Captain Beefheart: Frownland

This weeks poem is Frownland by Capt. Beefheart. It’s available here!

So I’d like to take this week to share my thoughts on the difference between lyrics and poetry. Captain Beefheart’s real name, for those of you who are not familiar with his work, is Don Vilet. He was a member of a few avant-blues/rock bands in the 60′s and onward, using that as a medium for his poetry. Now several artists in my mind are in a grey area when it comes to this distinction (not that it really makes a difference), Jim Morrison, Robert Hunter (who I featured in a previous post), and even hip hop artists like Tupac and Saul Williams. I feel like music can either take away from a poem or add to it, but I believe true poetry can stand on its own and does not need a chorus or music to emphasize a point. Repetition in poetry is a useful device, but if the words cant stand on their own I see them more as a lyrical work than poetry. Poetry has rhythm, melodic content (think about it!), and accents naturally, do you really need music? What do you all think? Is it possible that there is no clear distinction? Is a cheesy pop song poetry or just words with music? Do you think hip hop has changed the way we view lyrics? I would love to keep this discussion going further because I don’t quite believe one way or the other maybe someone could convince me!

Oh, and the poem… I believe it stands on its own. It uses a simple extended metaphor essentially putting human emotions on a map. He knows where he’s been and where he’s going, I think we all need that direction in life (pardon my extension of the metaphor). If I get enough positive feedback on this poem I will post another, as this is a more simple read for starters. His work gets more and more abstract, it is quite interesting to read. Enjoy!

P.S. Look up avant if you need to, its important in understanding… well… anything you don’t understand.

Pablo Neruda – Unity

You can find this poem here.

 

I feel a close connection to this poem with its clear imagery and detailed perspective. It reminds me of times I have had over looking the ocean at night and felt like I was in the center of it all. It takes the reflection of the moon on the water sometimes for me to spark creativity, my imagination tells me Neruda was in a similar state of mind at the time he was writing it.

Neruda also talks about a ‘silent geometry’. I believe this is a beautiful way of describing not only the seasons but any intagible thing that… well isn’t an object.

Robert Hunter “The Pool”: What is Hiding in the Text

This poem is available at… http://www.hunterarchive.com/files/Poetry/Sentinel.html#s12

This poem is clever in the sense that it plays the metaphor of looking into a pond/puddle but goes a little deeper.  The first stanza I get the image of a young man seeing wrinkles (ripples) go over his face which “it will in time contain”.
The second stanza reminds me that you wear your thoughts on your face. By looking deep into the pool the writer is sharing his thoughts  without the pools consent.  The third stanza talks about the pool seemingly beeing a living metaphor, which are the lines that drew me to this poem. There are several poems regarding looking into a reflection, this poem seems to be a reflection of all those poems, or at least a realization that their is a draw for many poets to ‘reflect’ when they write.

Stanza four the metaphor goes on. It speaks of seeking to go deeper into the reflection to see what is hiding. But he only finds that the answer is ‘open ended’, it seems to be in the eye of the beholder and that it often can never be concluded because the pieces of the puzzle are ever changing, especially the last piece.

“Ladies and Gentleman in Outer Space”: Einstein and Absurdity

Ladies and Gentleman in Outer Space

By: Rod Pagette               ->check it out<

I’ll paraphrase a little bit here, but Einstein once said that the only constant is change. Ron Padgett (Author of this poem) seems to touch on this sentiment during the beggining of the poem.  However I think the poem soon moves into absurdity, which I took in a number of different ways. It could be an expression of how the poet loathes the self-centered philosophical perception expressed by many contemporary poets. Or maybe the poet decides to ‘change’ the poem at the end as a play with the theme of the poem. Either way I feel this poem is meant to be fun/playful and perhaps not looked at too deeply.  Its short, conversational, and gets laughs, definately a fun read. My favorite line? Butter and serve.