Comments for Tangled Rope

Comment on Charles Baudelaire’s “Obsession” by Chris L

Chris L — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:47:32 +0000

I only have some barely remember French, so these questions may be stupid, but I wondered:

1) why \familiar\ instead of \banal?\ The latter seems more powerful…more *active* I guess. I think of \those words are familiar\ as opposed to \those words are banal.\

2) Is it echoes responding to your De Profundis or echoes of? And is there a difference.

I like \extinguish\ at the end. I would have thought \disappeared\ or \vanished\ but your choice is much more poweful!

Comment on National Poetry Month, Revisited by Jared Stein

Jared Stein — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 01:00:57 +0000

We can trade if you want to reciprocate, or you can just send me one. And by “can” I mean “must”.

I just finished a first pass on a translation this afternoon, and will revise and post tomorrow. I’d love to do several translations, but for someone of my ability it’s way too time consuming. And translation is one of those things that brings out the obsessive compulsive inside me.

Comment on National Poetry Month, Revisited by Chris L

Chris L — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:38:04 +0000

Good idea(s). I am quickly running out of poems that I can get behind in the 2011 BAP. I am finding some of them good starting points for my own ruminations, though.

So, are you talking trading edits/review of each other’s poems?

I won’t be taking on the translation challenge, but #1 is possible, #3 is almost a sure thing, and I can dream of #4!

Comment on NaPoMo12; BAP11 Musings by admin

admin — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 05:10:09 +0000

Bah! Go ahead and critique, man! Add a little heat to the menu!

Comment on Charles Wright’s “Toadstools” by Chris L

Chris L — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 22:27:18 +0000

Bill, you’re such a hard person to read. Does that mean you didn’t like the poem?

Comment on Charles Wright’s “Toadstools” by Jared Stein

Jared Stein — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:51:22 +0000

Chris, “styrofoam” definitely stood out to me as well. An awkward choice, I first thought, but it’s both usefully descriptive and a continuation of the indirect examination of things natural, things imagined or invented.

Bill, sorry you didn’t enjoy it, but I’m glad you posted anyway.

Comment on Charles Wright’s “Toadstools” by Bill Knott

Bill Knott — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:59:48 +0000

Powers, dominions, orphans, transcenders of the world, a taste of forever, grief?

Pretentious blather. In other words, a typical CWright piece of crap.

Comment on Charles Wright’s “Toadstools” by Chris L

Chris L — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:01:46 +0000

Good choice! That line:
“As though little roundabouts from the bunched unburiable”
is just outstanding.

I also enjoyed the unexpected use of the word “styrofoam,” which is itself “otherwordly” in the context of the nature poem.

Comment on NaPoMo12; BAP11 Musings by Chris L

Chris L — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:10:12 +0000

I’m glad you are jumping into the fray! I also suspect we are seeing more poetry being published than ever, and that’s without even counting the wild growth in online publishing of various kinds.

I’m coming to think that much of the reason I feel hesitant in my reading even as I read more is that I’m needing to unlearn some things…some approaches and reading habits and meta-criticism. That’s probably good fodder for another post, though.

I look forward to seeing what catches your attention in this anthology. I may have to break my internal vow not to bring up poems that I feel merit only negative attention, because there’s at least one poem this time around that is really sticking in my craw!

Comment on January – February Watercolors by admin

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:20:09 +0000

Thanks Chris. It’s quite an exercise to sit down regularly and force myself to do something new–to develop a skill I feel I should have learned a long time ago. But I’ll keep at it.