  Poetry
This week: "And you may contribute a verse..." Edited by: fyn  
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These quotes are all from "The Dead Poets Society" written by N.H. Kleinbaum
McAllister: "Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams and I'll show you a happy man."
John Keating: "But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be."
McAllister: Tennyson?
John Keating: No, Keating.
Neil: [quoting Henry David Thoreau] "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life."
Dalton: I'll second that.
Neil: "To put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived."
John Keating: No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.
John Keating: Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Don't be resigned to that. Break out!
KEATING
The Dead Poets were dedicated to sucking
the marrow out of life. That's a phrase
from Thoreau that we'd invoke at the
beginning of each meeting. You see we'd
gather at the old Indian cave and take
turns reading from Thoreau, Whitman,
Shelley; the biggies. Even some of our
own verse. And in the enchantment of the
moment we'd let poetry work its magic.
KNOX
You mean it was a bunch of guys sitting
around reading poetry?
KEATING
No Mr. Overstreet, it wasn't just "guys",
we weren't a Greek organization, we were
romantics. We didn't just read poetry,
we let it drip from our tongues like honey.
Spirits soared, women swooned, and gods
were created, gentlemen, not a bad way to
spend an evening eh? Thank you Mr. Perry
for this trip down amnesia lane. Burn that,
especially my picture.
John Keating: Sucking the marrow out of life doesn't mean choking on the bone.
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| From the movie:
John Keating: We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse.What will your verse be?
Think about that for a moment. What defines you? What defines you as a poet? What verse will you add to the poem of life? I like to envision a 'World Poem' where everyone may contribute a verse. I may do that. No, I will.
Robin Williams passed away on Monday. What has he to do with poetry? He played John Keating in 'Dead Poet's Society.' It is, without exception my all time favorite movie. Ever. Bar none. The teacher he was in that movie went far beyond a mere role he played--he game me the very definition of what an excellent teacher should be, and more, showed me the kind of teacher I was determined to be. When I taught writing, I climbed up on desks and had my students do the same.
[Keating stands on his desk]
John Keating: Why do I stand up here? Anybody?
Dalton: To feel taller!
John Keating: No!
[Dings a bell with his foot]
John Keating: Thank you for playing Mr. Dalton. I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.
I had these students, each, by their own admission, who hated to write, who thought they couldn't write. I was determined to show them, to teach them that not only could they write, but that by the end of the semester, they'd enjoy it as well. I did and they did. They had lessons in 'frenzied leaf fights' and 'crawling through libraries.' They learned to view things from new perspectives and in the viewing, realized just how many ways any scenario can be viewed. In writing and in life.
'Oh Captain, My Captain' is a poem well associated with Robin Williams. It's by Walt Whitman.
O Captain! My Captain!
BY WALT WHITMAN
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
The arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
I have never stopped climbing up on desks. Whether it is to view a situation differently or to see a room differently, whether it is to look at a person in a new way or gain fresh perspective on a decision. Thank you, Robin Williams for getting me to climb higher so I could seize the day!
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A poem I felt like writing after watching Patch Adams starring Robin Williams.
#1735886 by Mandie  |
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For those of you who were in it before, and those of you who missed it....here's your chance to participate in one of my all time favorite contests where you enter a new poem daily for three weeks. It is fun and challenging to make it through the days without messing up a prompt or using a forbidden word. I won't be competing this time, although I will still be writing every poem, as I am a guest judge for this round.
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LinnAnn -book writer  wrote:I really enjoyed your letter. I had to laugh at the cooking part. I would hope my poetry doesn't end up a cooked on mess on the stove top. lol Thanks for the hard work you obviously put into this one. I loved it. Great variety that did cover the different styles of creation.
Thanks!
Jack-check out 7YS says: Excellent newsletter. I think for the first draft, I let my thoughts flow but then I read it again,edit etc. I then send it to certain people I believe have good judgement and try to see what they suggest. But ultimately it's mine and mine own. Wordsworth wrote
“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" but I will go so far as to say I don't agree completely.
I think it is a good place to start, and then finesse.
Elfin Dragon-finally published  comments: I'm currently in the middle of taking Miss Bee's Muse Master's Poetry Class. Mostly because I've been writing Free Verse for so long I thought it'd be a good idea to dabble and learn about other styles of poetry and grow a bit more. I'm certainly doing that! And though I think Free Verse will always be the one which flows freest in my mind, others may now find their voice.
Great idea and way to go! |
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Poetry: August 13, 2014 Issue [#6490]
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