[stylist] stylist Digest, Vol 85, Issue 20

[Kerry Thompson]

Thanks, Donna!

Kerry

On 5/18/2011 11:47 AM, Donna Hill wrote:
> Hi Kerry,
> I loved your points about truth in poetry. Well said.
> Donna
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Kerry Thompson
> Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 4:20 PM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [stylist] stylist Digest, Vol 85, Issue 20
>
> Hi friends,
>
> Donna, oh, I get it. Spell/grammar check thought "Connor's" was a
> contraction for "Connor is" and decided it really should be "Connor
> are," presumably based on the plural, "colors." I hate it when grammar
> check takes it upon itself to decide that I really meant plural when in
> fact I meant singular. But your example definitely takes the biscuit.
> Grammar check has never done anything quite that egregious to me.
>
> Judith, Alice Tully Hall? That is very impressive indeed!
>
> Barbara, I agree with Donna. But there's some very nice tactile imagery
> as well. I also like the repetition and juxtaposition of lines.
>
> Judith, when you say, "Is it true?" do you mean "Is the poem based on a
> real life experience?" The answer to that question is either yes or no
> and only Barbara can give it.
>
> But to ask if a poem is true, that's something else again. A poem being
> true has nothing to do with fidelity to mundane facts. Many, many years
> ago I read an article dealing with this question in The Writer. In the
> article, the poet said that, for instance in the real life incident
> there might have been a couch but for purposes of the poem, he might
> change it to a blue chair. This change doesn't make the poem untrue. A
> poem, after all, is not a police report. What makes a poem true or not
> is the emotions, the feelings and situations being expressed. I think
> Barbara does that, whether the actual incident happened exactly the way
> she has written it or not.
>
> I'm not expressing myself well. Hope you get what I'm trying to convey.
>
> Kerry