Few essays on writing poetry grab me by the collar, slam me against the wall, and say “Listen, dammit!” But this one did.
Camille Dungy’s words sear through the fog. She tells it slant. She tells it true. She explains how some masters have done it. If you’ve not read her poetry, seek it out. You’re in for a treat. If you have the good fortune to attend a lecture or reading by her, do so. She’s energetic, wise and kind. She knows.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/247926
Originally posted in June 2014.
Thank you
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You’re very welcome.
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Reblogged this on Ann WJ White and commented:
This explains so well the mission of a poet.
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Thanks for reblogging!
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That was a terrific read. I wrote this quote down: “To be oblique is not the same as to be opaque.” Advice to remember in all forms of writing.
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I had the privilege of hearing her present this a few years ago. It blew me away.
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Good advice for any form of writing.
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Oh, yes. She’s a fabulous poet and quite the essayist!
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This is a good essay, worth reading in its entirety. This explains why I had issue with a poem I read recently where someone was trying to, in very formal language, express his political views. Let’s just say he didn’t ‘tell it slant’. It came off pedantic and preachy, and therefore a huge turn-off. I’m reminded of Yeats’ great “Easter 1916” (perhaps because today is Easter Sunday) as an example of a poet who did it right. “Two long a sacrifice/ Can make a stone of the heart.”
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I’ve read this many times. It reminds me that I know too little and need to keep learning.
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Thanks for this, Bob! Wonderful essay I hadn’t read before.
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Camille is wonderful. If you haven’t experienced her poetry, you’re in for a thrill.
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Yay! Camille Dungy was one of my my college creative writing teachers in Virginia. Her perspective is invaluable.
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I attended her workshop at Napa Valley Writers’ Conference four years ago, and left feeling like I’d learned something of value, and not just related to poetry.
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That’s awesome!
“What can we do as readers, as artists, and as humans when faced with the continual repetition of awful revelations?”
Such a vital perspective. She’s really wonderful 🙂
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1000% in agreement, Jessica!
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Thanks for sharing. I take with me the following excerpt:
Dickinson’s poem suggests that unless the truth is revealed “gradually” and “[w]ith explanation kind,” we will not be able to absorb what we have read. Truth, Dickinson writes, can be “[t]oo bright for our infirm Delight.”
The truth can so hurt or terrify us that it evokes instant denial. In this regard, truth becomes a blinding light. Much like the global threat of climate disruption.
Until I became friends with the late American poet, Angela Consolo Mankiewicz, I never liked poetry. Poetry was so “slanted,” I could not decipher it’s meaning. For our poets to reveal the blinding truth, they must find the right angle for spreading that light.
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You’re very welcome. I enjoy having to work through a poem, but dislike deliberately obscure pieces that offer little reward. Ultimately, if the poem provides no emotional resonance, it’s not successful (to my eyes).
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Printing to read. Thanks!
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Well worth printing!
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Poets as messengers, insuring the message is perceived in the proper light.
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Messengers and bearers of the unsayable…
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I really like your writing! Thank you. Please be my follower too! Have a nice day!
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Thank you, Michelle.
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The message I pick up here is that words can separate you off from experience: ‘There is a cool web of language…’ as Graves wrote. It is epitomised in the arm tattoo; I cannot think of much that is more fatuous. If it makes that much an impact then it has to be wrestled with on deep levels.
It could be said the Hass poem fails by sensationalising through detail. The lived experience is circumvented. The ethical and moral realities of the people are completely smashed. How can standard language express that?
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I think that particular tattoo illustrates the power of language. It would not have been my choice, but then I don’l like needles. 😬
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