11/02/08

This past weekend amazing things happened. One such thing was one of the better holidays, Halloween. For me Halloween is on the same level as saint patricks day. In both holidays outrageous clothing is worn, and ridiculous drinking ensues. I guess in the case of Halloween however the girls get to dress up in sexy outfits so that is usually pretty awesome. I bet when Jorie Graham goes out for Halloween she dresses up as a sexy nurse or something fun like that. Speaking of Jorie Graham, she has some very interesting poems that a person could read. One that struck me in particular is entitled “The Surface” and to me it seemed to be about Jorie Graham and either her imagination or maybe about the unconscious part of a person’s being. She uses the analogy throughout the poem of a twisting and spiraling river that seems to carry in it either the or messages that a person has in the form of fallen leaves that are carried on down the river. This poem could also be about the writing process in that she draws from someplace inside her self, the words, ideas or messages that she in turn sets free down the river. I could see that being the case in the last few lines of the poem Jorie wirtes “I say iridescent and I look down. The leaves very still as they are carried.” Or maybe I am completely off and it’s a poem about her fishing for a catfish or something. I did like how often Jorie uses the idea of a “Big Question” in her poems. It can be hard for a poet to write about the big questions because they really have no set or only true response, so in a way you are expecting more from the reader when you use those questions.
A lot of her poetry however is not really my cup of tea. The form that she uses for some of the poems seems a bit off to me. I am not completely sure what it is about the rhythm but it doesn’t seem to me to flow as well as some of the other authors. I also feel that some of the stuff is a little bit forced. I did not really like the poem “Fission” but I did think it was nice and retro when she writes so well about the early times before instant messaging and 24 hour news. That must have been a huge deal to the people of the 60’s when the President got shot. If any thing like that happened nowadays a person would be able to find out about it almost before the tragedy was completely done. No need to go to the electronics store to watch tv, instead just get on the internet with your phone or other mobile device, and almost instantly you have the ability to get the updated news. This class has been interesting in regards to the variety of poets we have already convered, I really enjoy being able to read all the various styles that we have already covered.