On Poetry

This is a selection of comments on poetry, from the PlayAsBeing chat logs.

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The beat poets gathering in a small cafe for breakfast
it was a cozy place of communion.
just a few at a counter...wooden...not very bright here...just warm.
no particular topics...
shared creativity ..
a kind of thinking on the same wave ..
bonding.. fellowship .. groupdom ...
being truly in touch ..
that kind of sense?

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one thing you keep on noticing here,
how all communication comes up short,
but the only alternative is not communicating anything.
poetry has a very interesting feature.
It takes the features of paintings and music and puts it in to words
Maybe if we all spoke more poetically we could understand more.
We would probably understand different things, not necessarily more
poetry usually captures more in less words
at least the good poetry
I was thinking just yesterday, that this is because poets constrain themselves
they don't try to say all truth or all beauty at once, they communicate a little bit
and they don't just try to make beautiful words, they write sonnets or haikus
and that actually gives them freedom, it does not take it away
I've been contemplating similar questions about poetry
words in poetry, although they seem like the point of it all
I think it's about their intent
paintings aren't about the paint itself, most of the time.
and music isn't about just the sound.
You have something up in your head and then you use something to communicate it
Of those who think about what to do with words,
poets are among the first rank
you can communicate something that didn't exist before
I don't think good poets use poetry to say something they already thought
they let the words help them with the thoughts
  I'm sure some poets sometimes have something to say
they use their skills to communicate it
it's about control vs skill, all the things we were talking about yesterday
but the point is what they are able to convey
what probably makes something poetry
is when you say something that couldn't be said any other way, but poetically.
which means it wasn't there before the poem
Poetry isn't text-with-funny-rules, as people sometimes think
It's language-with-conscious-rules
A much more unrestricted use of language
I like your point about poetic limits
I think of it as using words that convey ideas
and putting them together in such a way
that the ideas react with each other
to communicate as close as possible what usually can't be communicated
there are things that we think that don't have words
so you say other words that together conveys the idea or builds one
instead of explaining it.
More than "convey", is to bring it into Presence
which I guess would mean ideas have free-form relationships to each other,
just like sounds have relationships to each other.
Or point out its already present condition
I think it already exists, i guess it depends how you look at things.
when it comes to music I think all music already exists
it's all about how you're going to combine what's there
grabbing raw materials and sculpting them or putting them together
  improv too -- you're using raw material and doing it on the spot
Is it more like construction, or more like discovery?
what I mean is, the raw material is there to do with as you please
Some things are "fully formed" already?
when you're a beginner it's mostly discovery
once you got experience you can construct
and there's always more to discover
some things have predictable effects

* * *

We'll each contribute a topic idea to make a combined creature
and then see what it does
what sort of creature are we building?
One made of three topic ideas
of our choosing
I contribute....good humor
you truly do !
stillness ... the benefits of stillness
I contribute Art ...
Imagine a Creature composed of ...
good humor, the benefits of stillness, and Art
what would such a creature do?
I think we have a creature that can be easily loved
and appreciated
fun to have around the house
quietly create beauty ..
with gentle humor
and wise
thoughtful through stillness
creative orally and visually
stillness has a lot of pluses there is a well of ......
that you can draw from
if you just quiet yourself
like standing still - a dynamic posture
I saw someone balancing a heavy weight on their head, sitting still
their muscles were active all around, and centered
like a spinning top
perhaps this Creature has a spinning top, and holds out an offer
touch this
  like a whirling dervish... moving in place
One hand up, one down
a spiral, bringing energy of heaven down into earth

* * *

the thing about language - whether written or live
is that it is an invocation, not just a description
so I've been thinking about silence,
in the sense of thoughts are like clouds in a clear blue sky, layers and layers of clouds...
invocation
is something to get comfortable with - about language
the way it brings things into being
its creative aspect -
the yang for the "yin" of language's descriptive ability
If it was only descriptive, people would be very stuck, get bored, and feel rebellious
to stretch is to bring things into being
or else scared of the way language seems to "fix" and solidify things
it would be too rigid
I think you can notice a lot of people worried about that aspect of language
less common is to look at the other side,
to be concerned with the creative side of it.
I haven't talked to enough people about this to know,
in many ways I'm a lone traveler

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I'm a populist
rather 10,000,000 mediocre poets than 1,000 good ones
poetry waxes and wanes
Longfellow used to be as popular as Steven King is now
I was at Naropa when Ginsberg, Di Prima, Burroughs etc. were there
I hope for a comeback
Disembodied Poetics
I go to the neighborhood dives
skip the concert hall
power to the people
I tend to like a wide spectrum of stuff
what I liked about Naropa - it was very approachable
Ginsberg would teach poetics to anyone regardless of station in life, talent or whatever
There's a subculture of poets that have no ambitions for fame
poetry is pure, there is no money and even its fame is obscure
but it is a medium for all this other stuff
the messages and meanings people need to put out in the "we" spaces
like art, but cheaper to produce
I like poetry because it is the ultimate form of hypertext
combining music, visual arts philosophy, experience all into one
I like the pure vocal variety
performance art
primal, you have body but no page