<pre><font face=arial>       Why<br />

Outside the stream
The voice rose
Breaking the edges of silence
Up in the atmosphere of today
Laughter made its way to my brain
Arias on the jukebox
Laughter in the café
Voices rising above the coffee machine.

My friend brought me a postcard
From one of my books
The back of my head opened
The past comes into the present—like that,
One page at a time,
One friend at a time.

My purple flower, the one in my hat,
Keeps my other friend close
In all her purpleness.

Why do I write, my friend Robert asks,
Why do I write poetry?
--it is the human thing,
that is why—
the answer is simpler than the question.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2006 03:06AM by lg.

Les: How should I format this so it will retain the original identations when I post it?

I love the ending line Peter. IT is just human! I like the way this is expressed, so true!

The back of my head opened
The past comes into the present—like that,
One page at a time,
One friend at a time.

Peter, press ctrl and the letter "U" at the same time and you will see the marks I've inserted. Scroll down to get to your post then find this: < pre >< font face=arial > and these at the end of your post < / pre > < / font face= arial > You'll notice there are no spaces between the carats and the lettering on the source page.

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I like the poem, Peter it has such a joyful spirit to it. Truly the work of a man enjoying life and its pursuits.

Why do I write poetry? (begs the response: Why not?) Too flip?

Tough question, if you have to ask, you're probably not a writer.


Les

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2006 03:18AM by lg.

Les,

Asked with ferocious intensity--The question was asked at a party the other night by the best writer I know, personally, at the moment, Robert Anbian.

The question was asked at a party the other night by the best writer I know

Without knowing your acquaintance Peter, I'd have to decline to comment on his motivation for asking YOU that question.

But judging by the writers I've come in contact with here, most of us write because we are moved to write. I never much think about why, I just do it.

I just can't imagine someone who writes poetry, pondering whether or not they should.

Les

Les, I like the question, and constantly ask similar ones. I believe people tend to take forgranted the ordinary things they do and deem them not very special accordingly. I like the revisiting of intentions here and in life. It re-gives, recreates meaning to the things we do and meanings we make.

It re-gives, recreates meaning to the things we do and meanings we make.

Khalida, this is very much how I see "routine". The familiarity brings comfort and adds (shades of) meaning which weren't there initially. Many people question EVERYTHING

"do I dare to eat a peach" and Molly Bloom would answer "Yes" [en.wikipedia.org] />
Les

A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.

--Ulysses, Episode 9

In the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, The Producers,a calendar in the office lists the date as June 16. This is the date the action occurs in James Joyce's novel, Ulysses, which also has a main character named Leopold Bloom. The day is celebrated by many people as Bloomsday. In the film, Leo Bloom's line, 'When's it gonna be Bloom's day?' is a reference to this.

I like how this is both a snapshot (a day in the life, if you will) and an acknowledgement that each day or moment is an accumulation and continuum of life that would be colorless (if not unrealized) without the human element, our own and that of our friends. At least that's how I read it, Peter. "I get by with a little help from my friends"

As far as the question, I am reminded of one particular pharmacist out of the many consulted when developing the program I coordinate. During our discussion, he continually shot questions out to me..."And how are you going to ..... why are you... what is the..." Although I felt unneverved, even put against a wall and was initially put off by what seemed like a tactic to make me feel small(er) (which it did and I was), I've come to appreciate his continued support of the program, genuine interest in its success, and have found him to be highly intelligent and a great resource.

the answer is simpler than the question.

And sometimes the question is more important than the answer.

Marty

Thanks as always, Mary, for your thoughtful response. I do feel there are many thing going on in this poem.

Peter

Received from Robert Anbian:

Yahoo! Mail - drpetemsz@,yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 31 May 2022 22:02:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Robert Anbian" robertanbian@yahoo.com
Subject: the question why
To: drpeternsz@yahoo.com
my dear Peter,
I happened to see the poem and discussion on emule and tried to sign up and post a contribution but the site wouldn't accept my perfectly standard e-mail address. here's what I wrote, maybe you'll want to put it up, if it seems useful to do so:
Dear Peter,.
Cool to see your poem re: our party chat after Mark Schwartz's reading. As you know I'm becoming a big fan of yours and you're one of the poets whose answer to my question I was very interested in hearing even as I enjoyed it becoming a party debate. (I was knocking back teguilas — and you, I don't remember?)
Enjoy the responses here, too, but if I may clarify: I wasn't negatively challenging people, I was interested why poetry was their form of expression as opposed to some other form. I don't think there is one answer, nor do I think all poets have an answer. What surprises me is how few poets have an answer other than need. Fair enough, every idea is post-facto, we all come to poetry intuitively, to begin with, as with any art, and for some poets that suffices. Others will explore why the form struck them so, what others have done with it, what might be new and powerful possibilities. Asking these questions does not make one less of a poet. What an extraordinary bias! In America, you know, they tell you the path to freedom lies in not thinking, do you believe that? Or: It's as if everyone took the intuitive side of Beat poetics and completely forgot to what degree the Beats were students of form, how knowledgeable they were, and how that freed them to discover their own poetics.
This is not an academic exercise. I often hear Williams quoted, "...but men die everyday for lack of what is found there" (quoting from memory) and see poets gravely nodding, but when I ask same poets just what is there, very few have an answer. The field of poets outside academia seems to have few ideas about the form ergo that form has little or no meaning for others. The exception proving the rule right now is the def jam, hip-hop, slam wing of things, and, you understand, the excitement is precisely about form — the content, unfortunately, is generally repetitive, predictable and achingly self-referential.
Honestly, as a poet, satisfying my soul involves moving the souls of others (some would fault me for this, I fault them right back). So I'm always mulling over these things because form, thought of in this way, is the bridge between souls. And, then, as I was trying to say that night, as everyone was shouting, the loneliness in this country will just kill you!
Now, Peter, one last thing: your spirit burns very bright but your poem is better than your answer, which explains everything or nothing, I know you think I'm hung up on essence, and that makes my question false. But I don't mean an a priori or fixed quality, rather the form of the imaginative act - the meaning we make mean when we write poetry, I mean, it's something to talk about.
yer pal, RA

I'm achingly self-referential
with drivelesque snow oh so pure
I make inside jokes, it's essential
I'll never be seeking a cure

Peter, thanks for posting this letter. I like the fact that Mr. Anbian reads our comments here at e-mule. His letter clarifies something which I wondered about; that is, the premise of his question: Why poetry?

I was interested why poetry was their form of expression as opposed to some other form.

That makes much more sense to me, than: "Why do you write?"


Les

p.s. Mr. Anbian, or anyone else, can post on e-mule without logging in. They just have to fill in the name and e-mail slots above their post.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2022 04:36PM by lg.

I ran across this poem's original draft in an old poetry workshop file of mine this morning and decided to push it back onto the board instead of writing a new poem because I like the discussion that followed and I enjoy the poem.

cheers,

Peter

Plus which, Bloomsday is coming up in two weeks

"Come forth Lazarus! And he came fifth and lost the job.

james joyce

Peter, I've re=read this a few times, and still don't know how to answer your original question about what form it should take. I think format, and presentation is a matter of personal preference.

It was a fascinating discussion, Peter, thanks for the bump.


Les

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2022 09:50PM by les712.

The best sign of a good read is being able to recall having read it before, and with myself, I remember this one clearly. Thanks for the bump, indeed, as it has brought forth a stream of good memories from that period. How quickly time does fly. And I love the last line - so often true of many things; very much so these poems we write, lol

Lennon