Quote:
Originally posted by Julie Kane:
And Janet, it is so good to hear from you, and thank you so much for the lovely things you said about the poems. I am fascinated by your prior career as an opera singer, and also curious as to what parallels (if any) you might sense between the two arts of singing and writing poems.
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Julie,
There's a great deal of similarity between singing some opera and writing poetry. Line rules everything and meter has to be subtle inside the all important line. Direct expression without barriers. Words are loaded but must never dominate individually except when that is the point of the line. Consonants are even more important than vowels. I think that's why I'm always arguing against line caps. I use them sometimes for comic or dramatic effect but for me they work against the whole point of a poem. I hate readers who pause at the end of each line. I like readings to flow with just enough suggestion of meter to carry the beat. That's unless it's a Scottish Border ballad in which case I'm all for thumping
My credo.
Janet, who wishes she could do as she says.