tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874155205423552780.post1296911968714114044..comments2014-12-31T13:17:49.358-08:00Comments on Poets Are Lame (and other stuff Mike Finley taught me): The Biggest Mistake Poets MakeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748441484232139833noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874155205423552780.post-57051519269802529802012-07-03T05:22:34.225-07:002012-07-03T05:22:34.225-07:00(But Pound was right, too -- poetry should be spar...(But Pound was right, too -- poetry should be spare, no flab, no chat.)Mike Finley ~ Big Vanillahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09944010073428661081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874155205423552780.post-77701369335694567262012-07-03T05:21:39.098-07:002012-07-03T05:21:39.098-07:00Pound -- he described his imagist poetry as the pr...Pound -- he described his imagist poetry as the product of condensare e distillare -- boiling down, like in cooking. Boiling down is good when you can still figure it what it is -- less good when it becomes hard to understand. Today, a lot of poetry is too distilled to understand -- perhaps because the though underlying it is maybe not so strong that the writer wants to be crystal clear. <br /><br />I think it's a good test to run every time you have an idea: What is it about this idea that can;t be expressed in simple prose? If you can make prose work, go for it, because people generally like prose. Intentionally expressing a thought as a poem is like conceding that no one will want to encounter that thought head on.Mike Finley ~ Big Vanillahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09944010073428661081noreply@blogger.com