Do you think that poetry deserves a wider readership?
If you mean to ask whether I think more people ought to read poetry, I guess the answer is yes. On the other hand, the way the question is phrased I'd answer that every form of writing deserves its readers, and they it, and that is that.Do bookstores with no designated poetry section but entire shelves full of Ayn Rand and Bibles make you angry?
I have yet to see that sort of bookstore. Of course, thankfully I don't live in a part of the country where the wholesale standardization of culture has triumphed. But yes, that sort of bookstore would moderately irritate me at least.
If you had a beautiful little bookstore and could stock it with whatever you wanted, wouldn't you have a section devoted to poetry?
Yes, I would.
Why is poetry important?
Poetry is important because it is the form of writing that is best suited to evoking a strong emotion, and quickly. The particular emotion depends on the poem (and, I suppose, if it's written poorly, the emotion could be disgust).
Also:
What are your favorite poems?
Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo...
Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus...
????? ???????? ???
? ??????? ??????? ? ??????...
?????? ????????
?????? ? ???????, ??? ????...
??????????
????, ?????????, ?????, ?????...
?????? ??????
?????? (??? ?????...)
Who are your favorite poets?
Catullus, Sergei Esenin, Igor Severyanin, Alexander Pushkin, Boris Pasternak, Marina Tsvetaeva, Anna Akhmatova, Alexander Blok, Vladimir Vysotsky, Evgeniy Evtushenko, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Dylan Thomas, Sir Walter Scott, Baudelaire, Heinrich Heine
How did you discover them?
The English poets I was forced to read in school and found I enjoyed them (as opposed to American poets, whom I mostly can't stand). Catullus was a happy chance discovery in my senior year advanced Latin independent study and the rest are Russians, whom I discovered (or rather read, even if I had heard of them previously) while studying over there.
Why should I read them? I am compiling a christmas list, and need to know.
Poetry is something that really doesn't translate well. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it is often meant to be read aloud, and the words flow together in rhythms and combinations that are unique to the language medium being used. As a result, I'd recommend any of the poets on my list whose languages you read because I think they are masters at their art. For the record, I think that the languages with the strongest and best poetic traditions are English, Russian and Persian. In a second tier I would put Sanskrit, Latin, Greek, German, French, Italian and Spanish.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
Poetry:
- 08/11/2010 02:07:39 AM
1397 Views
Re: Poetry:
- 08/11/2010 04:13:38 AM
930 Views
This is why people dislike you.
- 09/11/2010 07:03:17 PM
939 Views
Umm...I care?
- 09/11/2010 08:42:55 PM
914 Views
Because you should care about being intelligent, rather than appearing to be intelligent.
- 09/11/2010 10:32:04 PM
951 Views
Again, why would I care?
- 09/11/2010 10:38:21 PM
967 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
870 Views
I think it's rather pointless, to be honest.
- 09/11/2010 10:54:17 PM
901 Views
Then why are you even here?
- 09/11/2010 10:59:49 PM
846 Views
I don't know. I thought I'd see how long I could string you along.
- 09/11/2010 11:00:37 PM
780 Views
You're the one who doesn't care.
- 09/11/2010 11:02:11 PM
824 Views
I care only as much as I care. What others think is irrelevant to that.
- 09/11/2010 11:04:15 PM
838 Views
But you're still responding to me.
- 09/11/2010 11:05:37 PM
871 Views
Because I'm stringing you out until you quit.
- 09/11/2010 11:10:18 PM
948 Views
I'm not going to. I find this entertaining.
- 09/11/2010 11:12:27 PM
864 Views
I do as well. It's fun pretending to be an asshole, I'll admit.
- 09/11/2010 11:17:34 PM
860 Views
Come now, who's pretending?
- 09/11/2010 11:22:18 PM
884 Views
That is officially the last one before I start editing and making them NM. 
*NM*
- 09/11/2010 11:24:12 PM
410 Views
*NM*
- 09/11/2010 11:24:12 PM
410 Views
Me, most of the time
- 09/11/2010 11:40:26 PM
871 Views
Keep telling yourself that. *NM*
- 09/11/2010 11:46:34 PM
745 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
449 Views
Are you 5?
- 09/11/2010 11:14:26 PM
735 Views
Nah
- 09/11/2010 11:15:48 PM
999 Views
But you were asked about it originally. That was my point.
- 09/11/2010 11:23:25 PM
786 Views
And I was evasive about it at the time. When pressed, I answered more fully.
- 09/11/2010 11:48:27 PM
886 Views
Why be evasive?
- 10/11/2010 12:16:19 AM
978 Views
Because I didn't want to spend an hour pulling out a few dozen books.
- 10/11/2010 12:19:55 AM
991 Views
Ye gods. Could you people at the very, very least make your messages NM?
- 09/11/2010 11:17:25 PM
855 Views
*NM*
I must say, I'm glad you all decided to play up when I was having an evening off. 
*NM*
- 10/11/2010 12:08:59 PM
404 Views
*NM*
- 10/11/2010 12:08:59 PM
404 Views
I disagree with your claim that there can be no value in translations.
- 09/11/2010 08:51:20 PM
850 Views
Not "no value", but "different value" is what I would argue
- 09/11/2010 09:55:54 PM
927 Views
I don't disagree, but you can't possibly learn all languages, yet you can read translations of all.
- 09/11/2010 10:56:58 PM
950 Views
My choice, hands down, is to ignore the poetry in languages I don't read.
- 10/11/2010 01:44:32 AM
872 Views
An English translation of The Divine Comedy was pivotal to my conversion to Christianity.
- 10/11/2010 11:04:57 AM
787 Views
Ooh, good survey. I've been thinking for a while we needed more poetry discussion.
- 08/11/2010 10:58:24 AM
1020 Views
I think you underestimate the number of translations of the Bible.
- 09/11/2010 01:20:30 AM
1007 Views
Did they just translate logos as... life-light?
- 09/11/2010 07:14:28 PM
876 Views
Yes. Yes, they did. *NM*
- 09/11/2010 09:56:09 PM
337 Views
I think poetry is largely overrated.
- 08/11/2010 06:12:59 PM
990 Views
the problem is most good poets are dead and dead people tend to fail at marketing
- 08/11/2010 06:44:18 PM
933 Views
I like some poetry, but by no means all.
- 09/11/2010 12:28:41 AM
1007 Views
Now that you mention it, The Imperfect Enjoyment might rank among my favourite poems. *NM*
- 09/11/2010 12:46:56 AM
363 Views
*NM*
- 09/11/2010 12:46:56 AM
363 Views
It is excellent
- 09/11/2010 08:16:01 PM
1035 Views
*NM*
I'll answer this unnumbered survey.
- 10/11/2010 01:37:50 AM
1012 Views
Re: Poetry:
- 10/11/2010 04:57:31 PM
825 Views
Re: Nice
- 11/11/2010 01:39:48 AM
988 Views
Man. . . That voice? Yeah. He should be reading me stories every night.
- 11/11/2010 11:57:02 AM
1064 Views
Re: Man. . . That voice? Yeah. He should be reading me stories every night.
- 12/11/2010 04:36:22 AM
1811 Views