From: Sally Miller <derbymiller>
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 11:49:02 -0400

I imagine it was my message, rather than Emma's, that aroused resentment. Please let me apologize and clarify. I don't dislike poems that have uneven lines, that use conversational language, that address all sorts of subjects -- after all, John Dunne wrote "To a Flea," and more recently, Ted Kooser"s "Shooting a Farm House" has these lines, "In November, a Land Rover/flattens the gate like a tank/and pulls up in the yard. Hunters spill out' and throw down their pheasants like hats." To my mind, Kooser's lines, uneven and unrhymed, qualify as poetry because they "sing" to me in a way that I find memorable. I can't offer a definition of what I consider poetry -- I have no sine-qua-non's, no litmus test. and I strive to remain open-minded. But I still believe there is a difference between poetry and ruminations set in broken lines. But I love everyone who loves and defends the written word in all its forms, and I'll keep listening. Sally Derby
Received on Mon 18 Apr 2005 10:49:02 AM CDT