Selected Poems from Days (Blog Will Not Allow for Original Typography)
71
3/3/95
good god bob
you're the one
of course who
made loveable &
why the fuck
not in such
a tight span
these twists of
thinking specific
to an instant
commentary : creeley the bob, days in part a case study of thought's torsion, the short line, collisions & collusions possible, the shifts in direction, heavy staccato "good god bob" splat, to sweet assonance, one, loveable, fuck, such, the delight in the twists, a tight span, in instants, the lyric as collision chamber
74
3/11/95
i sing the body
eclectic uh defective
icing the bawdy
directive rodin to young
rilke "toujours travailler"
all words & no fray
makes yack a dull
"stable & precarious"
rose on licorice er
icarus' wings
commentary : talk in tongues, trane's sax honks, i sing as icing on the cake, a bellyfull, stammer, stutter, the play's the thing, of course work hard the too earnest though ugh, dad's leukemia woven in everywhere, my young son's mishearing heard it better as rose on licorice wings, and why not
77
4/1/95
her virtues i
know thus far
verbal which
what think you
when wind across
key principle
forms of distance
love the
reckless irritant settled
athwart the hips
commentary : days, in part, playing with an erotics of writer/reader relations; last line, the single word "athwart" definitely a whitman-clinker; loving throughout as irritant AND joy; the wind of saying, a poem being taken up and said
81
4/11/95
you put them
there & fix
their place in blocks
& in columns
as you will
& then they have
quite apart from
you relations
all their own
with which you are amused
commentary : a compositional practice, you do put them there by hand i know you do, the poem's existence in time, as it becomes necessarily strange to the writer too, possibly amusing, of necessity so as the poem disconnects from its immediacy of compositional inception, is initially placed & put, but then . . .
83
4/15/95
yes & then
a little less
two blue
& white striped
chairs & the means
of enumerating
sudden content
ment heart in
sists its history is now
& thus not history proper
commentary : rarely, but here, instance of actual immediate surroundings, two specific chairs, as the first line: often poems in the affirmative (though, "& then"), words broken being both: content, and content-ment; the heart moves in, thus insists, a different site of action than some will allow into "history proper"
84
4/15/95
slow to slogan
voracious to
veracity amen
to mendacity
flesh to pleasure
legs to legendary
costly to apostle
mesh to measure
& i wake up
next to you
commentary : by musical extension, made extant, a tent, rolls on & off the tongue, a fleshy pleasure, to be beside you, juxtaposition, awakening to & into that fact, flesh to pleasure, such words so
88
4/21/95
speaking the first
law of economy
you yawn song sweeps
upward & across water's
surface not contra which
would only be two dictions
but each point a hub
radiating infinite spokes
persons tense in shifting
pulse processional
commentary : redundant in e-space to point out, hell yes, more than two dictions, thematized older poetries fond of binary structurings, poems now portals multiply open, from any given point an infinity of directions, made so perhaps with some of the energy, energizing, galvanics of early Williams and later Olson's "projective verse" these too "in shifting/ pulse processional," parading by, the radiating, the pulsing, the transfer of energy, instant by instant, for you to say
126
6/22/95
monk's joy &
studied exuberant
wrong notes infinite
rhythmic insistence
exactly slapped silences
trane's quest question
chaotic divine emily's
compressed
from you (love)
crucially direct address
commentary : recaps sources & muses, quick riffs, monk the first, the joy of right-wrong, the infinite possibilities of rhythm attended to & heard precisely, not the yay-or-nay of binary dumb metrics stressed or un- (how damned inadequate!), to trane, to emily d, to "you" who must be there, otherwise how to address directly
Below is the link to Lazer's Website:
http://wings.buffalo.edu/epc/authors/lazer/
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37 comments:
Author:
Hank Lazer
He published 12 books of poetry. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book, "The New Spirit". His poems are not titled but dated according to when it was published.He has been exploring improvisatory poetry-jazz compositons. He taught at the University of Alabama in 1977.
