I was recently made aware that America has a Poet Laureate. If you are as oblivious as me, your first question was probably, what is a poet Laureate?
Well a Poet Laureate is a government appointed official, usually also a poet, who composes poems for state events and such. I still don’t really understand it.
America doesn’t have a bureaucrat for most arts, so why do we have an official poet. I think that the fact that there is an “official” poet in the US says a lot about this (arguably dying) art form. Its standards are too rigid. That was why I was glad to learn that the newest Laureate, Kay Ryan, doesn’t adhere to classic poetic standards. He argued that nearly every well thought word choice is a poem. Therefore, add slogans are poetry, so are music lyrics.
I couldn’t agree with him more. I think of so many beautiful songs that could be read as poetry. I see so many beautiful words that are near poetic. As we row down the North Shore Channel, we come across a wide array of graffiti, one memorable one says in large red letters, “MONEY P****Y WEED.” The word is not censored on the side of the bridge. I don’t see any reason why this isn’t poetry. I can't help but think, if the simple, yet complicated word choice of “The Red Wheelbarrow” is a poem, the above statement isn’t. They are both a series of words chosen with the express intent to mean more than simply the what is written.
Well a Poet Laureate is a government appointed official, usually also a poet, who composes poems for state events and such. I still don’t really understand it.
America doesn’t have a bureaucrat for most arts, so why do we have an official poet. I think that the fact that there is an “official” poet in the US says a lot about this (arguably dying) art form. Its standards are too rigid. That was why I was glad to learn that the newest Laureate, Kay Ryan, doesn’t adhere to classic poetic standards. He argued that nearly every well thought word choice is a poem. Therefore, add slogans are poetry, so are music lyrics.
I couldn’t agree with him more. I think of so many beautiful songs that could be read as poetry. I see so many beautiful words that are near poetic. As we row down the North Shore Channel, we come across a wide array of graffiti, one memorable one says in large red letters, “MONEY P****Y WEED.” The word is not censored on the side of the bridge. I don’t see any reason why this isn’t poetry. I can't help but think, if the simple, yet complicated word choice of “The Red Wheelbarrow” is a poem, the above statement isn’t. They are both a series of words chosen with the express intent to mean more than simply the what is written.
All well thought word choice is poetry. What a fascinating idea! But would this not degrade the value of the written works that fit the previous definition of poetry (whatever that may have been). Considering “MONEY P****Y WEED” to be poetry can be seen as insulting to professional poets.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I put forth a possible solution. Invent a new word or phrase to go with Kay Ryan's definition; perhaps we could call it 'poetryesce writing'.
I think visual urban art has its own significance, but I don't think it quite fits in to the poetry category. Rap/hip hop songs are definitely a form of poetry, as they emphasize rhyme and spoken word a lot while reflecting a lot of cultural values, and a lot of graffiti (old Chicago graffiti, for example) reflects hip hop music/culture.
ReplyDeleteI think referring to "Money --- Weed" as an example of poetry is acceptable in the context of a song, if you really want to bother calling it that, but it's abysmal poetry. There are a lot of hip hop/rap artists that actually do put effort in to writing meaningful lyrics and interesting sounds that make more insightful commentary about urban life than the typical stereotypical garbage.
"The cat sat on the mat" is poetry, but we wouldn't give it the laureate prize because you have to try and consider originality and meaning a tad here, which is absent.
I think graffiti provides a great outlet for artistic expression, as it's actually referred to among artists as artistic "bombing" and in artists' competition, graffiti "battles," as a sort of alternative to violence, which is kind of interesting. But the best graffiti really isn't about any of that stereotypical garbage. In fact it's usually anti-materialist, which makes "money --- weed" a rather terrible example of that sort of expression, and it probably only stuck out to you because the message was jarring and profane.
Meeting of Styles 2009 was held in Chicago about a month ago, actually, you should look up some photos of the type of stuff people were creating. I wouldn't be surprised if some of it said something similar to "money - weed" but the majority are probably going to have interesting or meaningful individual symbols and abstract ideas in them. Both an art piece or song with that sort of language in it would be very tip-of-the-iceberg in representing urban expression, and should not be payed that much attention to, in my opinion.
Is poetry really that rigid?
Sam,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, but two quibbles: 1) Kay Ryan is a woman! 2) you have to tell me the missing word. My working guess is "POETRY".
For Marin: I think what struck me about the statement was not the expletive, rather the image that the expletive gave me. I believe that after art is created it should be free from input from its creator. Although I imagine that the person who wrote this wasn't thinking this deeply about his or her statement, to me it really spoke to the degradation of our animalistic tendencies. To me it reminded me of the way that three natural ideas, greed (money), sex drive (P***Y), and the need to feel enjoyment (weed) are manifested in modern culture. Our greed is caught in an arbitrary system of bills and metals. We have intercourse not for the furthering of a species, but for enjoyment and we use a plant to feel alive as apposed to actually seeking life.
ReplyDeleteAs For Shirley, there will always be those who are purists, but for the most part, the majority painters accept the legitimacy of Ad Reinhardt's Black Painting, though it may appear to degrade paintings that took more work. The fact of the matter is that if the colors and shapes are evocative why shouldn't it be art.