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I care only as much as I care. What others think is irrelevant to that. Larry Send a noteboard - 09/11/2010 11:04:15 PM
The fact that I have to argue it with you shows how much you've changed over the past few years. It's rather sad.


Do you think that poetry deserves a wider readership?

I assume you mean a wider, non-required reading readership?


Answer the question. It's valid on its own even if it's vague your taste. Simply asking another question is condescending.

Do bookstores with no designated poetry section but entire shelves full of Ayn Rand and Bibles make you angry?

Don't get the part about Bibles, especially since the Bible contains some truly wonderful poetry of its own. Rand I could do without, though.

If you had a beautiful little bookstore and could stock it with whatever you wanted, wouldn't you have a section devoted to poetry?

In how many languages? Most of my favorite poems aren't in English, despite English being my native language.


She asked a pretty direct question there. Instead you shoehorn the fact that you can read multiple languages into the conversation, all without answering.

Why is poetry important?

For the same reason other forms of literature are important


Another condescending question to answer a question. Still no answer. It's not stupid to suggest a particular form of literature has particular importance.

What are your favorite poems?

Quite a few from Bécquer, Rubén Darío, Rilke, Catullus, Ariosto, etc. Not bothering to list particular poems since I'm not going to spend a long time looking up all the poems I like.

Who are your favorite poets?

See above.

How did you discover them?

Combination of literature courses, foreign language courses, and independent study over the past two decades or so.


Why should I read them? I am compiling a christmas list, and need to know.

Unless you read Spanish, Latin, or German, you couldn't read them as they ought to be read.


Still another non-answer, and more shoehorning. She asked why these poems ought to be read, not whether she could read them. It's in tremendously bad faith to simply answer in terms of one's supposed inability, rather than speaking to the merit of the poems themselves, which is not an unreasonable question. It's in even worse faith that you willfully discounted the merits of translation, however limiting it might be. It's in absolutely terrible faith that you selected ONLY non-english poets to bring into the conversation started by a poet who is an english speaker. One less charitable than I would think you did the last simply to have one final parting shot at the end of the survey. One less charitable than I might conclude that you sound like a bitter High School teacher passive-aggressively bullying people online for showing unguarded enthusiasm about something they've staked an implicit claim on.
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie

