tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post7641116829904156425..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: Time Importuned - Sylvia Townsend Warner; or, Why Do Poetry and I Not Get Along, Wherein our Reader Struggles With VerseStuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-19992295656516596102012-01-21T18:34:40.509+00:002012-01-21T18:34:40.509+00:00I so wish I could read allpoetry and actually unde...I so wish I could read allpoetry and actually understand it, but this rarely happens unless it's completely obvious. I'm hoping Stephen Fry's book The Ode Less Travelled might help shed some light on this, though. It's my literary mission this year to accurately interpret everything I read and also maybe enjoy it.Sophiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07357991269022348580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-47480800970639844942012-01-19T02:38:38.506+00:002012-01-19T02:38:38.506+00:00I haven't read through all the comments to see...I haven't read through all the comments to see who else has been recommended but I'd suggest a little Emily Dickinson. She writes in plain words (most of the time)and many of her poems express her feeling about every-day situations without being sentimental or flowery at all. When I get tired of the complicated, overly fancy, sometimes show-offy language of other poets I always go back to Dickinson because she cuts through all that. She's a breath of fresh air. Hope you enjoy her!Ordinary Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16813001887162908486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-32476738934275404812012-01-17T04:58:38.166+00:002012-01-17T04:58:38.166+00:00Have just started reading STW's diaries and it...Have just started reading STW's diaries and it begins in December 1927 with a couple of her entries mentioning her progress with the poems for Time Importuned. Another entry towards the end of February 1928 records her final tidying of the volume amidst doing some house-hunting at the same time. She was to have found this place at 113, Inverness Terrace to be her new home.<br />http://www.townsendwarner.com/images/stw/sylvia-standing-in-inverness.jpg<br /><br />I know this is not answering to any of your questions at all regarding poetry, but just thought it interesting to share this trivia information with regards to STW and what she was up to while churning out Time Importuned. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-48562933550616157312012-01-17T01:41:17.986+00:002012-01-17T01:41:17.986+00:00Was going to suggest Christopher Logue or Derek Wa...Was going to suggest Christopher Logue or Derek Walcott but maybe not if you're against classics; they're not name-droppy though ... I know the sort of thing you mean and it annoys me, too.<br />Completely different, but last year I read Larkin's poems alongside Letters to Monica which made me appreciate them much more. <br />And completely different again, but I'd second the person who suggested Anna Akhmatova.maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13955194101659665925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-58305251782587412342012-01-16T21:12:15.978+00:002012-01-16T21:12:15.978+00:00A lot of people who are not ordinarily readers of ...A lot of people who are not ordinarily readers of poetry seem to tolerate poets such as Billy Collins and Mary Oliver pretty well. Both are accessible in that their poems are usually understood with just a couple of readings. In my opinion, Oliver is much the better poet over Collins. I'm a poet myself, but abhor the kind of poetry that is so obtuse that no one really understands it but the author, or the kind of "free poetry" that's so free, it's little more than chopped up prose.Leticia Austriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09868175680409605274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-52062305807873270562012-01-16T20:49:24.394+00:002012-01-16T20:49:24.394+00:00My favorite poet at the moment is my 11 ds. :) He ...My favorite poet at the moment is my 11 ds. :) He loves Shel Silverstein and writes in a similar style (think little boy silly humor). Actually, I like poetry, but don't get around to reading that much of it. Sorry not to have any recommendations for you, but I think I will follow Harriet's suggestion for myself as well of The Rattle Bag - it seems like Susan Hill also recommended that collection in HEIOTL?Susan in TXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09550766549670690646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-57713908363029519172012-01-16T16:15:59.075+00:002012-01-16T16:15:59.075+00:00Harriet - I did wonder whether STW's book just...<b>Harriet</b> - I did wonder whether STW's book just wasn't very good, but so many critics rave about her poetry... perhaps they just mean other, later collections. Oxford library has quite a few copies of The Rattle Bag, so perhaps I'll get that out.<br /><br /><b>bibliolathas</b> - it is impossible to underestimate my knowledge of poetry, so even though Women's Poetry of the 1930s should be well-known to me, I'd never heard of it - thank you for mentioning it!<br /><br /><b>Annabel</b> - it sounds as though you go through the same process as me!<br /><br /><b>N</b> - never heard of her, thanks for the tip! And I didn't know that Katherine Mansfield had written poetry - how did I not know that? She is one of my favourite writers, I've never read better short stories - so perhaps I should explore her poetry...StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-13398115562403972362012-01-16T16:13:15.369+00:002012-01-16T16:13:15.369+00:00Teresa - I'm glad that I'm not on my own w...