Week 3: Abstract versus Concrete [July 19, 2011, 9:53 p.m.]
In recasting the poems of other poets, I recommend we give ourselves a wide berth. There are many ways to De/compose a poem! Here are just a few ideas:
- Make it close to you--see the poem from your point of view and suite of experiences.
- Change the situation--you can hold on to the subject matter with a new context.
- Mimic--don’t be afraid to repeat sounds and ideas that are close to the poem.
- Play with length--you might start by reinterpreting each word. But your poem might want a different length and form.
Snodgrass often showcased the talent of renowned poets by stripping the poems of all abstraction. Those poems fell like lead balloons. Part of a poet’s mastery is their ability to balance the abstract and the concrete--to make connections that feel accessible yet magical or strange. Please select one of the two poems below and De/compose it.
Poem 1: Night Waitress by Lynda Hull
In her poem “Night Waitress” Hull vacillates between the abstract and the concrete skillfully. However is there a point where the transition isn't smooth? Try attacking the poem considering her tether between those two worlds. What would the poem look like if she kept it strictly to the concrete? What about if she kept it lofty, abstract?
Poem 2: Crush by Ada Limón
In turn, Limón takes a concrete element (persimmons) and wraps abstraction around it. So much is expressed through the relationship with the fruit. If you select this poem, consider the intense relationship with one complex concrete thing.