Je suis méchant.
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Poetry: - 08/11/2010 02:07:39 AM 1469 Views
Re: Poetry: - 08/11/2010 02:31:01 AM 1051 Views
Answers from someone indifferent. - 08/11/2010 02:57:38 AM 974 Views
Poetry - 08/11/2010 03:17:15 AM 1061 Views
Re: Poetry: - 08/11/2010 04:13:38 AM 1013 Views
This is why people dislike you. - 09/11/2010 07:03:17 PM 1003 Views
Umm...I care? - 09/11/2010 08:42:55 PM 979 Views
Because you should care about being intelligent, rather than appearing to be intelligent. - 09/11/2010 10:32:04 PM 1016 Views
Again, why would I care? - 09/11/2010 10:38:21 PM 1032 Views
No one can make you care about being decent, or intelligent, or a viable member of the community. - 09/11/2010 10:41:34 PM 938 Views
I think it's rather pointless, to be honest. - 09/11/2010 10:54:17 PM 968 Views
Then why are you even here? - 09/11/2010 10:59:49 PM 917 Views
I don't know. I thought I'd see how long I could string you along. - 09/11/2010 11:00:37 PM 847 Views
You're the one who doesn't care. - 09/11/2010 11:02:11 PM 894 Views
I care only as much as I care. What others think is irrelevant to that. - 09/11/2010 11:04:15 PM 895 Views
But you're still responding to me. - 09/11/2010 11:05:37 PM 962 Views
Because I'm stringing you out until you quit. - 09/11/2010 11:10:18 PM 1007 Views
I'm not going to. I find this entertaining. - 09/11/2010 11:12:27 PM 953 Views
I do as well. It's fun pretending to be an asshole, I'll admit. - 09/11/2010 11:17:34 PM 919 Views
Come now, who's pretending? - 09/11/2010 11:22:18 PM 951 Views
That is officially the last one before I start editing and making them NM. *NM* - 09/11/2010 11:24:12 PM 436 Views
Word. *NM* *NM* - 09/11/2010 11:29:37 PM 357 Views
Me, most of the time - 09/11/2010 11:40:26 PM 937 Views
Keep telling yourself that. *NM* - 09/11/2010 11:46:34 PM 809 Views
Why would I? It's not something I think much about these days. Again, what others think is trivial. *NM* - 10/11/2010 12:01:03 AM 467 Views
What about THE Other? *NM* - 10/11/2010 12:16:53 AM 398 Views
I'm not going to quote Sartre here...this time. *NM* - 10/11/2010 12:20:22 AM 397 Views
Are you 5? - 09/11/2010 11:14:26 PM 804 Views
See my original point. *NM* - 09/11/2010 11:15:30 PM 393 Views
Nah - 09/11/2010 11:15:48 PM 1064 Views
But you were asked about it originally. That was my point. - 09/11/2010 11:23:25 PM 857 Views
And I was evasive about it at the time. When pressed, I answered more fully. - 09/11/2010 11:48:27 PM 943 Views
Why be evasive? - 10/11/2010 12:16:19 AM 1039 Views
Ye gods. Could you people at the very, very least make your messages NM? - 09/11/2010 11:17:25 PM 914 Views
But that takes the fun out of this! *NM* - 09/11/2010 11:21:25 PM 433 Views
Re: Best one liner of the threadjack. - 10/11/2010 12:37:27 AM 1056 Views
I disagree with your claim that there can be no value in translations. - 09/11/2010 08:51:20 PM 922 Views
Not "no value", but "different value" is what I would argue - 09/11/2010 09:55:54 PM 1001 Views
An English translation of The Divine Comedy was pivotal to my conversion to Christianity. - 10/11/2010 11:04:57 AM 854 Views
Dante has a lot to answer for. *NM* - 10/11/2010 08:21:19 PM 389 Views
Ah, but to whom...? - 10/11/2010 09:17:16 PM 898 Views
K. - 08/11/2010 04:35:56 AM 1086 Views
Re: K. - 08/11/2010 10:59:05 AM 858 Views
Nothing wrong with humorous redundancy! - 09/11/2010 01:10:02 AM 909 Views
Ooh, good survey. I've been thinking for a while we needed more poetry discussion. - 08/11/2010 10:58:24 AM 1079 Views
I think you underestimate the number of translations of the Bible. - 09/11/2010 01:20:30 AM 1070 Views
Did they just translate logos as... life-light? - 09/11/2010 07:14:28 PM 945 Views
Yes. Yes, they did. *NM* - 09/11/2010 09:56:09 PM 364 Views
*sighs* - 09/11/2010 10:28:49 PM 820 Views
My favourite translation of logos is "point of it all". - 10/11/2010 05:12:05 PM 1210 Views
Interersting - 08/11/2010 05:14:41 PM 988 Views
I can count the poems I enjoy on one hand. Two fingers, in fact. - 08/11/2010 06:05:22 PM 977 Views
I think poetry is largely overrated. - 08/11/2010 06:12:59 PM 1055 Views
And you are basing this on extensive non-reading of poetry? *NM* - 09/11/2010 08:57:06 PM 334 Views
Basing what, exactly? But the short answer is, no. - 10/11/2010 05:48:28 PM 994 Views
Re: Poetry: - 08/11/2010 07:04:01 PM 923 Views
I like some poetry, but by no means all. - 09/11/2010 12:28:41 AM 1078 Views
Now that you mention it, The Imperfect Enjoyment might rank among my favourite poems. *NM* - 09/11/2010 12:46:56 AM 385 Views
It is excellent - 09/11/2010 08:16:01 PM 1098 Views
Re: It is excellent - 09/11/2010 10:53:24 PM 929 Views
Re: It is excellent - 09/11/2010 10:58:23 PM 1032 Views
Just remembered my favourite poem - 09/11/2010 10:50:03 PM 1029 Views
That is very nice *NM* - 09/11/2010 10:59:53 PM 491 Views
I'll answer this unnumbered survey. - 10/11/2010 01:37:50 AM 1070 Views
Read: Poetry: - 10/11/2010 12:08:42 PM 999 Views
Re: Poetry: - 10/11/2010 04:57:31 PM 906 Views
Re: Nice - 11/11/2010 01:39:48 AM 1053 Views
I can't believe I forgot to mention Leonard Cohen. *NM* - 12/11/2010 04:33:15 AM 392 Views

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