Beautiful And Pointless: A Guide To Modern Poetry (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Reading this, as I hoped, prompted me to read more poetry, right away. I liked the appetite for poetry that the author creates, intentionally I presume. What I didn't really care for was the digression into the struggles of the modern poet with other modern poets and the documentation of the drama. A good and interesting read but not great, not a must-read. If you want to read about modern poetry, you could do much worse. I read this book not to gain a new perspective of how to read poetry, but rather how to write poetry. Also, I wanted to know if it could answer a couple questions. For instance, why write poetry? Is poetry relevant? The following are some thoughts after reading the book.1.When I write a poem the depth of the narrator’s experience should expose the narrator-she should feel raw by the revelation. The author uses the term, embarrassed, but I like exposed and raw as they include fact and what is honest.2.Poetry circles are cliquish, and I'm not inspired to submit poetry to university presses. However, I will continue to submit my poetry through the channels I currently use for feedback. Also, I will use my blog to distribute my poetry to as wide an audience as possible. 3. The author supports poets and poetry readers to write and read poetry because they prefer to do it more than something else. 4.I write poetry because it is my way of communicating with the world, and I have fun choosing the best words which suit the purpose. I do not expect that a novelist or a memoirist or a journalist feels very differently.5.As poetry is one of my communication channels it is relevant. Will I read it again: YesWill I recommend it: YesWas prose elevated to poetry: No, but I appreciated the author’s sense of humor scattered loosely throughout. If there were more humorous episodes the focus may have been on the author as opposed to the discussion of poetry.
What do You think about Beautiful And Pointless: A Guide To Modern Poetry (2011)?
I don't know what to make of this or how I feel about the title, but I will read it.
—einacio
This is a fine sort of book about poetry... but I think I'd just rather good poetry.
—mariasalazar
