Why turn your poem into an alien?

for poems that sit in blogs, and provides a choice for poets who might worry about a word or two.

I understand your perspective, and I too find words fascinating — on a personal, private level.

I am an orator, and I find the sound of words spoken aloud, in a clear resonant voice, to be quite sensual.

Also, if I am writing a letter or an essay, I find the occasional ‘word less used’ can be engaging — as it invites the reader to probe… further investing them in what I’ve written.

But I, like Frost and Collins, prefer to make solid and immediate connection with my reader when writing poetry. I don’t want them scurrying to a dictionary to understand my meaning. I believe you lose the impact of immediacy when you distract the reader with ambiguity in poetry.

But to each their own — that’s what makes the world a beautiful wonder.

And that is what I need to do as a poet: explore.

If it is true that we think in words, then I want to expand my thinking, not reign it in. It may be that I come back around with an everyday word in my poem, but I betcha that traveling with an odd word will loosen new things in my brain, and in my writing.

I don’t collect the words in one place. I tend to jot them down in whatever notebook I am carrying. They do tend to be from books I am reading. (Yay, Mark Doty!) I wish I were disciplined enough to have one spot, a little treasure chest, to place my word finds.

Rob, what I am talking about in the post is the idea of paying attention to words, not trying to find the most esoteric ones. Although an odd word might be just the one I need.

Good one, Phillip!

Robert Frost said about writing poetry, “I prefer words that are plain, the language of our every day life, as simple as I am able to make it.”

Billy Collins, a recent two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, said in an interview with Poetry magazine, ”I use language that is simple, understandable – the language of ordinary life. I avoid the obscure word – it makes poetry pretentious and inaccessible.”

trumpery, lugubrious, panegyric, glower, cocksure

Happy T’giving,
Don