Minor Poets
May 16th 2007 07:26
Why read Minor Poets?
Here's some reasons ...
Here's some reasons ...
By Minor poets I dont just mean poets and poems of lesser quality but also lesser known poets. They're often the sort of poets who do have a body of work but might only have one or two peoms appera in an anthology or they 're not part of the "CANON".
So why read them if they're not great poets and why arent they taught as part of the Canon.
Sometimes its cos only a few of their poems survive.
You may have heard of Homer and Sappho but have you heard of Ibycus or Nossis?
A classicist would know all those names.
Lets look at that standard text Gardners Metaphysical Poets.
Donne gets set sometimes for the HSC in Australia and more rarely Herbert or Marvell?
Whos' heard any works by other members of the Herbert clan?
Or that they were related to Mary Sidney the Elizabethan poetess?
Reading Minor poets and comparing them to "CANON" poets gives you some idea of why we have a "CANON". Minor poets tend to have a body of work of much more fluctating quality! Some however are worth reading for the occassional gem of metre or image or treatment of an unusual theme.
I'm going to list some poets who arent taught at secondary school level at least in Australia but sometimes get taught at university level.
William Dunbar. A major poet in the Scots tradition but far too often treated as Minor.
Someone who should be in the Canon.
Alice Meynell. Yes she gets included in some feminist anthologies but they tend to leave out her religious poems.
Francis Thompson. Okay who's read a Francis Thompson poem apart from the Hound of Heaven?
Would anyone like to suggest a "MINOR" poet you feel should get more attention?
They dont have to be English. You can nominate a poet who wrote in Latin or Greek or Chinese or some other language?
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Comment by Lily
Ars Poetica
Louise Gluck...
Comment by scholia
Perhaps someone who's dead and needs more attention cos they're not a "DEAD WHITE MALE"
PLEASE ???
Note to readers the question was NOT an invitation for you to indulge your ego!
The idea is to let people know about various minor poets that they might not have discovered if their local library is limited?
The purpose of this blog is to share ideas NOT boost your ego or reader count!
Goddess knows mine needs boosting however the primary purpose is to SHARE IDEAS.
Groan I should have known I should have told all the ego-freaks lurking out ther
DONT NAME YOURSELF
Two Chinese Poetesses to look out for!
Huang O Ming Dynasty rarely translated into Englsih or reprinted in chinese since she was a "bad girl".
heetee you'll know what I mean when you read her stuff.
Rexroth has translated some of them.
Hsueh Tao TANG dynasty.
Comment by Lily
Ars Poetica
It pleases me no end to see that you took the I-ball and ran all the way to the end of the field and kicked a big fat goal... the crowd went wild..
i find it interesting and amusing that you present many good poets, yet lack poetic talent yourself.... yawn
do visit my blog sometime... smile
~blogHER Lily
Comment by scholia
I'm not here to be anyone's plaything!
Define "Poetic talent" or stay out of the blog!
Note to lurkers so I'm not Alice Meynell or Chrisitne Rossetti ... so what ... the point of this post was to discuss Minor Poets not flex your claws and use it as a sharpening post.
Anyone care to discuss the ACTUAL TOPIC ... minor poets ???
Sheesh why would peopl rather try to start arguments then discuss ideas?
and if anyone's thinking oooh but its more fun watching other people fight ... we're not all sadists!
It is possible for some of us to take pleasure from discussing ideas?