Passage:
3/11/95
"i sing the body
eclectic uh defective
icing the bawdy
directive rodin to young
rilke "toujours travailler"
all words & no fray
makes yack a dull
"stable & precarious"
rose on licorice er
icarus' wings"
commentary : talk in tongues, trane's sax honks, i sing as icing on the cake, a bellyfull, stammer, stutter, the play's the thing, of course work hard the too earnest though ugh, dad's leukemia woven in everywhere, my young son's mishearing heard it better as rose on licorice wings, and why not
He does speak togues, but he plays with words that make them sound normal.
Correlation:
There is nothing to relate to in the poem because there is no meaning. However, I do find it interesting for his choice in words.The words are so random but they tigh in with one another. It makes the reading smooth, like he is singing a song in tongues.
1) there is no tragedy
2) readying the poem itself and trying to make sense of it, is the comedy
3) There isn't any joy or happiness because it does lead up to anything or mean anything, but do think it is fun to read.
Random Words
Selected Poems from Days
Hank Lazer
Hank Lazer had published 12 books of poetry. The New Spirit was published in 2005 and was a nominee for the Pulitzer Prize. Lazer has taught and done administrative work at The University of Alabama since 1977.
Passage:
84
4/15/95
slow to slogan
voracious to
veracity amen
to mendacity
flesh to pleasure
legs to legendary
costly to apostle
mesh to measure
& i wake up
next to you
Commentary: by musical extension, made extant, a tent, rolls on & off the tongue, a fleshy pleasure, to be beside you, juxtaposition, awakening to & into that fact, flesh to pleasure, such words so
He plays with words that roll on and off the tongue, and I found that he likes to wake up to the person next to him and he use some meaningful words to describe it.
Correlation:
I can’t say I can correlate to any of his poems. I do enjoy reading his poems because of his choice of words and how he uses so few words to get his point across. I also like how he uses the commentary to tell us where he got his thoughts from.
Questions:
Identify the cause of tragedy or human suffering.
I didn’t find a tragedy in Lazer’s writing.
How can this tragedy be turned into a comedy?
I found that his poems were a comedy, it was fun to read them and make sense of them.
3. Identify the cause of Joy or happiness?
The joy would be that it was fun to read.
Author:
Hank Lazer
Hank Lazer was born in San Jose, California. He received an AB degree in English from Stanford University. He also has a MA and PhD in English from the University of Virginia. He is currently an English professor at the University of Alabama.
Passage:
3/11/95
84
4/15/95
slow to slogan
voracious to
veracity amen
to mendacity
flesh to pleasure
legs to legendary
costly to apostle
mesh to measure
& i wake up
next to you
commentary : by musical extension, made extant, a tent, rolls on & off the tongue, a fleshy pleasure, to be beside you, juxtaposition, awakening to & into that fact, flesh to pleasure, such words so
When you read this poem outloud some of the words sound similar and they go together. “Mesh to measure”, “Flesh to pleasure”. But, none of it makes sense… they are just words… that seemed to be arranged in only a way he can figure out. For example, here is a poem by Robert Frost:
It is blue-butterfly day here in spring,
And with these sky-flakes down in flurry on flurry
There is more unmixed color on the wing
Than flowers will show for days unless they hurry.
But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.
It rhymes… it makes sense. Robert Frost’s poems are narrative and meant to be read. They sharply contrast when compared to the poetry of Lazer which seems to be meant only for him to read and understand.
Correlation:
To me, Lazer’s poems seem elitist. It’s like he thinks he is such a great poetry writer that he can write jibberish and pass it off for poetry! Sure, you can he is “playing” with the words, but there is no way I am convinced nor will ever be convinced that this is poetry. I would like to know if even he can understood what he is writing. His poems looked like random words thrown together. I don’t even see how they can be considered like “jazz” because when read aloud, they don’t sound any better than they read.
