For illustrative purposes, here's an example:
(From wp-blogs.moundsparkacademy.org)Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Musings about concrete poetry
After submitting a concrete poem in Kerry's class and receiving critiques (arg), I was curious about how many people brought up how they weren't sure how to read the poem, whether left to right, clockwise/counter clockwise, etc. When I look at concrete poetry (and why I like it) I view it as an adventure - you can read it one way, then come back and experience something completely different. I don't wonder, "Why didn't the poet clearly illustrate how this should be read..." if you know what I mean. Curious what other people think - does it bug you when there's no clear way to read a poem?
For illustrative purposes, here's an example:
(From wp-blogs.moundsparkacademy.org)
For illustrative purposes, here's an example:
(From wp-blogs.moundsparkacademy.org)
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I loved your poem from class by the way! Not only did it read well, (and yes I read it many ways) but I have a small obsession with sketches of actual human hearts so that was a big plus as well! Are you going to do more concrete poems for Kerry's class?
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting having a poem shaped this way. And yes, I do think about what the 'right way' to read it is, but I usually just end up reading it in a way that is comfortable and makes sense to me. Maybe that's the wrong way to go about it because there's less adventure, but I think I still get the majority of what is being presented to me. I think my favourite part is that it makes the words look like pictures, which makes me think of the phrase 'a picture's worth a thousand words.' So if a picture is made of words, how many words are there now? I think there's endless ways for people to explore poems like these.
ReplyDeleteAH, nice Q about and example of concrete poems—they belong in my heart! my sense of most readers' reactions, especially readers who are newish to poetry or newish to trying their own poetry, already carry much anxiety about the "meaning" and rightness of a poem, and so encountering something as unfamiliar as visual poetry, their first thought is: "Eeeks! How? Why? What am i missing?"
ReplyDeletealmost all concrete completely disrupt our comfortable habits of reading/perception, and what a wondrous miracle of a gift is that?! there are some solid sites that collect vispoe, like:
https://otherclutter.wordpress.com/page/6/
http://www.ubu.com/vp/
http://www.ubu.com/papers/solt/index.html
try do make! and don't be concerned about your readers. celebrate mystery and surprise! paradox and rorschach! difference and xenomania!