It was very interesting to read all the different ways the author described what the tuna used to be and what it is now. Calling it a “torpedo” or a “missile” is a great way to emphasize the scale of what the tuna once was, both in size and speed. It details what the tuna used to be able to do by describing its journeys when it was alive. Detailing its capabilities makes its display in the store tragic, more so than if we continued to think of it as just some random fish. Moreover, it’s not a shark or angler or some viscous, impressive-sounding fish… it’s just a tuna. A tuna that in almost any other context would seem completely unremarkable.
This week I thought about why people choose to write form poems instead of writing something more open or free — like prose poetry. At first, I just saw form as restricting. Form poems were impressive because they seemed more difficult to write; in this sense, I saw these poems as good despite their restrictions. As I read the poems for this week and was exposed to more forms of poetry, I began to think of possible benefits. Mainly, I figured that form could provide structure and clarity that might be hard in a free-form poem. Having restrictions can force you to evaluate what is important in a poem and force you to make decisions you otherwise may not have made — decisions that might turn out to enhance the poem. Form can also be used to prop up ideas and connect statements more concisely. In “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke, the repeated structure of the Villanelle ties the question of the future with the continuity of time. The poem brings back statements of the past while it marches forward (the narrator continues through life without stopping). Form can seem restricting but sometimes, as in the case of Roethke, the direction it provides is beneficial.
Things I Forgot to Put on My Reminder List by Richard Jackson
I was intrigued by the list poems because I’m not sure I’d ever read a list poem before. I enjoyed reading “Things I Forgot to Put on My Reminder List” by Richard Jackson because of the way it immediately started to build after the first line. About halfway through the poem a “you” is introduced and the writer seems to be writing this list for or because of the “you.” I found the title to be interesting; the writer seems to be reminiscing about this person or telling themselves to remind himself of the person.
I liked the epistle “Dear Reader” by Kim Addonizio. I love letter poems I think they are so personal and cool. The imagery in this poem is really intriguing. I also enjoy the way Addonizio sets the scene of writing and then takes the reader out of that scene through observation and memory and then brings the immediate setting back at the end. The reader is also personally brought in at the end which is cool and a relationship between the author and reader is made.
The poem If You Are Over Staying Woke by Morgan Parker really stood out to me. Not only is it an interesting and funny read, it’s actually a little accurate as well which I also found amusing. My favorite lines were:
take pills
laugh at dumb shit
fuck people you
don’t care about
use the crockpot
use the juicer
use the smoothie maker
Overall I just found these lines really funny and just random in general. I think Parker includes a lot of random lines within the poem. I think it’s also very interesting that at the beginning of the poem, there is punctuation and periods. However, when the line
Be honest
when you’re up
to it. Otherwise…
And from there to the end, the poem has no punctuation, not even at the end.
Part of the interesting thing of this poem is there is the continuous bringing up of the theme and the word funeral. This poem even ends with the words “funeral, funeral.” My interpretation of the poem is that the beginning is just discussing how life is, listing off different things people do. Then, when the punctuation stops, something happens involving a death. Life after that just kind of devolves into chaos. The punctuation or lack of it shows this chaos, as well as how the clarity of the poem sort of devolves as well.
Overall I liked this poem and found it sort of amusing. I also like the form of list poems and it inspired me to write my Unit poem.
The poem “Stillbirth” by Laure-Anne Bosselaar stood out to me. I’ve never read a poem of this form, and the repetition is both haunting and beautiful. I find repetition of this manner put all the flooding memories of grief perfectly on the page. The opening/ending of “On a platform, I heard someone call out your name” drew me in, as I was immediately placed in the confusion of a memory of grief. I love the setting of a train, and the idea of thinking you saw someone in a crowd who never really existed.
6 responses to “Week 12 Reading Response (Tues)”
Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market
It was very interesting to read all the different ways the author described what the tuna used to be and what it is now. Calling it a “torpedo” or a “missile” is a great way to emphasize the scale of what the tuna once was, both in size and speed. It details what the tuna used to be able to do by describing its journeys when it was alive. Detailing its capabilities makes its display in the store tragic, more so than if we continued to think of it as just some random fish. Moreover, it’s not a shark or angler or some viscous, impressive-sounding fish… it’s just a tuna. A tuna that in almost any other context would seem completely unremarkable.
This week I thought about why people choose to write form poems instead of writing something more open or free — like prose poetry. At first, I just saw form as restricting. Form poems were impressive because they seemed more difficult to write; in this sense, I saw these poems as good despite their restrictions. As I read the poems for this week and was exposed to more forms of poetry, I began to think of possible benefits. Mainly, I figured that form could provide structure and clarity that might be hard in a free-form poem. Having restrictions can force you to evaluate what is important in a poem and force you to make decisions you otherwise may not have made — decisions that might turn out to enhance the poem. Form can also be used to prop up ideas and connect statements more concisely. In “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke, the repeated structure of the Villanelle ties the question of the future with the continuity of time. The poem brings back statements of the past while it marches forward (the narrator continues through life without stopping). Form can seem restricting but sometimes, as in the case of Roethke, the direction it provides is beneficial.
Things I Forgot to Put on My Reminder List by Richard Jackson
I was intrigued by the list poems because I’m not sure I’d ever read a list poem before. I enjoyed reading “Things I Forgot to Put on My Reminder List” by Richard Jackson because of the way it immediately started to build after the first line. About halfway through the poem a “you” is introduced and the writer seems to be writing this list for or because of the “you.” I found the title to be interesting; the writer seems to be reminiscing about this person or telling themselves to remind himself of the person.
I liked the epistle “Dear Reader” by Kim Addonizio. I love letter poems I think they are so personal and cool. The imagery in this poem is really intriguing. I also enjoy the way Addonizio sets the scene of writing and then takes the reader out of that scene through observation and memory and then brings the immediate setting back at the end. The reader is also personally brought in at the end which is cool and a relationship between the author and reader is made.
The poem If You Are Over Staying Woke by Morgan Parker really stood out to me. Not only is it an interesting and funny read, it’s actually a little accurate as well which I also found amusing. My favorite lines were:
take pills
laugh at dumb shit
fuck people you
don’t care about
use the crockpot
use the juicer
use the smoothie maker
Overall I just found these lines really funny and just random in general. I think Parker includes a lot of random lines within the poem. I think it’s also very interesting that at the beginning of the poem, there is punctuation and periods. However, when the line
Be honest
when you’re up
to it. Otherwise…
And from there to the end, the poem has no punctuation, not even at the end.
Part of the interesting thing of this poem is there is the continuous bringing up of the theme and the word funeral. This poem even ends with the words “funeral, funeral.” My interpretation of the poem is that the beginning is just discussing how life is, listing off different things people do. Then, when the punctuation stops, something happens involving a death. Life after that just kind of devolves into chaos. The punctuation or lack of it shows this chaos, as well as how the clarity of the poem sort of devolves as well.
Overall I liked this poem and found it sort of amusing. I also like the form of list poems and it inspired me to write my Unit poem.
The poem “Stillbirth” by Laure-Anne Bosselaar stood out to me. I’ve never read a poem of this form, and the repetition is both haunting and beautiful. I find repetition of this manner put all the flooding memories of grief perfectly on the page. The opening/ending of “On a platform, I heard someone call out your name” drew me in, as I was immediately placed in the confusion of a memory of grief. I love the setting of a train, and the idea of thinking you saw someone in a crowd who never really existed.