July 23, 2001: precautionary
Today's poem is a pendantic one. I was listening to a bunch of audio files of slam poetry, and realizing that *all* of them make the same mistakes over and over again.
If you write poetry, you're probably going to be offended by this. Just sayin'.
lecture
For all of you out there, I have one piece of advice:
stop yelling.
Just stop.
Mostly because I don't like being yelled at, it makes me think
of playgrounds and older kids and the way my blood tasted
on the steel of the monkey bars.
But partially because poetry should be quiet.
The best poetry is an ancient katana
so sharp that you don't realize your throat's been cut
until you feel your head hit the floor.
It is understated. Elegant. Whisper-quiet.
And the deadliest thing alive.
Yelling's not the only cardinal sin, however.
People take
what might be perfectly nice poems
from good families, with language
that's right at home in a living room
or a rainy forest
and torture them.
I listen, and think,
"Oh, no.
you're not
putting
line
breaks
where I think
you're
putting
line breaks
are you?"
But I keep listening, and sure enough, they are.
First:
A line of a poem is a thought.
A stanza is a paragraph.
Short lines and strophes can be used for effect
but should not comprise the entire poem.
Don't be afraid of a long line. give your audience some credit.
I promise they have enough attention span
to listen all the way through to the end of the line.
Second:
When you are reading poetry, you are singing.
Plan your breaths. Breathe from the diaphragm.
You don't get to take a breath at the end of a line
unless there's a period there
or a stanza break.
Let the words roll out of your mouth
and phrase them.
Third:
I don't care if you've invented a new style of poetry
or a new form
or if you've just plain got it all going on
you have antecedents.
You don't get to break the rules until you know what the rules are.
I don't care if you're a genius, you still have to study poetry.
Tell me what the rules are for a sestina or a quatrain.
Try writing a villanelle.
Get good at rhyme even if you think it's stupid
and sounds silly.
Read the classics aloud, and listen to the rhythm
and the slide of their lines. There is blood in that poetry,
it blinks and beats itself against the cages
of universal schoolchild scorn.
There are poetry lessons everywhere.
Take them.
Fourth:
If you find yourself being consistently funny,
you may want to stop writing poetry
and develop a stand-up act.
If you want to be funny, don't go for the obvious laughs.
Sneak up on the audience and make them laugh at knifepoint,
make them laugh because they are uncomfortable
and can only laugh to make the hurting stop.
Fifth:
Punctuation Is Good.
(Yes, I *am* entitled to some hypocrisy here.)
But above all, stop yelling.
Stop raising your voice
or trying to get through a five-minute poem in three.
Loud and fast does not equal good,
and neither
do line breaks
in weird
places.
Just remember:
poetry is about breaking the rules of language
and the best poetry uses a laser
instead of a sledgehammer.
