tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873878721715834303.post7908377698342723456..comments2023-10-09T03:23:22.073-07:00Comments on Shapes And Disfigurements Of Raymond Antrobus: On Poetry, Writing & Other People (Short Essay by Raymond Antrobus)Raymond Antrobushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04283895579062324614noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873878721715834303.post-78996145425092931852013-02-28T12:20:32.380-08:002013-02-28T12:20:32.380-08:00Some hard food for thought from both of you. The v...Some hard food for thought from both of you. The voyeur in me feels like I just eavesdropped on some wise words.<br /><br />šchesspressohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11761922104130493618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873878721715834303.post-12379828246430940982013-02-26T16:54:11.063-08:002013-02-26T16:54:11.063-08:00Easy Ray- probably both may possibly be true- is t...Easy Ray- probably both may possibly be true- is that the most unstable sentence, ever? Anyway, I think your short essay writing skills are all good- as I said, this is a conversation starter, and I wanted to respond to what you had said, putting it through my own lense and communicating it. You have an analytical soul, you write, and you write well. You wrote this eassay and it sparked something in me- as all good writers do to an inquisitive soul- and I wanted to throw my hat into the ring. I don't feel we agree 100%, especially as I don't see a poets job being to uplift- it's part of the job description, there is a definite need for a touch of the transcendental in poetry- but the main goal of the poet, for me, should be to cut through the bullshit. We live in a world built on word games, be it politics, religion, or a debate on tomorrows weather down the pub, it's all a word game. Poets, being masters of language- it's what the title expects- should be able to play these word games in such a way as to destroy the artifice that holds them up, thus levelling the playing field- to use an old cliche- meaning that all that comes after is built on a solid foundation of very real bedrock- and this bedrock isn't some uplifted, high-faluting state. Rather, this state is one devoid of sentiment, that sees the world for what it is- no romance, no hope or death, but possibilities of all three and all the much more.<br /><br />Anyway, I could go on. Being stuck in Chichester doing this bloody degree means I don't get out much, for business or pleasure, and I'm missing seeing poetry on stage. I feel like my life is on hold. Take care, Ray. No doubt, once I escape this place for fairer climes, we'll bump into each other. Take care. No onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05250308365435470681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873878721715834303.post-88836392482951630562013-02-25T14:09:23.178-08:002013-02-25T14:09:23.178-08:00Nice one Christian - but either I've written t...Nice one Christian - but either I've written this article really badly or you've taken what I've said and then just articulated it better... but at the same time framing it as an argument that is for what I said in the first place... like that KV quote - I used that as an example as only needing to appeal to one person instead of aiming for mass appeal... literally, everything you just said is what I was getting at... man I need to improve my short essay writing. Hope you're well man, Raymond Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04283895579062324614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873878721715834303.post-6779967225600767972013-02-24T12:30:10.942-08:002013-02-24T12:30:10.942-08:00An interesting conversation starter that had me th...An interesting conversation starter that had me thinking. Hereās my thoughtsā¦<br />The Kurt Vonnegut quote- great quote, but slightly misinterpreted. Vonnegut isn't saying to write only for yourself, but for one person- a bit like Mayakovsky when he says you have to keep your audience in mind when writing. The one person you write for can change- be it your mother, your best friend, or your worst enemy. Keep one person in mind, speak to them as honestly as possible, and you will find you are speaking to all with honesty.<br />With regards to your last comment on this, about reaching those outside of your aesthetic mentality- well, you do write poetry. If you want to reach a lot of people, using a niche art form is not the way- write pop songs. Poetry is mainly outside the mass-media bubblegum pop-culture that dominates Western society, and this is something to be celebrated. Poetry is not easily disposable, it is not a commodity, it is not content made as a product to be sold and disposed, it promotes meditation on any number of subjects. Thus, poetry has the ability to challenge this model for entertainment. <br />If poets within this society reflect the main culture by writing poems that have the same content, themes, and ease of digestion, then they are doing themselves and the art form a disservice, much in the same way rappers who objectify women, romanticise drug dealing, and worship material wealth and violence are doing Hip-Hop a major disservice. It is true this type of rapping sells, gets radio play, and hits a mass audience. By your logic, these rappers are justified as they hit an audience that doesn't necessarily respect the craft of writing rhymes and riding a beat, but who will buy into the product as it speaks to them in a way they understand, which is through reflecting the main obsessions of our mass-media culture back at them. Is this the direction you wish poetry to go towards? Not by going all ābitches, blunts and 40sā, but by reflecting the expectations of an audience back at them, pandering to expectations which have been created by popular culture entertainment?<br />I personally feel a comment such as, "the poets job is to uplift, it is to say I KNOW HOW TO CELEBRATE LIFE IN SPITE OF DEATH, WAR, HATRED, HEARTBREAK etc," violently disregards the vast majority of poetry, spoken word, and art. You can ācelebrate lifeā without your end goal being to uplift, especially as uplifting has connotations of contentment, which in turn leads to lack of critical thought. A poet/artist creates in order to communicate life in all its disparate, myriad forms, and a good artist/poet is able to stimulate within us the full range of emotions available to us as living beings, helping us share pain and joy- As Spider Robinson wrote, "Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased ā thus do we refute entropy."<br />A comedian uplifts, a pop singer uplifts, a Disney film uplifts, an Adidas advert with a rousing orchestra and 'elevator speech' voiceover uplifts. These are all readily available experiences in our society, but do they have depth? A new car, a new suit, new shoes, new haircut, all of these uplift, but do they add value to a life? Compliments uplift, being loved uplifts, being appreciated uplifts, and being accepted uplifts, but is this all we look for from the people we trust and admire?<br />I will leave you with the words of Ray Bradbury, as written in Fahrenheit 451. "We're living in a time when flowers are trying to live on flowers, instead of growing on good rain and black loam. Even fireworks, for all their prettiness, come from the chemistry of the earth. Yet somehow we think we can go on feeding on flowers and fireworks, without completing the cycle back to reality."<br />No onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05250308365435470681noreply@blogger.com