What I should have said about I
poetry workshop
What I should have said to Lauren when she said she liked the "me" in her poem is that "me" is not me in a poem when you use the pronoun "I." In other words, the I in a poem inevitably refers to more than a single person--especially when that person is someone you don't know. Poets like Bernadette Mayer and Frank O'Hara use the "I" very casually indeed, but still it can't (quite) be equated with them. In a poem like Lauren's the weight placed on the "I" is hard for it to bear, which _is_ what I was saying in class.
So Lauren--try to rewrite the poem without the "I," perhaps. Or write it from the perspective of various I/eyes...I also like your "me," but your "I" is far more problematic, when it's in a poem, anyway.
My Cards scored 9 runs in the 9th, so thanks for the good luck!
aloha, Susan
What I should have said to Lauren when she said she liked the "me" in her poem is that "me" is not me in a poem when you use the pronoun "I." In other words, the I in a poem inevitably refers to more than a single person--especially when that person is someone you don't know. Poets like Bernadette Mayer and Frank O'Hara use the "I" very casually indeed, but still it can't (quite) be equated with them. In a poem like Lauren's the weight placed on the "I" is hard for it to bear, which _is_ what I was saying in class.
So Lauren--try to rewrite the poem without the "I," perhaps. Or write it from the perspective of various I/eyes...I also like your "me," but your "I" is far more problematic, when it's in a poem, anyway.
My Cards scored 9 runs in the 9th, so thanks for the good luck!
aloha, Susan
posted by susan at 10:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home