"Words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purposes." - Theodore Dreiser
--WordStock blog is suspended until December 3, 2015.
"Words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purposes." - Theodore Dreiser --WordStock blog is suspended until December 3, 2015.
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"We don't talk about anything to each other, we just reference things." This line is from a recent movie I watched, About Alex. After attempting suicide, Alex's old college friends gather at his home to keep 'an eye' on him (think a 2015 Big Chill). One character, a professor, proclaims with pride, that he has not been sucked into the digital age; an age where phones have replaced our friends and computers have replaced real 'human' connection. With good friends, we miss them. We long to get together because it is in that shared time we find genuine, and mutual concern for the state of our lives. Unfortunately, we wouldn't or couldn't miss our phones because we are never without them.
In class, I make "references" to things a lot. There are many instances when I refer back to something that we covered. It is a single point of time, a dot of information. Many times our conversations are just like plotting graphs on grid paper...connecting coordinates. The word reference stems form the Medieval Latin word, referentem. The root, refer (the act of referring) + ance (else) was coined in the 1500s. In the Journal of Psychology Science, the University of Arizona conducted a study and it was found that deep and substantive conversation is strongly connected with a person's level of happiness. I think, to some degree, we know this because we've experienced it. I contend, however, because of the the lure of digital gadgets and time spent with this superficial intelligence, we are creating fewer real relationships-- relationships rich with understanding and connection. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2861779/ Often our days and any contact or engagement with others would be labeled and designated for the reference shelf only. We have a list. We default to just mentioning what is going on in our life. There's hardly any interchange of thought let alone an intimate two-way street of communication. I understand the complexities of available opportunities for such in-depth conversations. However, do we really try that hard to create possible opportunities to delve into meaningful conversation--peeling off layers of empty footnotes and shallow nonstarters? We are social beings and yearn to have a meaningful tie with others, we are driven to seek and create meaning in our lives and one of the best things we can do is go beyond the niceties of talking with people, and get to deeper discussions and even life questions which can provide enlightenment into self. Instead of time wasted in 'small talk'--find time to sit (without distraction) and converse with caring people. As the saying goes, "deep conversations with the right people are priceless." Words can elevate our thinking. Words can uplift the spirit and create images that envelop our feelings and emotions. Words and their inheritable meanings enrich how we see the world. Poetry is imagination, taking words and creating the extraordinary out of the ordinary. Poetry brings color to the prism of our perspective of life.
Poetry is Grandma's candied orange slices in a glass dish. Poetry, poetria, comes from Medieval Latin (1350-1400). Although, its origins go back as early as Ancient Greece when its derivative was a verb meaning "to create." It is the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thought. For having such a lofty definition, you'd think that the case would be closed as to what poetry...good poetry actually is...but in literary circles, not so much. Here is my humble 'take' on this much maligned literary form. Poetry is potent pencil shavings. As young children, lyrical songs, and poetry books were not only the first literary works we were exposed to, but we remembered them easily. Our young minds were malleable enough to absorb the poetic form because of the natural rhythm of lyrical prose. We found joy in the intrinsic musical quality, being soothed and stimulated all at the same time. The whimsical verses still dance at the edges of our early memories. Poetry is bronze dregs at the bottom of an alabaster teacup. In my Creative Writing classes, students are finishing their final Poetry Portfolios. For many it has been a challenge to create concrete images from abstract universal thoughts and ideas. However, I've been quite impressed with their growing confidence in their use of imaginative and figurative language. Poetry is oceans pink with foam. The metaphorical intensity of words used in poetry results in a far greater concentration of meaning than does common prose. Yes, poetry is taking the common and creating an uncommon way to 'look' or 'feel' something. That's the power and beauty of poetry. Poetry is golden gossamer wrapped books on old shelves. The best way to appreciate poetry, if one isn't going to write verse, is to read poetry. Over the course of history, great poetic works of art can still be enjoyed today, from the Hebrew books of Poetry found in the Old Testament, to Pre-Medieval epics like "The Epic of Gilgamesh" to Shakespeare's sonnets. Poetry is butterflies melting into chocolate ice cubes. Reading poetry can bring reflective and meditative opportunities to 'see' things in a different light. Poetry has the power to pull us into a never before state of contemplation-- allowing us to ruminate beyond the ordinary, to confirm our universal ties to the rest of humanity. Go ahead, try it. ---Poetry is...________________. Poetry is a bamboo pole stuck in mud banks awaiting the fish dance to dip deep the red and white bobber... A perfect rippling of D Flat. |
JCBeaversI don't live to teach, I teach to live. My life has been sparked by the constant craving to write...to pause and ponder. Archives
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