Pente poet – Brad Drew
I grew up with books as favourite companions, in many genres, but I do not recall having any particular interest in poetry per se, until years later.
I find points of confluence with the thoughts of my peers in our current anthology, Some Other Landscape. Dee speaks of cathartic process in high emotional times: this, coupled with the traits of the perennial romantic, is what first brought me to write poetry and once started, the joy of the process took over. Thus also, the late night visits by the muse, writing then and there to save from extinction in sleep. There are few poets who would not attract the label of ‘romantic’.
Then comes Judy’s statement that poetry should be read aloud: too often, prose masquerades as poetry, whilst much prose contains more poetry than many ‘poets’ could ever hope to embody. Whatever one’s poetic leanings, the acid test is the aural one … and the line of distinction is often tenuous and arguable. Beyond the magic of the words themselves, it is the rhythmic music formed by the ordering of those words which creates poetry; and like music, that rhythm and key can be regular or broken. Poetry is an aural instrument and I too believe it must be heard.
I recently discovered a discourse by Robert Graves in which he states, ‘The nucleus of every poem worthy of the name is rhythmically formed in the poet’s mind, during a trance-like suspension of his normal habits of thought … learns to induce the trance in self-protection whenever he feels unable to resolve an emotional conflict by simple logic. If interrupted during this … he will experience the disagreeable sensation of a sleep-walker disturbed; and if able to continue until the draft is completed will presently come to himself and wonder: was the writer really he?’
This is invariably what I feel on completing a piece: where did that come from … did I do that? There is always a sense of wonder at how it all came about.
I trust that some of this word music, along with the stories told by it, may resonate with the reader of this current anthology from our group as a whole.
I grew up with books as favourite companions, in many genres, but I do not recall having any particular interest in poetry per se, until years later.
I find points of confluence with the thoughts of my peers in our current anthology, Some Other Landscape. Dee speaks of cathartic process in high emotional times: this, coupled with the traits of the perennial romantic, is what first brought me to write poetry and once started, the joy of the process took over. Thus also, the late night visits by the muse, writing then and there to save from extinction in sleep. There are few poets who would not attract the label of ‘romantic’.
Then comes Judy’s statement that poetry should be read aloud: too often, prose masquerades as poetry, whilst much prose contains more poetry than many ‘poets’ could ever hope to embody. Whatever one’s poetic leanings, the acid test is the aural one … and the line of distinction is often tenuous and arguable. Beyond the magic of the words themselves, it is the rhythmic music formed by the ordering of those words which creates poetry; and like music, that rhythm and key can be regular or broken. Poetry is an aural instrument and I too believe it must be heard.
I recently discovered a discourse by Robert Graves in which he states, ‘The nucleus of every poem worthy of the name is rhythmically formed in the poet’s mind, during a trance-like suspension of his normal habits of thought … learns to induce the trance in self-protection whenever he feels unable to resolve an emotional conflict by simple logic. If interrupted during this … he will experience the disagreeable sensation of a sleep-walker disturbed; and if able to continue until the draft is completed will presently come to himself and wonder: was the writer really he?’
This is invariably what I feel on completing a piece: where did that come from … did I do that? There is always a sense of wonder at how it all came about.
I trust that some of this word music, along with the stories told by it, may resonate with the reader of this current anthology from our group as a whole.