Dave you wrote:
I'll be away from my desk from Sept 15 to October 6, so if anyone wants to try a topic on me, now's the time to do it.
Since everyone already seems to be away from their desks here's a curly one.
We are now in a global society we are told. In the past, poetry has been used to tell our own stories.
For a lot of people the attraction of poetry is just that. Now we post across cultures. Often I am asked to insert a sort of tourist-guide to my poems.
I maintain that we must allow the differences and make the effort to find out the parts we miss through vernacular and cultural differences. On forums we can ask the poet but I don't think we have a right to expect the poet to insert explanations into the poem itself.
We all read Shakespeare from a distance. I read almost all literature from a distance and greatly relish the special regional and personal elements of the writing.
I'll be honest. This is partly caused by the fact that although Australians see and understand American films with the voices of the original American actors, some of our best actors are dubbed when Australian movies are shown in America. Unless this is permitted the distributors often reject the film.
I find the same expectations often are voiced if I refer to something outside familiar experience or vernacular in a poem. I am frequently advised to change my poem so that everyone can understand it. The words "target audience" have been used. It doesn't seem to be understood that people who do understand the references would find the alterations crass and over explanatory and obvious.
I believe our worlds are similar enough for the difference to be enjoyed.
Janet
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