What is a poem.

[manfredvijars]

.... I jist like writin stuff ...

[Robyn]

Neville I like your paraphrase, "a poem shows not an experience but an experience being thought about".
To me it says that poetry is more than just a story in verse. Rather it is something that has been considered; looked at in a new way; or somehow offers the reader more than just a 'photograph'; perhaps even start to define what the difference between poetry and verse may be...
Robyn

[Zondrae]

(with a clear head - no drugs)

I apologise to Neville and Glenny and others who were sharing a serious artistic discourse, for stealing the thread and will try not to do it again.

[Glenny Palmer]

Oh Zondrae...don't be upset love...we are ALL guilty of it. Like Maureen said, we're like a mob of sheep at times....or as Marty said 'like Herding Cats'.
I sincerely hope you are soon free of this debilitating condition, & pray that it isn't Torticollis, or if it is, that you survive having that pretty neck sliced up. (Hey. Maybe we can get Mannie to set up a 'Diagnosis' section for on-line Dr Stephen help?....in his 'spare' time that is. )

As Mannie would say...'settle Petal'.
xx Glenny

[Neville Briggs]

Glenny's right Maureen, Zondrae, we're all guilty. I assume that to be so because I know I'm in there too Thanks Glenny for a bit of wisdom.

I second Glenny's concern for your health Zondrae. I guess your medical carers know what they are doing.

To me it says that poetry is more than just a story in verse. Rather it is something that has been considered; looked at in a new way; or somehow offers the reader more than just a 'photograph'; perhaps even start to define what the difference between poetry and verse may be...
Robyn

EXACTLY........ ROBYN. As Glenny would say..BONZAAA !

Although I hasten to add ( so as not to be misunderstood ) that I do not suggest by any means that bush poetry should consist of profound odes to grecian urns or that we can't regale the mob with jokey verses about bull's testicles etc. It's just that I think it is a great thing to nurture our 'craft ' to the degree that we could rise to any occasion that demanded it.
Why should we be one dimensional poets , surely our country, Australia, is such a varied and amazingly fascinating place that we owe it to our heritage to be able to relate the experience of Australia in the most dynamic way.
That's where I am coming from.

[Heather]

Well said Neville.

[Glenny Palmer]

So nice to see you back Neville....

[Robyn]

Neville I agree with a lot of what you said.
I think it would be a big mistake to remain one dimensional. There is such a wonderful range of subjects out there, waiting to be viewed from a different angle or with fresh eyes. I just feel that whatever I write about, whether it be light hearted or serious, I want to say it well. I try to paint pictures with my words, but my early poems tend to be a bit like a photo, and I had too much of 'this happened then that happened', ie too much telling, not enough showing, not giving the reader much of a chance to use their imagination. This is not to denigrate photos, there are some fabulous photos, but they are not the same as a painting.
I have been lucky enough to see the original of van Gogh's Starry Night, and although I have had little in the way of artistic education, it was as if the textures and swirls of that painting were speaking directly to me of the tumult in his soul. Although I saw it years ago, whenever I look at a print of that painting, I can still recall the emotions I felt when viewing the original.
And I think that's something like what good poetry does, ie speaks to the reader without dictating what s/he should think and feel; it gives the the reader enough detail so they can form a picture that they can then relate to their own experiences.
I'm no expert on this topic, but I think it is intersting to try and tease out what makes some poems so memorable.
Cheers
Robyn

[Irene]

Neville, I also love your paraphrase!! It suits poetry very well!
We each put our own interpretation on what we see, hear or feel - and write about it accordingly.
I remember one of the homework topics on the bushverse site once was a picture of a man/woman on a horse in the high country - and what different interpretation and poems came out of it!! The same picture - completely different outcomes!
thanks for sharing that with us.

Catchya
IRene

[Neville Briggs]

Thanks Heather, Glenny and Irene for the encouragement.

Well said Marty. I suspect that I cannot reach the ideal that I point to, but I think we should aim for the highest and best, even if we don't make it in the end. You being a outdoors competition man would agree with that I think.

Oh Robyn, WHAT A WOMAN. You are instructing me now. You reference to the Van Gogh painting is EXCELLENT, that is it, that is certainly IT.

And I think that's something like what good poetry does, ie speaks to the reader without dictating what s/he should think and feel; it gives the the reader enough detail so they can form a picture that they can then relate to their own experiences.

EXCELLENT..SUPERB..EVERYONE TAKE NOTE OF ROBYN.

What you said about Van Gogh's brush strokes and paint application is of vital importance.
I have seen paintings that look like photographs, so what, a photograph would have been better. I've read and heard poems which relate very interesting and detailed stories in measures lines, so what, prose might be able to do that just as well or better in measured paragraphs.
I thnk what we need to work at, is just like Van Gogh's brush marks, As far as we can manage, make the words not just to fit the metre and the rhyme, they should be the best and most effective words of poetic passion.

And dare I say it, at times ( sparingly ) we might have to sacrifice the tidiness of the metric and rhyming structure to get the best expression.