"If Walt Whitman Vlogged"

[MuseedesBeauxArts]

I recently read a piece in The New Yorker (see here: If Walt Whitman Vlogged), which of course had embedded links and so lead me down this rabbit hole that I otherwise would never have gone down if not for my compulsive clicking.

I am curious, I suppose, to see someone raising the same old questions, but with Twitter and YouTube. How do you define poetry, for example? Who is a poet? Does poetry have the capacity to change the world or people, and should we expect it to (cue Auden)? The actual pieces cited (like here ) that I have seen so far are half-annoying, half-beautiful manic rants, and I'm torn between an eye-roll and an admiration for exploring, creating, pushing boundaries. I am just learning and exploring this stuff, and I'm curious to hear your reactions--love? hate?--and your analyses.

[Hephaestus]

Poetry begins with noticing some ways of expressing an idea sound better than others.
It begins with recognizing clumsy language and elegant language.
It comes from seeing the multiple entendre, the nuance, the blind spot.
It births with noticing that certain ways of phrasing stick in the mind better, and that among the techniques that do this, rhyming is the easiest to manifest.

But a poem need not rhyme--at least not in the limited sense of the word most use.
A good poem will always rhyme, because it will resonate in your mind, your heart, convince you of a soul--
Even if it convinces you you don't have one.

Good rhetoric, good prose, is rooted in poetry.

Poetry is the lego-blocks, the erector set of the future architect
It's a proving ground for insight and tragic self-centered musing
It's a way of forgoing the limitations of formal speech to speak your mind
As clearly as you can within the obfuscations you need to feel safe.



I never write anything but poetry. I've just learned that people are more likely to read poetry if in instantiation, instead of stanzas you write in paragraphs; couplets within Oxford guided punctuation. Done in this way, even the most entrenched devotee of poetry loathing is drawn into reading what I have written, and can be smitten the way they would have by other poems had they only not been so clearly drawn in the lines of what said reader abhorred. The tragedy of how much more they could have adored.

You see:

Poetry begins with noticing some ways of expressing an idea sound better than others. It begins with recognizing clumsy language and elegant language. It comes from seeing the multiple entendre, the nuance, the blind spot. It births with noticing that certain ways of phrasing stick in the mind better, and that among the techniques that do this, rhyming is the easiest to manifest.

But a poem need not rhyme--at least not in the limited sense of the word most use. A good poem will always rhyme, because it will resonate in your mind, your heart, convince you of a soul--Even if it convinces you you don't have one.

Good rhetoric, good prose, is rooted in poetry.

Poetry is the lego-blocks, the erector set of the future architect. It's a proving ground for insight and tragic self-centered musing. It's a way of forgoing the limitations of formal speech to speak your mind. As clearly as you can within the obfuscations you need to feel safe.

[Pan]

My first impression:

1) As with most things on the internet, the lack of a discerning editor is painfully apparent. Even good writers benefit from good editing - someone to suggest that "this tree is stupid" could use a little refinement. Leaves of Grass could have stood some editing, too, but...

2) Writing and performing are two very different skills. Some people certainly have both, but not nearly so many as think they do.

I guess my feeling is: good for him for trying, and if he works on it for a few more years I might even want to hear it. I suppose Youtube is fulfilling the role of a writer's workshop in a way... using an online community to gernerate some feedback to young authors. But if you're trying to learn how to write well from Youtube comments, I'd say you're pretty much SOL.