1) It’s tragic that he actually makes money writing books full of this
2) The poem itself is the comedy. Nobody can make sense of it!
3) No joy or happiness, they are just words.
Any difficulties? Yeah, not able to understand what I am suppose to be understanding.
Using words as building blocks
Days
Hank Lazer
Hank Lazer has published twelve books of poetry. In the last decade, Lazer has written essays steeped in lyricism and representations of spiritual experience. Since 1977, Lazer has taught, and done administrative work at the University of Alabama. Lazer is Associate Provost of Academic Affairs.
Basic Passage
81
4/11/95
"you put them
there & fix
their place in blocks
& in columns
as you will
& then they have
quite apart from
you relations
all their own
with which you are amused"
commentary : a compositional practice, you do put them there by hand i know you do, the poem's existence in time, as it becomes necessarily strange to the writer too, possibly amusing, of necessity so as the poem disconnects from its immediacy of compositional inception, is initially placed & put, but then . . .
The way the words in the poem are aligned, it looks like the words are stacked atop each other like building blocks. The poem shows that Lazer likes to play with words.
Correlation:
I can relate to the poem. When I was little, I used to like playing Lagos with my cousins. Nowadays, little children have the building blocks that have the letters of the alphabet etched on them so that the children can stack up the letters in alphabetical order or stack them up by putting them together to make words.
(1). Identify the cause of human suffering-tragedy
There is no human suffering.
(2). How can the tragedy be turned into a comedy?
The poem and the way it is constructed is a comedy.
(3). Identify the cause of joy or happiness-comedy
The cause of joy or happiness is Lazer's sense of humor in constructing his poems to make them fun to read.
Selected poems from days
Hank Lazer
Lazer has published 12 books of poetry. He won a Pulitzer prize for "the new spirit." Over the past several years he has been working in collaboration projects.
Basic passage
4/1/95
her virtues i
know thus far
verbal which
what think you
when wind across
key principle
forms of distance
love the
reckless irritant settled
athwart the hips
commentary : days, in part, playing with an erotics of writer/reader relations; last line, the single word "athwart" definitely a whitman-clinker; loving throughout as irritant AND joy; the wind of saying, a poem being taken up and said
This makes me think he is talking about a girl of interest, maybe a loved one, a girlfriend, he says he knows her virtues and then speaks of her irritants, maybe someone he has been seeing for a while and is realizing her positive points and negative points.
Correlation
If this interpretation is right I can relate because I've been married for 10 years almost and trust me I know all his irritants.
1) I don't know if there is a tragedy.
2)The whole poem is a comedy, because it's just words.
3)His joy comes from playing with words.
Bio:
Hank Lazar has published 12 books of poetry. The New Spirit was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. In 2008, Omnidawn will publish Lyric & Spirit, a selection of Lazer’s recent essays.
Basic Passage:
you put them
there & fix
their place in blocks
& in columns
as you will
& then they have
quite apart from
you relations
all their own
with which you are amused
Lazer is simply talking about building something. I’m not sure what it is, but when it is done he is amused by the finished product’s relationship.
Correlation:
It is hard to relate to a poem when it is not expressive. Lazer’s poetry is not lyrical, so therefore it is not telling any kind of story. I can relate to the building of something in one way though. I like to mess around with car electronics, so I will install stereo systems from time to time. When I install them it is like I am building something. When I am done I get to listen to them and I am “amused” by them.
(1). Identify the cause of human suffering-tragedy
The hard work of building something.
(2). How can the tragedy be turned into a comedy?
This poem does not seem to be a tragedy.
(3). Identify the cause of joy or happiness-comedy
Watching something you build have a relationship of its own.
Difficulties:
Lazar’s poetry is odd.
