tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post7342675341855579352..comments2023-04-10T14:29:56.153+01:00Comments on Raw Light: poetry & opinion since 2005: On the True Endings of PoemsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-68783333714675141182007-12-04T13:40:00.000+00:002007-12-04T13:40:00.000+00:00Hello, Steven, my old fruit. The poem in question ...Hello, Steven, my old fruit. <BR/><BR/>The poem in question was 'Almost Iceland' (one of the only poems of mine that Neil Astley actually liked - before I decided to part company with Bloodaxe, that is, after which I don't imagine he liked any of 'em). It's in my Salt collection, Boudicca & Co. Geoffrey Hill advocated ending it at the line which runs something like this (typically can't be bothered to check it): <I>And always the wind/hammering for the house to be absent.</I><BR/><BR/>So, if I'm ever lucky enough to put out a Selected, I might follow his advice and lop off the end of that poem. <BR/><BR/>Though maybe leaving in the original last line: <I>imploding/the senseless resistance of doorways</I> - there may or may not be a line-break after 'imploding' in the book, but there's a pause there aurally - which is a line I've always rather liked. <BR/><BR/>Fatal last words?Jane Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15590668593487445482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-45010110189828351952007-12-04T10:55:00.000+00:002007-12-04T10:55:00.000+00:00I don't know if he's right about that poem as you ...I don't know if he's right about that poem as you don't say which it is...<BR/><BR/>But I think he's generally right: leave the tying up at the end to the reader.Steven Walinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09843948765720382682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-70925019824504877532007-12-03T08:30:00.000+00:002007-12-03T08:30:00.000+00:00excellent post, endings are the most difficult par...excellent post, endings are the most difficult part of poems for me, I'm intrigued by the various ending styles used by contemporary poets. I've noticed some who end a poem with hardly having said anything at all, which I think is worse than overstating the point, though that is nowhere near ideal either.Crafty Green Poethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-89177675213791471572007-11-29T13:20:00.000+00:002007-11-29T13:20:00.000+00:00my dad looked at me once when I was about 12 and s...my dad looked at me once when I was about 12 and said, 'Yo're one of those idiot savants, aren't you'? <BR/>Sigh.Bohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10333815636018847583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-1165173861857654772007-11-28T13:48:00.000+00:002007-11-28T13:48:00.000+00:00Ah, I've just been googling, and apparently it's n...Ah, I've just been googling, and apparently it's now politically incorrect to say 'idiot savant'. It has to be 'autistic savant' now - which, to me, is just as offensive! My son is autistic but has no special skills (apart from great comedic timing) and this common perception that autistic people are always able to add up fantastic sums or remember the precise shape of buildings does him no favours as an individual with mild-severe learning difficulties. <BR/><BR/>Political correctness. Blearh.<BR/><BR/>JxJane Holland: Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12841007863029354079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-11958030136299564272007-11-28T13:40:00.000+00:002007-11-28T13:40:00.000+00:00Thanks, you two! (My fans!!! My only fans!!!)Yes, ...Thanks, you two! (My fans!!! My only fans!!!)<BR/><BR/>Yes, I agree that you can't break rules without first knowing them inside-out and having stuck with them for years. Otherwise the poet is like an idiot savant, doing something clever without any real understanding or appreciation of why it's clever. So it falls flat, because there's an emptiness behind it. <BR/><BR/>I'm glad someone commented in the end, thank you both. I was beginning to suspect this was one of my less successful blog entries. <BR/><BR/>I feel revived now!<BR/><BR/>JxJane Holland: Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12841007863029354079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-13256935303145929872007-11-28T11:34:00.000+00:002007-11-28T11:34:00.000+00:00marvellous! xmarvellous! xBohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10333815636018847583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16608180.post-53224440460390006752007-11-28T10:37:00.000+00:002007-11-28T10:37:00.000+00:00When reading Boudicca & Co I was particularly stru...When reading Boudicca & Co I was particularly struck by the sense of completeness of every poem and how well your endings worked in accomplishing this, something I'm trying to work towards. I guess it's only once this skill has been achieved, and not before, that you can move beyond to that 'open-ended quality'.Marion McCreadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04657757253873577465noreply@blogger.com