ktgrok Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 A friend of my husband's created this. She's getting her MFA in "Poetry in the Expanded World" which I don't understand exactly either, lol. I see that parts of this are the Tyger poem by Blake. I'm guessing the pictures are from a tv show I don' watch or recognize, and then biology words put into the periodic table in some sense? Anyone want to offer thoughts or help me understand how this all goes together? I feel dumb. http://www.abadpennyreview.com/origins-carbon-orchestra/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) I am not a big fan of experimental poetry, but people have played around with words and images for a long time, to create different forms and effects and to explore what happens when they do that. Cut words out of books and randomly arranged them, used a computer algorithms to create aleatoric poetry (John Cage for example), arranged words according to images, rearranged scientific technical texts, all kinds of very random stuff. It is an experiment. And there may not be a "message" or "what the poet wants to say". It may not make "sense". Look at it, and you may find it interesting or not. And you may find the process interesting or not. Edited February 9, 2018 by regentrude 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIN MOUSA Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 As I've gotten older, I've gotten better at separating an artist's (writer's/poet's) process of creation and my experience of their finished piece. I used to look at something and say, "Well that's weird, and I don't get it." I would also subconsciously equate my lack of "getting it" with a lack of value. Not saying this is what you did, only that it is what I used to do. Nowadays, I enjoy seeing information on the process, to understand more of how a piece came to be and what went into creating it. Without any extra information, I'm left with my reaction to a piece. Do I enjoy it? Do I find it interesting? How does it make me feel? Why? And my answer to these questions are totally independent of the artist's creative process and the finished piece's value. As for the piece you linked: I'm not familiar with the Tyger poem; the images seem very small, and I'm having a hard time recognizing anything; and I don't have very strong background knowledge of the periodic table. So overall, it leaves me feeling a little, "Meh." I would be interested in learning more about how this piece came to be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 I don't understand it either but it bothers me that the biology words one still has some of the elements on there but there in the wrong place. I think the pictures are all from the same show but I can't tell for sure, even magnified they are hard to see. It made me think it would be cool to take characters from different shows in the same genre and put characters in the spots they would fit best - like put the most volatile people in the alkali metals column and the calm peaceful ones in the Noble gases. :laugh: Can you make a living as a poet these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 the images seem very small If you click on each image, you can get a bigger version. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 9, 2018 Author Share Posted February 9, 2018 I don't understand it either but it bothers me that the biology words one still has some of the elements on there but there in the wrong place. I think the pictures are all from the same show but I can't tell for sure, even magnified they are hard to see. It made me think it would be cool to take characters from different shows in the same genre and put characters in the spots they would fit best - like put the most volatile people in the alkali metals column and the calm peaceful ones in the Noble gases. :laugh: Can you make a living as a poet these days? She works as a technical writer by day. SaveSave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 9, 2018 Author Share Posted February 9, 2018 Ok. I'm not bothered by it,like I'm not trying to say it's too weird. I just was wondering if I was missing something that would make me say, "oh! Now I get it!" I wasn't sure if my lack of cultural knowledge regarding the show, or the periodic table, was keeping me from a better understanding of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 I don't understand it either but it bothers me that the biology words one still has some of the elements on there but there in the wrong place. I think the pictures are all from the same show but I can't tell for sure, even magnified they are hard to see. It made me think it would be cool to take characters from different shows in the same genre and put characters in the spots they would fit best - like put the most volatile people in the alkali metals column and the calm peaceful ones in the Noble gases. :laugh: Can you make a living as a poet these days? Maya Angelou did. I can't think of anyone else that's a household name for poetry who's alive now. I suspect people who are good at writing poetry are more likely to go into music writing these days, unless they are from an especially literary family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Above The Rowan Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) It looks like most (if not all) of the images are from the show "Hannibal" which was a tv series about Hannibal Lectre (silence of the lambs etc). Knowing this tv show, the poem is actually pretty interesting. Particularly the "little lamb dost thou know who made thee little lamb part", which plays into the Silence of the Lambs movie. Also, orchestral music was a bit part of Hannibal's character background, so was science and...obvs biology. I am not versed well enough in poetry criticism to really parse out or explain why all these elements work well together, but they make a very striking combo, that's all I know. I think it's VERY cool. Edited February 9, 2018 by Above The Rowan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIN MOUSA Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 If you click on each image, you can get a bigger version. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Can you make a living as a poet these days? Very, very few can. Almost all poets have day jobs. Some related to writing (teaching or editing), some completely unrelated. But it's been like this for a long time. Frank O'Hara was a museum curator, and William Carlos Williams a physician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scholastica Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) Maya Angelou did. I can't think of anyone else that's a household name for poetry who's alive now. I suspect people who are good at writing poetry are more likely to go into music writing these days, unless they are from an especially literary Whoops. Sorry. Thinking of someone ekse Edited February 9, 2018 by scholastica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Won't her site have a link back to this post? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Won't her site have a link back to this post? what do you mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) I have respect for poets who choose their words and the order of their words with great skill and thought. I'm just not seeing that here. It looks like a "reality show" version of poetry. Edited February 9, 2018 by wintermom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) what do you mean Blog metrics keep track of links to your site. If she doesn't mind, then that's fine. Just thought I'd mention it. ETA: I mistakenly thought it was the coworker's site. Edited February 9, 2018 by Miss Peregrine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) The middle but is mixing up bits from both The Tiger and The Lamb. I agree with Sadie that this is not poetry. Edited February 9, 2018 by maize Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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