Comments for Literary Connection's Book Discussion Forum

Comment on Subversive Poetry Reading at the Local Library by Jennifer M

Jennifer M — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:12:11 +0000

I think a greater question than why some poets write poems that allow you that leap and some poets do not is why some blogs have “about the author” pages, and some blogs do not.

Okay, seriously, I don’t spend a lot of time talking about literary theory. (I’m too busy talking about plumbers, and shopping carts.)

But I think the simple fact of the matter is that you’ve got the question all turned around. All poems sing to someone, and therefore all poems are good (even if the only person to whom any given poem sings is the author).

It is not a question of the ability of the poet. He or she has done his job by simply writing the thing. But the ability of the reader to make a connection with a person or thing one would not usually connect with? That’s the key, I think. Perhaps the reason more people don’t enjoy poetry is that they’re uncomfortable looking at their own selves closely enough to see those connections.

(And don’t even try to argue with me on this one, because I am the proud owner of a degree in English Language and Literature, from a very fancy university. I’ll just pull that out if there’s gonna be a tussle. Don’t make me go all highbrow on you.)

Your pal,

Jennifer

P.S. Call me.

Comment on Today is the Day by Ben

Ben — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 23:10:36 +0000

I think Robert Frost said that a poem was a momentary stay against confusion. I think its also a way of going way out to the boundaries of self where it spills out into other and other spills in, what Bishop calls falling, and then coming back safely. I have to wonder whether falling can be a pleasant sensation at the time, or only in recollection, or whether it is something to be avoided at all costs. Should we celebrate when we succeed in dwelling in the pain and confusion of lost identity, in the violation of pure categories, or only when we rescue the confusion from oblivion, and give it a place in the cosmos? I would like to keep falling until it is no longer horrifying, keep gazing at those horrifying breasts until they are somehow, no longer horrible, I would like to drink from, to be sustained by, those awful hanging breasts. I wish we didn’t need these momentary stays against confusion, but could dwell in the confusion itself. Well, I guess thats what Bishop does in a sense…is open the window and let the outer chaos blow in. A momentary stay is not a way to shut the door against assaults to identity, but a way of dealing with their occurance in a productive way. It’s all we have as humans– we can only fall so far.

Comment on Myla Golberg and the Decemberists by Jennifer M

Jennifer M — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 19:34:50 +0000

Some thoughts . . .

There was a revolution in Russia? When?

I thought Portland was in Maine.

Songs that mention writers, though? Thanks for mentioning that, because now I have “Afternoons and Coffeespoons” stuck in my head. Won’t be long before it’s “Rain King”, though, so that’s fine. (Neither song actually mentions the writer, although the first mentions Sartre. Ooh . . . let’s get into a big debate about whether the author is inherent in the work or completely separate from it. Oh, yes, let’s.)

And if you don’t think it’s cool to bring up both Crash Test Dummies and Counting Crows in one short comment, well, then I don’t know what cool even IS.

(Also, I know we discussed this yesterday, but a blog without an “About” page is no blog at all. (If you want to steal mine, you can, because I stole it from Salinger.))

Comment on This Saturday by squarestateliterature

squarestateliterature — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 14:56:53 +0000

I say this with all love and not a hint of homophobia in my body; that is the gayest picture of Brando ever. Is anyone else concerned that the Wyoming Humanities Book group is going to laugh at us and call us nancy-girls? To hell with it- we’re here, we’re kind queer and etc…

Comment on Myla Golberg and the Decemberists by GasWorks Wall

GasWorks Wall — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 07:19:16 +0000

I am not sure what kind of commie nonsense inspires the “Decemberists” as they play for beer around Portland, but I am sure it is good-natured nonsense at the very least. The first time I ever went to Portland was 1990. I ended up there quite by accident, as I was taking the Green Tortoise bus from Marin County to Seattle. That was an accident also, since my intention was only to ingratiate myself with two traveling North Face hippie women (who I mistook for lesbians seeking a 17-year-old male to spice things up), and who happened to be at the same Denny’s I was at in Petaluma. They were on their way to see some band called Pearl Jam. I did not see the wisdom of leaving the bay area to see any band, but the thought of never seeing these crazy sapphic nymphs again made me nervous. So I got on the bus when they did. Nasty green bus. The driver was dressed like Captain Crunch in a sort of Sergeant Pepper pirate suit. He was so perpetually stoned, we were stopped at one point on a frontage road near Arbuckle, arguing about whether or not the bus was still moving. This was not my kind of thing. But five weeks later, we did get to Portland. Captain Crunch spent several days there studying a broken fuel pump and talking on a pay phone. I could not take the slow pace and the ass smell of the bus. I hitch-hiked back home. It took 8 hours.

Comment on Myla Golberg and the Decemberists by squarestateliterature

squarestateliterature — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 15:52:40 +0000

Yikes! Amy and I are always trying to think of cool acronyms to use online, assiduously avoiding, of course, the urbane LOL and J/K. I am so happy to wake up, check the blog and see three lovely comments that I am coining a new acronym on the spot:IAIAROE. While the multiple vowels may look like sloppy Greek, most of you have probably guessed that it actually stands for, “I Am In A Rictus Of Ecstasy.” I think, unlike “SCIHG” (She Chortled In Her Glee,) this one is going to catch on. Yeah! Lovely comments! Keep them coming.

Comment on Myla Golberg and the Decemberists by Ben

Ben — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 05:34:11 +0000

Hi Sara,

As usual I feel way out of it. I didn’t know who any of those people were. Decembrists, Kundera and Roth, but that was another lifetime. This is where I come to see what the square state hipsters are jivin on. I promise to visit often and leave my tendentious and tedious mark, breaking out frequently and passionately into lengthy theological monologues.

-Ben

Comment on Myla Golberg and the Decemberists by Mike Shay

Mike Shay — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:27:06 +0000

Cool clip of the Decembrists and their Myla Goldberg song. One of the early Led Zeppelin songs mentions scenes from Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” I’m sure there are tons of other songs that mention writers, but can’t think of any others for now.

Comment on Myla Golberg and the Decemberists by amy

amy — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:16:29 +0000

I want to say I like the Decemberists, but somehow I’m afraid that’s tantamount to saying “I’m a namedropper. I choose shoes based on how eccentric they make me look. I boldly read controversial, misunderstood, arcane or obtuse novels in public. My cats are named after minor characters from Chekhov. I enjoy soup; I wish I were Canadian; my underwear are made from organic cotton. I drive a Subaru, and Nina Tottenberg is my alarm clock.”