Dog)
Tess Kincaid (Willow Manor)
Chris Alba (Enchanted Oak)

Great poets -- and very different styles -- all.

You might want to check out the Poets United site. There are too many good poets to mention.

You know what I think about poetry! Great idea!

the walking man said...

To Karen's list I would add Shadow (definitely)and Neva Changefulstorm poetry

I'd like to discuss what school of thought we all come from. Narrative, diction, form over function, function over form.

Good idea Jason.

Charles Gramlich said...

The walking man is my nominee. And Michelle Brooks

Lee said...

Yes please...

DILLIGAF said...

William Topaz McGonagall, (March 1825 – 29 September 1902), poet and tragedian of Dundee, has been widely hailed as the writer of the worst poetry in the English language and is my hero....

Perhaps poetry isn't for me?...;-)

I give you a McGonagall gem :

What ho! sickly people of high and low degree
I pray ye all be warned by me;
No matter what may be your bodily ills
The safest and quickest cure is Beecham's Pills.

They are admitted to be worth a guinea a box
For bilious and nervous disorders, also smallpox,
And dizziness and drowsiness, also cold chills,
And for such diseases nothing else can equal Beecham's Pills

They have been proved by thousands that have tried them
So that the people cannot them condemn.
Be advised by me one and all
Is the advice of Poet McGonagal

Now THAT is poetry!

....oh dear Dinners.....

Anonymous said...

Laurel, Shadow, Karen, Walking Man, Charles, Lee, Four Dinners,

Thanks! I'm going to go forward and see if this will come together. Karen, Kaye, Walking Man, and Shadow are on my list too! I think I have all of your emails. I'll need emails for the others. If you would like to share them, send them over to me at jevanswriter at yahoo dot com. I'll go find them if you don't have them handy. Thanks again! (We're heading home tomorrow. Sorry for being a bit absent.)

Atrisa said...

Is this like a mailing list? Put me on it please! archita.trisal@gmail.com

Would love to read new and amazing poets!

JR's Thumbprints said...

Karen's list is a great reference point, but what of those "sporadic" poets--you know, those bloggers that hit their stride now and then?

Aniket Thakkar said...

This sounds so very exciting! In addition to Karen's lits - Joaquin and Peter J Dudley are most definitely on my list too. While Karen and Kaye have extremely rich writing, Joaquin and Pete have a fun and humorous style to speak on the most serious topics. Great bunch of people - all of them. Of course, you know that, I met 'em all here after all. :)

Oh, and I need to contact Aine by the way. I need her expertise on some personality theory questions that I have. She's my shrink. :)

Anonymous said...

Atrisa, thanks for the nomination!

JR, I responded to you by email.

Anikent, very cool suggestions! The more variety, the better. As for Aine, you're going to the right place. Her knowledge runs deep. Drop her an email.