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  #11  
Unread 09-06-2009, 05:03 PM
Paul Stevens
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John Whitworth has a few things to say about Light Verse in The Chimaera #5. And Ann Drysdale's 'The Case for Light Verse' sheds some... erm... light on the subject.
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  #12  
Unread 09-06-2009, 05:09 PM
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John Whitworth John Whitworth is offline
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Gavin Ewart said the distinction was between the Light Brigade and the Heavy Brigade.
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  #13  
Unread 09-06-2009, 06:17 PM
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W.F. Lantry W.F. Lantry is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Stevens View Post
And Ann Drysdale's 'The Case for Light Verse' sheds some... erm... light on the subject.
Yep. And her "And if it rains, a closed car at four" {you'll need to scroll a little} is one of the most delightful things I've read in quite a while!

Thanks,

Bill
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  #14  
Unread 09-06-2009, 09:48 PM
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Quincy Lehr Quincy Lehr is offline
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All this light vs. heavy, funny vs. unfunny stuff doesn't strike me as all that useful. Certainly, I'm in general on the "heavy" side of things, but really, particularly if one breaks the twenty-line barrier, it's quite likely that one will have elements of all of the above. The poetry I tend to like, in any event, is the stuff that doesn't easily fit into a particular category. It looks like light verse, but it's depressing as hell in theme, say, or it is generally serious with some humorous elements. The single funniest line in a poem by someone I actually know comes from a decidedly non-light poem by Nemo--"Princess Diana, who was so sweet retarded people used to lick her face." Or something like that. Strict adherence to template=complete and utter boredom, really.

And as far as what's funny and what isn't... some people like Bob Saget and some prefer Bill Hicks.
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  #15  
Unread 09-06-2009, 10:07 PM
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Chris Childers Chris Childers is offline
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Quincy, I suspect, though am not sure, that you're being overly hard on Bob Saget. I've heard that his stand-up (as opposed to Full House and the Home Video show) is actually pretty funny. Of course, we may all still prefer Bill Hicks.

I'm surprised at the attempt to define "light" vs. "heavy/dark" verse based primarily on subject matter. To me it seems more a matter of style, or handling--whistling past the graveyard is different from singing a dirge. But definitions of this sort are pretty much impossible to get right anyway.

Surely we can all agree that it's lovely when poems make us laugh, and when they make us cry--maybe it's best when we do both at once?

Chris
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  #16  
Unread 09-06-2009, 10:16 PM
E. Shaun Russell E. Shaun Russell is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quincy Lehr View Post
All this light vs. heavy, funny vs. unfunny stuff doesn't strike me as all that useful.
Useful? Probably not. Then again, US Open threads and threads about Obama probably aren't "useful" either. I'm not writing a manifesto here -- I'm just curious as to how people view certain types of verse. I'm all for ridding the world of ANY labels, but the reality is that when I'm thinking of sending material to, say, Light Quarterly or entering a light verse contest, it helps to have an idea of what tenor of poetry makes the grade in that context. It's at least discussion worthy, in my view.

Last edited by E. Shaun Russell; 09-06-2009 at 10:23 PM. Reason: typo
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  #17  
Unread 09-07-2009, 12:37 AM
Julie Steiner Julie Steiner is offline
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Nothing kills a joke like explaining it, and I suppose the same is true of light verse...but my favorite light verse poems, like my favorite jokes, have an element of surprise.

I love solemn pieces that end on irreverent punchlines, or bouncy little nonsense poems that suddenly make chilling sense at the end.
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  #18  
Unread 09-07-2009, 12:48 AM
Janet Kenny Janet Kenny is offline
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Julie, do you believe that light poems must have or be jokes?
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  #19  
Unread 09-07-2009, 01:01 AM
Julie Steiner Julie Steiner is offline
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No, but I do want to be surprised. I suppose "Pippa's Song" would be generally considered light verse, it being cheerful (though not humorous)...or perhaps not, since the mood is more ecstatic than cheerful...

[...Oh, never mind, that little snippet is part of a much longer and darker dramatic work, so it's not quite the same thing...really bad example...I'll return to this tomorrow, I hope...]

Last edited by Julie Steiner; 09-07-2009 at 01:11 AM.
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  #20  
Unread 09-07-2009, 02:30 AM
Max Goodman Max Goodman is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quincy Lehr View Post
It looks like light verse
Does this look like light verse? Three possible answers:


1.Well, it's funny-looking.
2.Sure does. Your printer must be low on ink.
3.Ask Quincy. I have no idea what the **** he means.
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