Dichroic Reflections

Modern Verse

I have trouble with a lot of modern poetry -- not all, but a lot of it. I finally think I’ve figured out what my gripe is; it’s that, to me, poetry is supposed to be about both language and ideas, and the marriage between them. A lot of the modern stuff seems only to be about ideas, which I would define as philosophy rather than poetry. Worse are the ones that are deliberately obfuscatory, with not even an attempt to communicate the inherent idea to anyone buts its author. I’ve also heard some pieces that seem to be about only language, with no attempt at meaning, though I suppose this may be the point in itself.

There’s wonderful new stuff out there too, of course, so maybe it’s just another case of Classic Rock syndrome. You know, that the one that says that there weren’t more good songs in the 60’s, it’s just that the awful ones have long since died a merciful death and (one hopes) don’t get replayed. With brand new music, in contrast, we hear it all, the good, the bad, and the execrable.

I’m not quite such as fogey as to insist on rhymes, though I do appreciate them, or the alliteration of Norse sagas, or the patterned syllables of haiku. Of course, it’s also true that most of what I write never makes it beyond the level of doggerel, so perhaps I ought not to criticize my betters. Also, a lot of mine are really meant to be songs, which of course would work better if I had the talent to write melodies for them.

The next two entries may help to illustrate.

Posted by dichroic at March 9, 2001 12:04 PM