Thursday, April 27, 2006
Best journal poems online, etc.
This outing, I highlight a nice poem from an outlet whose poetry is usually appallingly dull. (Next thing, I'll be saying good things about the poetry on Slate!) Also in this edition, a piece from an exciting e-zine. There might be confusion over which is which.
"How to Listen" by Major Jackson (The New Yorker)
"52" by Sarah Manguso (MiPOesias)
"How to Listen" by Major Jackson (The New Yorker)
"52" by Sarah Manguso (MiPOesias)
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I tried to comment yesterday but was locked out for some reason (local connection I think.)
Anyway, I really can't tell the difference. I'd pick #1 over #2, but they're both a bit flat to my ear.
It's not that they don't refer to things which are potentially interesting to think about (which I think is the LCD criterion for "poetry" in many circles), but that they don't say it in a particularly elegant or compelling way. Actually, I'd say that Jackson does not say much but says it with some imagistic frison or soft-surrealistic flair, wile Manguso says a bit more but it's a) not totally compelling and b) is kind of flat. The probem with both is that I can go places *from* the poems, but I'm not going places *in* the poems.
Neither are *awful* but any means, but they're also just not very good.
Anyway, I really can't tell the difference. I'd pick #1 over #2, but they're both a bit flat to my ear.
It's not that they don't refer to things which are potentially interesting to think about (which I think is the LCD criterion for "poetry" in many circles), but that they don't say it in a particularly elegant or compelling way. Actually, I'd say that Jackson does not say much but says it with some imagistic frison or soft-surrealistic flair, wile Manguso says a bit more but it's a) not totally compelling and b) is kind of flat. The probem with both is that I can go places *from* the poems, but I'm not going places *in* the poems.
Neither are *awful* but any means, but they're also just not very good.
Well, I like them both, though I agree with you that neither is flamboyantly "poetic." Jackson's is pretty in an understated way, and I do go places in the poem--it's straightforward, but a straightforward I enjoy.
Manguso's is, I think, deliberately flat and anti-poetic, perhaps befitting the strange narrator, who is the great strength of the poem for me. I like the occasional poem that can say something clear but mysterious in such a short space and leave a great deal for after the poem.
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Manguso's is, I think, deliberately flat and anti-poetic, perhaps befitting the strange narrator, who is the great strength of the poem for me. I like the occasional poem that can say something clear but mysterious in such a short space and leave a great deal for after the poem.
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