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Yes, fashion is surely a curse;
Remember flared trousers and worse?
Like side burns so hairy
And hairstyles quite scary
And post modern art and free verse.
Smashin’ Fashion
24 Tuesday Mar 2015
Posted in Satire
dnobrienpoetry
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Oh, you said it!!! When I teach my “Writing Poetry” classes, I explain to my students why the course does not devote the same kind of time and attention to free verse as it does to “real poetry.” It’s only my students who listen to me, but it’s my own personal way of getting even for the craziness out there.
I’ve read a small amount of free verse that is actually good, and I’ve written a very few pieces myself. But it’s value is extremely limited, and it should always be the exception — for the sake of fitting a particular topic or assignment at a particular time. I am absolutely astounded at the tons of “free verse” junk out there that people call poetry, and the scores and scores of people who get online and talk about how “great” it is. I’ve actually sat and stared at some pieces of free verse trying to figure out a legitimate — or even logical — reason for breaking the lines where they have been broken. I couldn’t find a logical reason and certainly not a legitimate one.
And then so many of the free verse group point their fingers at those of us who actually “work” at writing poetry that has rhyme and meter as if we are the immature, unsophisticated, untalented step-children of poetry. Well, I’m doing everything I can in my classes to help the pendulum swing back.
Whew! I feel better having gotten that off my chest. Thanks for the opportunity, Dennis. You can delete this if you want.
Love the poem.
Well we live in a very strange world and have done for some time
so we shouldn’t expect sanity to prevail.
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-fountain-t07573
I’ve poured over this verse that’s free
And with you, largely, I agree.
It’s prose as far as I can see
That masquerades as poetry.
Well, now, I can match that link, Dennis. It reminds me quite vividly of a little story I posted a couple months ago on just that very subject: https://sandraconner.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/tickle-me-tuesday-brand-new-weekly-challenge/
I keep smashing the fashion of free verse too.