tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post2625043898509456254..comments2024-02-05T00:16:13.698-05:00Comments on Banjo52: Confessionalism, continuedBanjo52http://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-69293305857598957752010-04-26T14:22:08.957-04:002010-04-26T14:22:08.957-04:00Brenda, love your inclusion of dieters as potentia...Brenda, love your inclusion of dieters as potential confessional poets! Could be somebody's Ph.D. dissertation. <br /><br />And Sound and Sense! Oh my, yes, know, or knew, it well. And it's still around--come to think of it, the new editor's name might be Arp, like the sculptor. <br /><br />AH, too much on Plath's life could indeed kill the poetry. Also, I think she makes leaps in thought or imagery that are demanding and maybe unreasonable. But I still like more of the work than I feel I should. <br /><br />How did your teacher handle the sensational details of her life with impressionable high schoolers? <br /><br /><br />I gave Berryman and Lowell an honest effort way back when. I'm telling myself that if I'm open to Plath, Sexton and others still living, I don't have to keep re-trying those who bored me.<br /><br />Have they ever decided whether Hart Crane jumped or fell off the boat? I should probably try him again; some important living poets think he's both good and important, and I didn't give him a real shot. <br /><br />Did you like my dentist-poet comparison, re: suicide? I thought it was so brilliant that I put an ad in the paper for discount psychotherapy from me at the local Starbuck's (till 4:30, at which time we move to Bailey's pub).Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-9439114914363555452010-04-26T10:45:12.151-04:002010-04-26T10:45:12.151-04:00You know what? Maybe I know the facts of Plath'...You know what? Maybe I know the facts of Plath's life too well to judge her poetry. I had a hs teacher who loved her, more for the drama than for the verse. <br /><br />I like Berryman, or at least, I once did. Haven't read him for years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-65603137035698115582010-04-26T09:48:47.020-04:002010-04-26T09:48:47.020-04:00Hmmm... confessional poetry. Poets working out the...Hmmm... confessional poetry. Poets working out their demons? I've read a million times that sad/mad/troubled/dieting people should keep journals. So along comes a poet... and makes it into a poem. Let's call it 'Poetry as Confession'. Oh wait, Robert Lowell did that.<br /><br />Banjomyn, your lists of confessional poets is awesome. I never heard of most of them, and had to look them up - hence, how I found Lowell. There are a lot of sad people out there who want us to know about their sadness. Just like Christmas letters that tell us all about their ills for the past year.<br /><br />I looked at one of my college freshman year textbooks: Sound & Sense by Laurence Perrine. Each chapter is on a different type of poetry: symbolism, imagery, tone, musical devices, etc. No mention of confessional poetry. Thank goodness- I would have run for the hills!!<br /><br />"Cut" sounds totally creepy.<br />Can't wait. I think...Brenda's Arizonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17880225110712592548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-70032176106139212412010-04-25T21:05:02.440-04:002010-04-25T21:05:02.440-04:00AH, I know what you mean, yet for some reason, Pla...AH, I know what you mean, yet for some reason, Plath often makes me take her complaints seriously--something about the intensity in her language. Do you know her poem, "Cut"? I'll get some Plath up here before long. <br /><br />But I agree there always seems to be excess. As I said a while ago, I'm just starting to revisit Sexton. Lowell, Berryman, and others I may or may not revisit. <br /><br />I think Sharon Olds is considered to be in the Plath/Sexton tradition, more or less. At least, I see her that way--it makes me especially uncomfortable when she writes about her children. <br /><br />I wonder about Kim Addonizio, too.Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-935559913650751312010-04-25T11:43:46.633-04:002010-04-25T11:43:46.633-04:00I wonder if confessional poetry isn't mostly a...I wonder if confessional poetry isn't mostly a series of complaints. Pity me poetry. And perhaps that's why it tends to irritate.<br /><br />It often reminds me of people who think you'll be fascinated to hear about their medical problems -- not the life and death problems -- I mean, infections and the like.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com