1) Why do you want to join the Poetry Project?
This project was all born out of Twitter and me wanting to read more poetry in 2012. I am at least reading it, but it is still sporadic. I am hoping that the more organized structure will help! And, since I am one of the co-hosts it helps to actually participate. I have never really 'got' poetry, so this is me trying to figure out if I like it.
2) Do you have a favourite poet?
When asked this question I always say Emily Dickinson. I haven't actually read a poem by her in years, but it at least was an answer... Truthfully, I don't read enough poetry to have a favourite. I seem to like the 'older' ones, though: Tennyson, Browning, Barrett Browning, Rossetti, Shakespeare, etc.
3) Hopefully this will go longer than a year. Do you have any suggestions for monthly themes?
I am hoping we will have enough participants that they can suggest the next twelve topics.
4) What are your experiences with poetry in the past? Have they been positive or negative?
Negative. I never see what I am supposed to see. It was terrible in high school. In university I just avoided poetry whenever possible or just never wrote any papers on it. There have been a few exceptions over the years and I think if I only took the time to explore it in an un-academic setting it would go a lot better.
5) Tell us about a poem or poet that has had a profound effect on you. If you can’t think of a poem, how about a song? Or a line from a story?
Such a hard question!! One of my favourite writers of songs is Neil Peart from the band Rush. I even shared a few of them on a previous post. He has songs that are inspired by books. He is a big reader himself. And, there is a lot of meaning in his lyrics. Take this song that was written after a 5-year hiatus following the death of his wife and daughter:
"Ghost Rider"
Pack up all those phantoms
Shoulder that invisible load
Keep on riding North and West
Haunting that wilderness road
Like a ghost rider
Carry all those phantoms
Through bitter wind and stormy skies
From the desert to the mountain
From the lowest low to the highest high
Like a ghost rider
Keep on riding North and West
Then circle South and East
Show me beauty but there is no peace
For the ghost rider
Shadows on the road behind
Shadows on the road ahead
Nothing can stop you now
There's a shadow on the road behind
There's a shadow on the road ahead
Nothing can stop you now
Sunrise in the mirror
Lightens that invisible load
Riding on a nameless quest
Haunting that wilderness road
Like a ghost rider
Just an escape artist
Racing against the night
A wandering hermit
Racing toward the light
From the white sands
To the canyon lands
To the redwood stands
To the barren lands
Sunrise on the road behind
Sunset on the road ahead
There's nothing to stop you now
Nothing can stop you now
6) What frustrates you about poetry or the way we talk about poetry?
Frankly, the pressure? The poet takes all this time to write these however many lines for a purpose and I am not always entirely sure what the purpose is... I always feel like I am missing something. Or I see things that are not there. I can't sit back and enjoy the ride. I think it is different with music because it is presented in a different way. Yes, it is a form of poetry but it is more relaxed.
7) Tell us something about yourself that has nothing to do with poetry!
I can't really compete with Leslie's. I have snow all the time in the winter... um... Anything to do with the ocean interests me: Sailing, lighthouses, rum running, etc, but I absolutely hate swimming. I can swim, but I avoid it like the plague. I also avoid the sun as much as possible. So, even though it is very hot going to sit on a beach and/or swimming is not my idea of how to spend it...
Mr. Linky can be found on this post.
I had always limited poetry to just "the old poets" but didn't find my real love of poetry until I started reading modern poetry…there is SO much gorgeous poetry being written these days!! Hope you can find some that you love :)
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