By Erin Robertson
How to Throw
(response to Susan Howe's "Thorow")
Thorow the process of learning Thoreau, the philosophy, learning of the nearness of poetry transcendence, geobiology one of man, one of nature nature in us as nature men have words, whose voices inhabit poems literature of savigism men have titles, jentelmen the origin of property men have manipulations, wars, besieges, laws elegiac western imagination how much can man control nature a name's a name's a name 'where is the path' the silence of nature ise and wete and snow make no human noise we go through the word Forest
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made this by combining two separate poems, which i guess, in the act itself, is another “statement” on poetry:
statement on poetry.
mountains and mountains and mountains of molehills, the equipment is broken so i'm panicking, panicking. the looseleaf topography i've created keeps me in the valleys of self gratification my self loathing would be strong because my inability to hold my inhibitions but words overflowing my mind spill out to wash my soul they wash the sin away to sweeten the scent of grime urge the dirt from my bones pulled through the skin evaporating in the frozen wonder frigid atmosphere in my heart residue from nights i hoped to forget
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About Erin: My name is Erin Robertson and I will soon be a sophomore at Temple University studying Psychology and Italian. My experiences, the people I love, and the life I choose to live, give me plenty of inspiration for the various creative outlets I pursue. I enjoy molding and sculpting words with my poetry as a form of expression.
-posted on red Ravine, Thursday, April 21th, 2011
-related to posts: Does Poetry Matter?, and Erin’s first poetry piece on red Ravine which includes four poems, one about her relationship to her grandfather with Alzheimers — Fourteen Dozen Roses: The World As The Jungle It Is
statement on poetry:
I felt urgent and panicky myself when I read the first paragraph. When I read the second stanza I could feel my body physically relax. My mind felt hope for life, too.
I don’t think I’ve ever met (or heard of) an Italian major. I instantly loved it. I hope it means lots of trips to Italy for you.
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T- Thanks!
Italian major is basically the same as any other language, it was just me building upon something I found I enjoyed. I already have a trip planned!
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Erin, thank you for submitting to red Ravine. I have a question along the same lines as Teri…have you written any poetry in Italian?
I hate to admit it, but I had not read much about Susan Howe until you submitted “How To Throw.” Then I did a little research and found out more about her poetry. The language play and unconventional form. Thanks for introducing me to her. Did you learn about her in your poetry class? Or had you already read her work.
One more question. When we were corresponding during the submission process, you mentioned you went to a poetry slam. What did you learn about poets and poetry there?
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The issue with poetry in other languages is the translations of idiomatic expressions. If you think about some in English (for example: a tongue-lashing) they make little sense when translated literally because there simply is no equivalent. As my knowledge of Italian expands, I do hope that I will be able to write creatively.
Susan and her sister, Franny, Howe have very interesting styles of writing. Along with those two, my poetry class has exposed to me to multiple modern authors who write in unconventional ways.
The poetry slam was an eye-opener. It is one thing to read an emotional piece, but to hear the author recite it, and to get choked up or angry brings it to a whole new level. Writing for the purpose of performance is entirely different than for reading. While it doesn’t have to rhyme, it was obvious there was plenty of effort put into making sure the rhythm reinforced the poem itself.
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I like Susan Howe and have read The Nonconformist’s Memorial and Pierce-Arrow.
Erin — I’m curious what you think about Nox by Anne Carson;
Or One with Others [a little book of her days] by C.D. Wright;
Or many of the writings of Carole Maso — all women experimenting with literary form.
Thanks.
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I will have to look them up! Thanks for the suggestion.
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You are welcome. I just wanted you to know that I was impressed as all get out that you had a response to Susan Howe, and a cleverly beautiful one.
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Well thank you!!
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each separate, single line is actually taken from her piece.
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I have read these poems three times now and they both sounded to me like poems that would be powerfully performed at a poetry slam. Did you read or recite them at the poetry slam or were you referring to going to one to hear others read?
Perfect that you are studying Italian – such a musical language and you clearly have a talent for music and rhythm.
I love the last lines on both of the poems, but especially “we go through the word Forest”, this stopped me in my tracks. I’m still thinking about it. Are you referring to the idea that we are walking through an abstraction? A “name” that can never really say what the concrete reality is…..if you have any enlightening words on this please share, I’m curious.
Thanks for exposing me to your writing and to Susan Howe.
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I have only read a couple poems out-loud, but when I write I think in distinct rhythms, so I like to think they would sound somewhat lyrical. I had gone to a slam and listened to other authors.
I can appreciate the flow of romantic languages, I choose Italian for it’s history. Part of me also choose it because it isn’t “played out” academically like Spanish or French.
it could be interpreted, the word “forest” or the word-forest in that the words are, in themselves, a jungle. This is actually a line from Howe. Its up to interpretation. To me, I enjoy the idea that poetry means something different to everyone. Even though I am the author, I refuse to tell anyone what they need to see or get from it. I can tell you how I interpret my own words: to me, a name is immaterial, it fluctuates and is truly just a human construction for classification. A tree is a “tree” only because we call it such. Would it be any less of a “tree” if it was called a “sakdljswkamldsma”?
I hope that answered your question!
Thank you!
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Erin, I thought of you when I was going back through my emails today. One of the poem-a-day emails from the Academy of American Poets was from Susan Howe (photo of Susan Howe with Charles Bernstein (LINK):
“That This”
by Susan Howe
Day is a type when visible
objects change then put
on form but the anti-type
That thing not shadowed
The way music is formed of
cloud and fire once actually
concrete now accidental as
half truth or as whole truth
Is light anything like this
stray pencil commonplace
copy as to one aberrant
onward-gliding mystery
A secular arietta variation
Grass angels perish in this
harmonic collision because
non-being cannot be ‘this’
Not spirit not space finite
Not infinite to those fixed—
That this millstone as such
Quiet which side on which—
Is one mind put into another
in us unknown to ourselves
by going about among trees
and fields in moonlight or in
a garden to ease distance to
fetch home spiritual things
That a solitary person bears
witness to law in the ark to
an altar of snow and every
age or century for a day is
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