Seems like just the other day, I

finished something. But , no: I just began something new. And got distracted...

Poems, etc.

Esbat, in the pink
I don’t know if it is technic’ly true…
But the moon tonight seems full; full enough
To suit my mood, and explain the too rough
Edges I have to even strangers who --
Meeting me -- can’t quite get away too soon.
Their sidewise glances aren’t annoying. I’m
Used to such things; I get them all the time…
Ah! I think they think: Must be a full moon!
Those who’d stop and chat will be utterly
Convinced: He’s not entirely here… Is
He a lunatic? Or is it just his
Religion?
I’d tell them how it strikes me:
I’m not pagan. But I can’t not commune
With a faithful old friend, la belle lune.

________________________
D.E. Jackson © 2008 (mark: Saturday, April 19, 2008)


Other than dictionaries and such, the only necessary reference book a would-be poet needs is Lewis Turco's The Book of Forms (A Handbook of Poetics).

Resources on the net are, of course, legion. One of my favorites is Online Etymology Dictionary. Convenience is a consideration, but give me a "book" like Fowler's Modern English Usage, whenever you can: convenience isn't everything.

Poe's The Heresy of the Didactic covers most of what I'd say, were I to "wax poetic" about poetry. And nobody needs to hear more about my prejudices regarding the subject. (Unless they ask...) But I would talk of technicalities; methods and techniques.

Such -- I've finally decided -- is the reason for this blog: Methods and techniques of poetical expression. Oh! And: The display of such on the web... My experiments here should, if I have any success at all, lead me to some usefull CSS for poets.

Comments and suggestions invited. - dej

more better

Comments

Rapunzel Monday, May 19, 2008 7:45:48 PM

Chercher midi 'a minuit up

deborah1bluebox Sunday, June 8, 2008 3:01:21 PM

i enjoyed this read. i especially like the first line leading to the last line.

i also agree with you about a book being a better resouces in most cases than an online quickie ref when it comes to using words and techniques.

my favorite is my Roget's Thesaurus! wink

the graphics are nice, but when i view the words the read is a bit difficult because of the color of the words in some spots blends in with the graphics background. deborah.

Don JacksonOakdaleFTL Sunday, June 8, 2008 4:41:35 PM

The original organization, not some alphabetized list...I hope you mean. Then I agree, it's worthy. As Fowler's classic is a handbook. Distraction is worth its weight in gold!

About the difficulty of reading the colored text: Just "select" it; it is text.

I'm glad you liked it.

Rapunzel Sunday, June 8, 2008 5:02:18 PM

"About the difficulty of reading the colored text: Just "select" it; it is text." doh
Why didn't I think of that. Hi You, Deborah.
waves.

deborah1bluebox Sunday, June 8, 2008 5:29:57 PM

nah, my version of Roget's Thesaurus and my Webster's II are paperback versions. i put a lot of wear on them. they are useful for my needs though.

i might aspire to own such as you refer oakdale. my bookcase is quite bare of any notable books these days.

i don't understand what you mean my select text. by the time your graphics loads on my slow dial-up, i've read the text without the graphics. it really is irrelevant, my comment about the graphics and word color.

Don JacksonOakdaleFTL Sunday, June 8, 2008 8:26:12 PM

Drat "modern" sensibilities in publishing and in education: Roget's in paperback used to be still in its original format, categories (like a game of 20 Questions)! Please don't think Roget merely listed synonyms. And, as with Fowler, the value of the work is in its tempting readers to become intimate with their language.

My library -nowadays- consists of less than a hundred volumes, all but seven paperbound. I'm a peculiar sort of snob... You can count the reference books I've kept on the fingers of one hand, if you've a six-fingered hand. (Okay, eight; if you'd count my one cookbook.)

If I haven't mentioned them already, Karen Elizabeth Gordon's "The Well-tempered Sentence (A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed)" and "The Transitive Vampire (A Handbook of GRAMMAR ...)" are very nice to have nearby; and they're authoratative, too.

I won't really fear the end of civilization, till the last used book shop is gone. Which is to say, curiosities; and curiosity.

Have I made myself translucent?

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