[John Whitworth]

This little essay is in the latest number of Quadrant. Spherians, and anybody eles, come to tht, can read it in Quadrant on Line. Quadrant on Line Beauty and Poetry John Whitworth will get you there. I would LOVE people to read it. And agree with it of course.

[Janice D. Soderling]

I, too, want everyone to read it (as I shall soon do). To that end, here is the link to it.

http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/...auty-in-poetry

[Catherine Chandler]

Great essay, John. I especially liked the parts about sonnet-writing and the music analogy. Speaking of music, it reminded me of the Bee Gees song, where they sing, "It's only words, and words are all I have, to take your heart away." If a poem is beautiful, it will take not only your heart, but your very breath, away.

[Adam Elgar]

Rich in thought, John. It's good to overhear your words talking to each other so trenchantly.

[Jean L. Kreiling]

Congratulations, John. Very thoughtful and eloquent essay.

Best,
Jean

[Susan McLean]

Interesting article, John. I think poets can't help expressing themselves, no matter how they try to keep themselves out of poems. Everything they are goes into the making of a poem, and far more than they are consciously aware of. That kind of self-expression brings depth to poems, whereas conscious positions on "the issues" often lead to shallow writing or writing that quickly becomes dated.

Susan

[John Whitworth]

I think what you say is true, Susan. We know A GREAT DEAL about Shakespeare though he never talked about himself. But opinions all over the place - no!

[Orwn Acra]

Didn't John Cage say "I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry."? I think he did. I think all art should aim for aesthetics above all else. I'm pretty sure Nabokov thought the same. I refuse to believe Nabokov was wrong about anything.

Last Year at Marienbad is a great movie about absolutely nothing, or perhaps about the idea of aesthetics being most important.

[Rick Mullin]

All art, including poetry, has always been about Beauty, right? And Beauty (synonymous with Truth) is found in Nature, which has its balance and imbalance, as well as a hell of a lot of Violence (sorry, Henri). Social relevance, a wonderful thing, is incidental.

Good for your daughter, John! The Art Crimes of the latter 20th Century will one day be fully exposed, and the epoch identified as a Dark Age.

RM

[Gregory Dowling]

Great essay, John. And as Rick says, good for your daughter.

I was incredulous enough to Google "No Sweat Shakespeare" and discovered that it was no invention. Here's the no-sweat conclusion of a famous soliloquy:

So thinking about it makes cowards of us all, and it follows that the first impulse to end our life is obscured by reflecting on it. And great and important plans are diluted to the point where we don't do anything.