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[CCBC-Net] on poetry and liturgy
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From: Maia Cheli-Colando <maia>
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:52:47 -0700
(I apologize for dropping out of the conversation abruptly; family health issues took my entire attention for a while...)
I was trying to remember when I heard poetry as a child. My grandfather wrote poetry, but I don't remember hearing it. I do remember the poetry unit in 4th grade (thank you, Mrs. Gearhart) which introduced haiku and other forms with which I fell in love. And that year or the next there was meeting Madeleine L'Engle and receiving A Ring of Endless Light... that day might be what made me write poetry.*
And, I was certainly embedded in a musical world, which undoubtedly suppose made the translation easier. But I think the closest thing to poetry on any regular basis was church. My parents became Christian as I was starting 4th grade, and they attended an Episcopal church with smells and bells and lots of well-written liturgy that we recited aloud**, en masse weekly.
Now, response to that liturgy was similar to discussions of poetry in that only a minority actually stopped and analyzed the words and intent. But everyone, every Sunday at least, recited together a poetic spiritual work.
I wonder, if we were to compare children who have a weekly poetic dose via church, temple, ashram, masjid, etc. and those who do not, would we find different inclinations and aptitudes in the two groups? And, if at some level one does associate poetry with god-invoking, then could that factor into the un/willingness to analyze it?
No certainties here, just thoughts... :)
Maia
* I was so grieved when she died. I can't even count the number of influences she has had on my life since that first encounter; they are so myriad and complex. What a great spirit!
** As I review The Book of Common Prayer, I have to ponder chant, which strikes me as blending poetry, song and prose. E.g. from the BCP
(http://www.bcponline.org -- specifically, Alternative Forms of the Great Thanksgiving, Eucharistic Prayer B) we would move back and forth between singing, poetry, and rhythmic prose. How do chanting and poetry-making (or poet-making) intersect?
Received on Thu 17 Apr 2008 10:52:47 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:52:47 -0700
(I apologize for dropping out of the conversation abruptly; family health issues took my entire attention for a while...)
I was trying to remember when I heard poetry as a child. My grandfather wrote poetry, but I don't remember hearing it. I do remember the poetry unit in 4th grade (thank you, Mrs. Gearhart) which introduced haiku and other forms with which I fell in love. And that year or the next there was meeting Madeleine L'Engle and receiving A Ring of Endless Light... that day might be what made me write poetry.*
And, I was certainly embedded in a musical world, which undoubtedly suppose made the translation easier. But I think the closest thing to poetry on any regular basis was church. My parents became Christian as I was starting 4th grade, and they attended an Episcopal church with smells and bells and lots of well-written liturgy that we recited aloud**, en masse weekly.
Now, response to that liturgy was similar to discussions of poetry in that only a minority actually stopped and analyzed the words and intent. But everyone, every Sunday at least, recited together a poetic spiritual work.
I wonder, if we were to compare children who have a weekly poetic dose via church, temple, ashram, masjid, etc. and those who do not, would we find different inclinations and aptitudes in the two groups? And, if at some level one does associate poetry with god-invoking, then could that factor into the un/willingness to analyze it?
No certainties here, just thoughts... :)
Maia
* I was so grieved when she died. I can't even count the number of influences she has had on my life since that first encounter; they are so myriad and complex. What a great spirit!
** As I review The Book of Common Prayer, I have to ponder chant, which strikes me as blending poetry, song and prose. E.g. from the BCP
(http://www.bcponline.org -- specifically, Alternative Forms of the Great Thanksgiving, Eucharistic Prayer B) we would move back and forth between singing, poetry, and rhythmic prose. How do chanting and poetry-making (or poet-making) intersect?
Received on Thu 17 Apr 2008 10:52:47 AM CDT