<b>Teresa</b> - I'm glad that I'm not on my own with this, and I like the idea of reading one every day for a week. Perhaps trying to read a collection of poetry as I would a novel just won't work. Thanks for mentioning The Ode Less Travelled - I hadn't really known what it was about, and that makes it much more appealing in my eyes.<br /><br /><b>Claire</b> - I have always hated Tennyson, so I missed my teenage phase! Yours is much more sophisticated than my teenage love of Sweet Valley High... actually, that was pre-teenage, I suppose.<br />And, oh how I loathed Viorst's collection.. but I do love Virginia Graham, so I should try some of her poetry.<br /><br /><b>Lyndsay</b> - talk about timing! I look forward to your post...StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-78871949249229092712012-01-16T14:05:49.126+00:002012-01-16T14:05:49.126+00:00I'm not much of a poetry-reader either, howeve...I'm not much of a poetry-reader either, however I do appreciate and recommend Anna Akhmatova's work. Amazing voice - even in translation! <br /><br />A slightly unrelated question: what do you think of Katherine Mansfield's poems?Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-63435866231832951032012-01-16T12:13:09.335+00:002012-01-16T12:13:09.335+00:00I too struggle with poetry - it seems to be over t...I too struggle with poetry - it seems to be over too fast! <br /><br />So I read it aloud to myself (sometimes in my head) and try to find the rhythms (if there are any), respond internally to the rhymes (if there are any), and it's still over too fast. If it's not funny, shocking, or a story in verse it doesn't tend to stick in my memory. I'm not a good advert for poetry am I? I do enjoy writing bad haikus though, and should try harder to enjoy/get poetry - thanks for raising the issue! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-29356595025863773292012-01-16T10:33:16.147+00:002012-01-16T10:33:16.147+00:00I find one-poet-books a bit overwhelming. It can f...I find one-poet-books a bit overwhelming. It can feel like *work*. A nice but somewhat specific anthology I like (and one which you likely know about already given the topic) is Jane Dowson's _Women's Poetry of the 1930s_. Dowson provides a nice bit of context for each poet, which I always appreciate as a general reader.bibliolathashttp://bookforgetter.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-78468599074019467282012-01-16T08:32:59.257+00:002012-01-16T08:32:59.257+00:00I like poetry a lot but rarely read it these days,...I like poetry a lot but rarely read it these days, if that makes sense. Of course I've read a lot in the course of my life and learned it by heart, too, which you had to do when I was at school, and some of it I still remember with huge pleasure. You are not alone in finding it difficult -- I used to struggle to teach it because so many people have problems with it. To be honest I don't think either of these poems are all that great -- not awful, but not wonderful either. I wouldn't know who to suggest you read -- but perhaps an anthology is a good place to start. The Rattle Bag, edited by Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney, is a great one I always think.harriethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04470091985662379182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-87081471015330381712012-01-16T07:31:15.516+00:002012-01-16T07:31:15.516+00:00I actually wrote a post yesterday, to be published...I actually wrote a post yesterday, to be published sometime this week, about how Edna St. Vincent Millay is the ideal poet if you're not into poetry, especially if you're in your 20s, as that's the age she wrote most of them.<br /><br />I think the best way to absorb poetry is to look at them at each one is a snapshot of feeling, or a way of the poet to say 'this is how it felt when...' I think so anyway, and I will happily read volumes for fun.Celeste85https://www.blogger.com/profile/05575580291868960322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-17990393533453966222012-01-16T05:16:20.655+00:002012-01-16T05:16:20.655+00:00I also find poetry challenging. I went through th...I also find poetry challenging. I went through the typical adolescent fascination with Tennyson but that exhausted almost all my interest in the form (and, let's face it, my interest was with the stories in Tennyson's case and I would have been ever happier to read them in prose). My only recent success with poetry has been Judith Viorst's <i>It's Hard to Be Hip Over Thirty</i>, which I know you disliked. I'm looking forward to <i>Consider the Years</i> - I'll really only read poetry if it's published by Persephone!Claire (The Captive Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07430380065718826213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-36626890268039757462012-01-16T03:41:57.528+00:002012-01-16T03:41:57.528+00:00I have similar issues with reading poetry. I can r...I have similar issues with reading poetry. I can read and enjoy it now and then, but I can't work out how to integrate it into my reading life. I read recently that choosing a poem to focus on each week and reading it every day can be a good way.<br /><br />I do highly recommend Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled, which is more about writing poetry for fun, but there's a lot there that could make reading poems more fun, too.Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09896331683344872038noreply@blogger.com