@nona80_swanette #PoetryCafe #poetryCommunity

I'm not sure I can help you with this one. I don't consciously perform that sort of analysis or plan - it feels like I just observe then write. I certainly adopt personas as required, and may cast those I write about into some sort of archetype (for dramatic effect) e.g. Mother Earth, The Warlord, The Consumer, The Liar, etc, wearing various hats and trench coats.

Or the Forest Frog, of course 🐸

This week at the #PoetryCafe we’re diving into the idea of character. Normally, in the #WritingCommunity character is associated with narrative in the form of novels, novella, short stories or plays, but poetry is often very character driven as well.

Do you have a #RecurringCharacter in your own poetry besides yourself?

Do you adopt different #characters for different #poems?

How much of your own character is inserted into your poetry?

For the readers, do you enjoy a subtle character in a poem or do you prefer a dominant character arc?

#poetry #writing #reading

As we slide closer to the weekend, here’s a poem I wrote many years ago for your consideration.

Requiem
©️ Nona Rose 2011

Light a candle, let it burn
And in this sacred place sojourn
I have left this world at peace
So have your eyes their crying cease.
Think of me when I was small
Or, if you didn't know me then at all,
think of me at my best
Now that I am laid to rest.

🌹

If you’d like to read the rest of this poem, follow the link below. I’d love to hear what you think and how it made you feel.

https://nonas-poetry-corner.blogspot.com/2011/02/requiem.html?m=0

#poetry #PoetryByNona #PoetryCafe #PoetryCommunity #writing #WritingCommunity #poem #requiem

@nona80_swanette
Something else: how does "formal poetry structure" interact with the spoken poem?
or - irrespective of formalism - when the poet has laboured over the physical layout, how should it effect the reading out loud?

My personal preference - almost, requirement - is to have a copy of the written poem in front of me while listening to the reader.

#PoetryCafe

@nona80_swanette
Well, it didn't really work for me either. But: I've encountered *so* many poems which obviously have an appreciative audience without doing anything for me other than triggering the "why is this poetry?" question. So, setting aside the obvious answer that I'm right and everyone else is wrong, something else must be happening. Perhaps the poet/poem/reader thing is like radio: when all parties are tuned in, great - otherwise, its a whistle on the wind
#PoetryCafe

@nona80_swanette

On the other hand, jumping into playing jazz without ever learning your scales ... might be asking for trouble.

#PoetryCafe

@nona80_swanette

coincidentally - something on abcdearian poems ... and, to my mind, with interesting interwined rhymes

https://me.dm/@mosslevel/110996250837556193

#PoetryCafe

https://medium.com/gain-indpiration/my-take-s-on-the-abecedarian-form-bbc4b5c979d3?sk=3d6f82d226655a362e4ccad48595a66e

#poetry #poetrycafe

@nona80_swanette
For a very long time my most frequent remark when discussing a poem in my reading group was "(why) is this a poem?" I saw that "modern" poetry is often devoid of rhyme or obvious structure, and I often didn't see why others thought it was poetry at all. Then I encountered haiku, and Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro" (& imagism) and I opened another eye.
I suspect forms are like scales in music - essential to know and practise, but not necessarily to perform
#PoetryCafe

@nona80_swanette

I enjoy forms that have a sort of punch/counterpunch e.g. sonnet, haiku.
I actively dislike most forms that involve repetition of entire lines (except as a chorus).
I like to find rhyme entwined throughout the poem.

#PoetryCafe 2/2
#poetry #discussion #writing #PoetryCommunity #WritingCommunity #reading #ReadingCommunity #PoetryForms #PoetryForAll

@nona80_swanette
I find myself almost completely uninterested(^1) in classifying poems by form. I think it's a "studying english literature" kind of thing. My question is always - does the poem work? As a reader, I look for sounds and rhythms, allusions, and interesting observations. Some forms encourage both sound and rhythm, so that can be a useful thing for the poet to have followed.
---
1: but deliberately choosing to write to a form can still be an enjoyable exercise

#PoetryCafe 1/2

The shallow grave of grievances
Reach dirt sprinkled hands at my stepping feet
Cold fear brews
As I settle into something less
Something new
I’m not such a bad dude
And neither are you
So let’s let the streets run wild
With the blood of billionaires
And the love of our friends
Our here neighbors
Our fellow fucked up renegade survivors
And the love of all the artists
All the poets
All the dreams forever childlike & pure
Let the music flow…

(Excerpt)
#seanpoets
#SpokenWord #poetry #PoetryCafe

I should have also shared this with the #PoetryCafe.

I should have shared this with the #PoetryCafe.

This poem was inspired by the Christina Rossetti poem “The Convent Threshold” and I encourage you to read that poem if you haven’t already and then mine.

The Plight of Christina's Woman
©️ Nona Rose 2011

Can you see the stairs before me,
Leading up to solemn stars
Clothed in midnight, coal, oily black
And staring back with that conviction
That's eating into my heart and soul
As only those pious and lofty ones can

Am I treading these boards alone,
My love, my darling, lovely, cherished love,
Whose arms enclose me as I sleep
And when I wake, take me in such tender embrace
That angels blush when they catch sight
And turn their heads for holy shame?

🌹

If you’d like to read the rest of this poem, follow the link below. Let me know your thoughts, feelings, observations.

https://nonas-poetry-corner.blogspot.com/2011/02/plight-of-christinas-woman.html?m=0

#poetry #poems #poet #PoetryByNona #PoetryCafe #PoetryCommunity #writing #WritingCommunity #ChristinaRossetti #inspiration

Have been reworking a short MS, and am now tearing apart a poem (while drinking a pint of iced coffee) trying to re-arrange the pieces, decoupe-style, to see if there are other possibilities that might work.

#poetrycafe

The Poem is a gimmick. Propaganda is a gimmick. Poetry is propaganda.
#poetry #poetryCafe

the autumnal creative urge is building. . .winter is when i am most productive.
#poetryCafe

Sent a chapbook to the UK yesterday to someone I used to talk to online in the last millennium. I have...been online for a while.

#poetrycafe

@nona80_swanette

I’ve liked reading and writing poetry since I was pretty young although the kind of poetry that interests me has changed over the years. I think it was poetry workshop classes in college when I truly fell in love with writing poetry. I loved talking in-depth about a poem, sharing community, challenging myself to rework a poem.

#PoetryCafe #Poetry #PoetryCommunity