Earl Gray

Earl Gray
"You can argue with me but, in the end, you'll have to face that fact that you're arguing with a squirrel." - Earl Gray

Monday, November 30, 2015

Greatest Poet Of Our Time

Earl the Squirrel's Rule #52
     What the word "poet" means to us can be very revealing.  And very convenient.

     Producers say a poet is someone who shares that avocation.  That is, at best, tautological and, at worst, presumptuous.

     Prosody geeks assume we're talking about those who exhibit superb technique.

     Performers think of their fellow YouTubers, slammers or open mikers.

     People who read or listen to poetry don't exist. 

     On the rare occasions when the public speaks of contemporary poets, it is usually in reference to those who bring us popular song lyrics.  For example, some might describe Elton John as a poet without knowing or caring that Bernie Taupin wrote the words to his tunes. 

Earl the Squirrel's Rule #156
     Naturally, Content Regents, regardless of their level of sophistication, rate and categorize poets according to their material.  Rebels love Charles Bukowski, romantics turn to Maya Angelou, and "critics" blurb an endless list of p[r]osers who can't write verse any better than they can.

     To be successful, one must appeal to all of these constituencies.  A great poet would be a modern Shakespeare whose audiences appreciate themes that stir blood and brains in language that survives its utterance.

     We don't have any of those.

     In order to produce a great poet we would need, in place and in sufficient quantity and quality:  education, performers, directors, critiquers, venues, networks and, above all, audiences.

      We don't have any of those either.




6 comments:

  1. I LOVE this blog. Have you ever checked Scarriet ?

    https://scarriet.wordpress.com/

    Earl G. - I would be honored if you would visit my poetry blog and then rend me into bloody shreds with your poetic claws. (I will even offer you acorns):

    https://connecthook.wordpress.com/

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    1. We enjoy Scarriet, though their focus is poets/PoBiz while ours, poems/poetry, is less popular.

      Your blog certainly has a unique format! Thanks for commenting, connecthook.

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    2. Thanks for your response. I wish there was better communication between Blogger and Wordpress platforms. I have to jump through many hoops just to get a comment posted here, and I was not aware you had answered my last post. Apologies if my earlier comment seemed rude - I was afraid I had stumbled upon yet another unmanned poetry blog ...

      Do you do any blogging at Wordpress?
      Is your poetry available to read online anywhere?

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    3. Some of us do blog at Wordpress, albeit with various level of consistency. As a format, do you prefer it to Blogspot?

      Everyone here publishes in print and online. Generally speaking, we don't promote any particular poet's work here, including our own. A better source for that might be: http://www.thehypertexts.com/

      Good hearing from you again, El Desdichado. Don't be a stranger!

      Signed,

      Earl Gray, Esquirrel

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  2. So as a collective you prefer to remain incognito...

    May I ask how many of you there are?
    I thought Earl was but one poetic squirrel...
    I'm just curious. Everything you say about poetry at this blog makes utter sense to me - but I would love to read some of your poems.

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    Replies
    1. We haven't counted the authors. For what it's worth, you'll see a consensus sample if and when the "Love Is A Weakness" novid series finishes.

      I believe that most, if not all, of us have published in TheHyperTexts and Autumn Sky--arguably the two best sources of poetry around.

      We geeks aren't hard to spot. If you see anything of technical interest--verse, analysis or critique--odds are very good the author is a reader, if not a writer, here.

      Yours truly,

      Earl Gray, Esquirrel

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Your comments and questions are welcome.