tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post573427548000032074..comments2023-04-10T14:29:56.153+01:00Comments on Raw Light: poetry & opinion since 2005: Feminism & Creative FailureUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-11855227100687361852009-01-13T17:37:00.000+00:002009-01-13T17:37:00.000+00:00Hi JaneHappy New year. This morning, this v intere...Hi Jane<BR/>Happy New year. This morning, this v interesting post inspired me to go and try to get a first draft down of a persona poem (female) that's been swinging in my head for the last 13 months. I'm happy to report that I now have a reasonable 1st draft to work on. Thank you!!Group 8https://www.blogger.com/profile/07924947352624027079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-65293881180363250932009-01-11T10:30:00.000+00:002009-01-11T10:30:00.000+00:00Hi Vicki, good to see you here on Raw Light. Thank...Hi Vicki, good to see you here on Raw Light. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for your response, which has been illuminating. However, I don't think I was insinuating that <I>you</I> thought any of the things you mention above, at least not that I'm aware of. Those were <I>my</I> opinions, and I then quoted something from your book, 'Gendering Poetry', as the post continued. The two weren't necessarily related except where, if anywhere, our ideas might have dovetailed, which is - I guess - for each reader to decide. I'm a little bewildered, in fact, that you should have assumed that the majority of my post here was founded on the opinions in your book. That's not even remotely accurate; I'm quite able to think for myself, and express my opinions in a forthright manner, as regular readers of this blog will testify! I brought your opinions in, a.) to help promote your work, which I think should be widely read, and b.) to bounce my ideas off yours for a moment. That's all. Like you, I don't think there's a <I>conscious </I>conspiracy at work, but I do think that sexism is still so deeply embedded at every level of our society that to imagine it doesn't play a part in the construction of the contemporary poetry scene is a somewhat naive attitude. Ostriches spring to mind, etc. <BR/><BR/>When commenting on Agbabi's work, I knew my remarks wouldn't be popular. But as you say, a personal opinion, based on about thirteen years' experience of reading, writing, and reviewing poetry.Jane Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15590668593487445482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-43747824022785301032009-01-09T17:24:00.000+00:002009-01-09T17:24:00.000+00:00Thanks for reading my books, Jane. I'd just like ...Thanks for reading my books, Jane. I'd just like to clarify something: I would never suggest that a poet's gender 'dictates' the success of their work, and I don't believe any writer should limit their experimentation with voice or perspective; I'd certainly not suggest it was 'unfeminist' to write in a male voice or of masculine experience. Nor do I think men poets are 'rivals'! There's a difference between what writers attempt to do, and the way their work is read and received; it's the latter I've tried to explore in my feminist critiques of the poetry world in Britain. I don't think there is a conspiracy at work. But I do think personal taste plays a large part in critical (and creative) responses to poetry, and gender comes into that: it's part of the complex set of relationships that form between reader and poem, reader and persona, reader and poet (preserving the distinctions between each of these). <BR/><BR/>One last thing: I'm really surprised you don't think Patience Agbabi's 'Bloodshot Monochrome' doesn't work on the page. To me it seems a collection that demonstrates great formal dexterity and wit! Still, there we go: personal taste alive and kicking.<BR/><BR/>best wishes<BR/>VickiAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10068216417354205805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-44957003615235094932009-01-07T21:04:00.000+00:002009-01-07T21:04:00.000+00:00I liked this post about confusion and confidence a...I liked this post about confusion and confidence and considering everything.<BR/><BR/>I liked the game show of poetry too. I just hope it isn't Numberwang (Mitchell & Webb...one of their better sketches). It feels a bit that way sometimes!Rachel Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803852725693518924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-1052728244695057022009-01-04T16:06:00.000+00:002009-01-04T16:06:00.000+00:00I added another comment below which never appeared...I added another comment below which never appeared! <BR/>As for writing in a male voice, I certainly don't see it as a sell-out, more like a kind of post-modern feminism.Marion McCreadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04657757253873577465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-49625930012122851022009-01-04T14:07:00.000+00:002009-01-04T14:07:00.000+00:00Sorry your comment disappeared, Angela. I had no r...Sorry your comment disappeared, Angela. I had no record of it at all. If anyone else has replied and not had their comment appear here, do let me know; there may be a problem with Blogger, or just with this particular blog.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure Agbabi must be an excellent performer - that would account for her success, after all - but her poems don't work particularly well on the page. An age-old problem for performers, I should add. <BR/><BR/>Having said that, my husband dipped in and out of'Bloodshot Monochrome' and enjoyed what he read. So it may simply be down to individual taste ...<BR/><BR/>Not that I genuinely believe that, of course. If I did, I would not be much of a critic!Jane Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15590668593487445482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-89074825708172711932009-01-04T10:32:00.000+00:002009-01-04T10:32:00.000+00:00My first post vanished into the ether and I doubt ...My first post vanished into the ether and I doubt I can recreate it all now.<BR/>I did want to say though, that I don't see writing in a male voice as selling out in any way.<BR/><BR/>I write a lot in persona and have written in a male voice almost as often as female voices. I am a feminist and don't see a problem with it. Poetry, for me, is a way of exploring and understanding human nature and the world around me: what better way to understand another gender than attempting to try on their skin?<BR/><BR/>By the way - I have 'Bloodshot Monochrome - I bought it after seeing her read at Cheltenham this year and particularly wanted it to study what she did with the 'film noir' corona.Angela Francehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00039428389406819768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-71511520468269934902009-01-03T09:26:00.000+00:002009-01-03T09:26:00.000+00:00A great post with a lot of interesting references ...A great post with a lot of interesting references to digest. The editor's crocodile grin doesn't help the maker's tentative steps towards the next new work. Throw a net over that croc and and get a jaw rope on him, then you should be able to make it across the bubbling swamp.David Lumsdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04483172967435196277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-46171824513558714002009-01-02T17:01:00.000+00:002009-01-02T17:01:00.000+00:00I empathise. (Or emPLATHise). I like the idea of y...I empathise. (Or emPLATHise). I like the idea of you writing in a man's voice. Why the bloody hell not?Bohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10333815636018847583noreply@blogger.com