Children : I will present yet another comment, this time from a respected lady friend who produced and hosted a childrens TV show. She is very protective and knowledgeable when it comes to children and the kind of material presented to them.
"I am practically speechless!! I would not grace that garbage with a review.." and so on.
She certainly does not find the material "inoffensive".. as Stephen, a noted producer of childrens poetry books finds it to be for example.
As an $80,000 Award Winning poetry book, surely nobody is suggesting that it be withheld from children!!? Children are Australian citizens after all and it is their money too... why should they not be able to enjoy literary poetic excellence as well? How can we encourage them to become poets if they are discouraged or prevented from reading the Best. Is top poetry to be censored? or retained as the preserve of some phoney elite? .... such that Award Winning stuff about panties is furtively passed around the schoolyard. What name does that give our poetry!
Here little Johnny and Sue, have a read of this :
"Oh God, is it wet down there again?
What oozing mystery awaits me now?
This better be the ‘show’. You lucky men,
Your effort is so brief – wham, bam, kapow! "
Authors : My criticism is directed at politicians who endorse tripe. People can make up their own minds on any author. I am not into personal attacks... but I do dislike digusting poetry though... obviously.
If people write poems that are rewarded with taxpayer money, then they can only expect their work to be critically examined. I table their poetic words here and readers can independantly choose to make their own deductions about the author if they wish. I put the two and two down, and if people want to extend that and make it four, well that's up to them to make those deductions.. not me.
Heather, you are a fine poet whose poems I admire.
It is your right to endorse this stuff... I certainly respect that right.
Just as it is my right to condemn it.... hopefully without suffering personal attacks or shooting the messenger
... but if they come, then they are welcomed as a clear acknowledgement of the correctness of my stance. Personal attacks and labelling are always a last resort. I notice a lot of people here desperately want to pretend this bad stuff doesn't exist and have equally desperately tried to divert the discussion onto other poems in this Award Winning Book to avoid and suppress the key issue. I can understand that, but going into denial does not address things, or deflect me. It Does exist and it is In the book.
Decorum : "behaviour in keeping with good taste and propriety"
also "an observance or requirement of polite society"
As in the Emperor's New Clothes... speak the truth. Be fearless. Do not be an apologist, or try and defend the indefensible... or worry that others may disagree and pass it through that filter... or be scared to stand out from the mob. To sacrifice poetic decency on the alter of trendiness is a crime.
Crudity and disgusting "poetic" material is exactly that. Why not call it what it is?
I know David enjoys my "lessons", because he has just enthusiastically quoted past ones. This is another one for him to appreciate as well, I guess.
Have the courage to call it as it is.
Free verse may not be my cup of tea, even if it is liked by some here.... that is of no consequence... but when disgusting crudity is passed off as "Australian Poetry", the best Australian material being produced in book form today, and scandalously MY money is used to reward it, then you can bet I will be standing up and loudly objecting, not running for cover... even if few others have the internal fortitude to stand up and be counted too.
Class dismissed.
