This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jun/02/is-jeremy-paxman-right-new-poetry-inaccessibilty
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Is Jeremy Paxman right about new poetry's inaccessibility? | Is Jeremy Paxman right about new poetry's inaccessibility? |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Judging the Forward prize for poetry must have been a perplexing experience for Jeremy Paxman: he has suggested the need for an "inquisition" in which "poets [would | Judging the Forward prize for poetry must have been a perplexing experience for Jeremy Paxman: he has suggested the need for an "inquisition" in which "poets [would |
| be] called to account for their poetry", and explain to their audience why they chose their subject and form. Paxman found "a whole pile of really good poems", but he wished that contemporary poetry "would raise its game a little bit, raise its sights", and "aim to | be] called to account for their poetry", and explain to their audience why they chose their subject and form. Paxman found "a whole pile of really good poems", but he wished that contemporary poetry "would raise its game a little bit, raise its sights", and "aim to |
| engage with ordinary people much more". | engage with ordinary people much more". |
| Classic poetry has a definite place in popular culture, living on in readings, weddings and funerals. But as Jeremy Noel-Tod, editor of the Oxford Companion to Modern | Classic poetry has a definite place in popular culture, living on in readings, weddings and funerals. But as Jeremy Noel-Tod, editor of the Oxford Companion to Modern |
| Poetry, pointed out: "Frank O'Hara was once patronised as a niche poet of the New | Poetry, pointed out: "Frank O'Hara was once patronised as a niche poet of the New |
| York art scene. Fifty years later, he's being recited by Don Draper on | York art scene. Fifty years later, he's being recited by Don Draper on |
| Mad Men and is one of the most influential voices around." The outsider can move into the mainstream: here's Don reading from Meditations in an Emergency, on season 2 of the popular American TV series. | Mad Men and is one of the most influential voices around." The outsider can move into the mainstream: here's Don reading from Meditations in an Emergency, on season 2 of the popular American TV series. |
| Another example would be Lisa Simpson's wise words on Emily Dickinson, on an episode from season eight: "[She] lived alone, and she wrote some of the most beautiful | Another example would be Lisa Simpson's wise words on Emily Dickinson, on an episode from season eight: "[She] lived alone, and she wrote some of the most beautiful |
| poetry the world has ever known … then went crazy as a loon." | poetry the world has ever known … then went crazy as a loon." |
| Then there's Colonel Kurtz reading this spine-chilling passage from TS Eliot's The Hollow Men at one of the most haunting moments of Apocalypse Now: | Then there's Colonel Kurtz reading this spine-chilling passage from TS Eliot's The Hollow Men at one of the most haunting moments of Apocalypse Now: |
| Going further back in the canon, the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind takes its title from a line in Alexander Pope's tragic verse Eloisa to Abelard: | Going further back in the canon, the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind takes its title from a line in Alexander Pope's tragic verse Eloisa to Abelard: |
| How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! | How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! |
| The world forgetting, by the world forgot. | The world forgetting, by the world forgot. |
| Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! | Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! |
| Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd; | Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd; |
| Here's Kirsten Dunst's character, the receptionist from the memory-erasure company, reading the lines in Michel Gondry's surreal film about love and memory: | Here's Kirsten Dunst's character, the receptionist from the memory-erasure company, reading the lines in Michel Gondry's surreal film about love and memory: |
| Poetry plays a central part in one of the best moments of Woody Allen's classic Hannah and Her Sisters. The comic and pathetic merge when Elliot (Michael Caine) acts on his infatuation with his sister-in-law Lee (Barbara Hershey). His recommendation that she read ee cummings – especially page 112! – is one of the most brilliantly awkward scenes in the film: | Poetry plays a central part in one of the best moments of Woody Allen's classic Hannah and Her Sisters. The comic and pathetic merge when Elliot (Michael Caine) acts on his infatuation with his sister-in-law Lee (Barbara Hershey). His recommendation that she read ee cummings – especially page 112! – is one of the most brilliantly awkward scenes in the film: |
| So, which of today's poets do you expect to see popping up in popular culture? Or do you agree with Jeremy Paxman that their work has become too far removed from the general public? And, if so, do you believe this is only natural? Does asking poets to explain themselves defeat the whole point of poetry? | So, which of today's poets do you expect to see popping up in popular culture? Or do you agree with Jeremy Paxman that their work has become too far removed from the general public? And, if so, do you believe this is only natural? Does asking poets to explain themselves defeat the whole point of poetry? |
| Help us compile examples of the presence of poetry in popular culture – do include links, please – and feel free to use examples of poems that have inspired you or been part of your daily life. Share your experiences and examples in the comment thread below |