Ode to the enduring potential of poetry

[Maureen K Clifford]

Neville that is fabulous - well done you - and such a subtle dig at us all with our opinions

[Bob Pacey]

Wel done Nev a little bit Clive Palmerish


IN MY OPINION !

Bob

[Robyn]

Good on you Neville. Great work - in my opinion.

[william williams]

Now Neville is that Your Opinion

bill w

[David Campbell]

Good stuff, Neville! Definitely pushing the boundaries...

And a question for Vic. If people "simply rejected the nonsense that the literati and 'modern' poets tried to serve up as poetry", why is free verse the dominant form of poetry today? Why didn't it just die a rapid death because nobody could understand it? You can't judge free verse by its worst examples, any more than you can dismiss all bush verse as trite, jingoistic doggerel simply because some of it is exactly that. I write free verse, as do others on this site. If that automatically makes me a member of the 'literati' (whatever that means), then so be it, but I do resent the implication that because it's free verse it must be incomprehensible.

I don't know that setting up another group would help, Terry. The ABPA is quite capable of accommodating the diverse range of people interested in rhyming verse...the difficulty lies in getting the general public to recognise and accept that diversity. A century ago people were quite happy to embrace poetry that ranged from Paterson's The Man from Snowy River or Mulga Bill's Bicycle to Dennis's The Bridge Across the Crick or The Call of Stoush to Lawson's The Women of the Town or When Your Pants Begin To Go. Which brings us back to expectations and perceptions...

David

[Terry]

Hi David,
My comment was a bit tongue in cheek because we seem to reach this point in most discussions and not manage to move on any further.
Despite that I have enjoyed reading the various opinions which show forum members at least are worried about just where Bush Poetry is headed. What we probably need is a far reaching discussion throughout the whole Bush poetry scene not just among the few of us who are reasonably active on this forum. But even if this was possible I wonder how many would be interested enough to participate and I'd hate to be the adjudicator.

I agree with Vic on the point that despite there being several excellent poets over the past few years (yourself included), no one seems to have been able make a noticeable impact on the general public; possibly because unless you are of my vintage most have little knowledge of poetry. We learned it at school and although it may have lain dormant for years at times, it was always there waiting to be awakened again.
Probably the best known poets outside the bush poet family are people like Bill Kearns Jack Drake and co and there in may lie the answer, as you yourself mentioned humor seems to be what the punters want to hear and in some cases don't mind if it's pretty close to the knuckle either. A little serious poetry is tolerated in small doses, or at least that seem to be the case at most performances I've been to.

As for a Poet Laureate someones work needs to be so admired by the general public that He or She more or less elects themselves.

Cheers Terry

[manfredvijars]

.... no one seems to have been able make a noticeable impact on the general public ...

Sorry Terry, I disagree.
The one person who HAS made a "noticeable impact on the general public" over the last twenty years, AND is credited for the resurgence in the popularity of Bush Poetry is - Murray Hartin.
Love him or hate him, it's a fact.

We often overlook the greatness that walks amongst us .... the beauty of this 'greatness' is that these 'great ones are just one of the blokes(ettes) ... No less than Lawson or Paterson were in their day ...

[Terry]

Certainly lots of people like his poetry Manfred.

Terry

[Bob Pacey]

The face is that in the early days newspapers were the main source of communication and still are for a lot of the older generation, My father along with many others kept scrapbooks of articles they liked and these included many poems and stories.

We have a lot more to compete with these days and I feel that on the whole we do a pretty good job.


I do not agree with the humorous poems being all the grey nomads want to hear , my personnel experience is that they really appreciate a serious poem which when well delivered can have a significant impact I remember one night that kym came to visit and did The Black Horse In The Lead and you could have heard a pin drop and the comments were full of praise. I myself do at least one or two every performance and find them to be well received along with the traditional poems.

all I can say is get out there do your thing and share the enjoyment that we obviously get from our poetry.

Cheers Bob

[David Campbell]

That's good to hear, Bob. I was simply reporting what I'd been told about the grey nomads. Still not sure I'd be too popular, though, as I tend to do exactly the opposite and put one or two humorous pieces in amongst the serious ones. And I read rather than recite, which is frowned upon in some circles. Not sure why...horses for courses.

Cheers
David