Art in Words
Hank Lazer
Days
Hank Lazer was born in San Jose, California, and has been writing and publishing poetry for over thirty years. His style of writing is considered to be free form. In 2005, his work was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Basic Passage:
"you put them their and fix their place in blocks and in columns as you will and then they have quite apart from you relations all their own with which you are amused"
Lazer purposely puts words together that do not make any sense or form a real meaning. He is just building words into another kind of art.
Correlation:
I was able to see Hank Lazer in person while he did a poetry reading, and it allowed me to see what his poetry was about. Lazer said he changed his form or structure of writing whenever he got bored with it. He also related his construction of words to music, notes in a song. I have never heard another poet put words together like this, and I have to appreciate his artistic efforts. His poems seem more like visual art than any other poem I've read. This reminds me of a project I had do for an art class once. We had to construct a collage of everyday objects, but put it together in such a way that those objects together formed one big object. That may be hard to understand. I just found it similar to how Lazer takes simple words in our language and constructs them into art.
1. Identify cause of human suffering or tragedy:
In a sense, the cause of human suffering or the tragedy is that people do not understand his style of poetry.
2. How can tragedy be turned into comedy?
I think the way he creates art with his poetry is the comedy.
3. Identify the cause of joy or happiness:
The art in his construction of words is the joy.
Difficulties:
His poetry is a bit complex and I wouldn't have known how to take it if I hadn't seen him at the poetry reading.
Comment for chloe:
I agree that Lazer's words in his poem sound alike and go together. But they are not supposed to make sense because they are not supposed to be read literally. They are to be read like music. It's different and I don't know any other poet that does that, but I think its kind of neat.
WTF?
Hank Lazer
04/21/95
88
speaking the first
law of economy
you yawn song sweeps
upward & across water's
surface not contra which
would only be two dictions
but each point a hub
radiating infinite spokes
persons tense in shifting
pulse processional
commentary : redundant in e-space to point out, hell yes, more than two dictions, thematized older poetries fond of binary structurings, poems now portals multiply open, from any given point an infinity of directions, made so perhaps with some of the energy, energizing, galvanics of early Williams and later Olson's "projective verse" these too "in shifting/ pulse processional," parading by, the radiating, the pulsing, the transfer of energy, instant by instant, for you to say
When I read this poem I thought about Billy Collins when he said "But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it", because by looking at the words I can’t even began to try and figure out what this means. Lazer said he was aiming for a jazz theme when he wrote these poems. I think sound is the important thing in each poem. The meanings of the individual words are irrelevant, but the sound that each stressed syllable makes is significant. Even with the whole emphasis on sound I don't understand what's going on.
Questions:
Identify the cause of tragedy or human suffering.
The tragedy is Lazer doesn't understand that other might not find this type of poetry so appealing.
How can this tragedy be turned into a comedy?
He could write "See spot run" type poetry with just as much jazz.
3. Identify the cause of Joy or happiness?
None
Hank Lazer
Days
Bio
Lazer has a different form of writing. He has published many books of poetry. Lazer has also won a Pulitzer Prize. He teaches at the University of Alabama.
81
4/11/95
"you put them
there & fix
their place in blocks
& in columns
as you will
& then they have
quite apart from
you relations
all their own
with which you are amused"
commentary : a compositional practice, you do put them there by hand i know you do, the poem's existence in time, as it becomes necessarily strange to the writer too, possibly amusing, of necessity so as the poem disconnects from its immediacy of compositional inception, is initially placed & put, but then . . .
Correlation
I can relate to this poem because I believe it is saying that he is writing something then it becomes something else. In the papers I write sometimes I start out one way and them it goes in a completely different direction.
Tradegy-- None
Comedy-- Getting something that is unexpected.
Cause of joy-- interesting to read.
Hank Lazer
He has published 12 books of poetry. Over the past couple of years, Lazer has been involved in several poetry collaboration projects. With jazz musicians Tom Wolfe (guitar) and Chris Kozak (bass), he has been exploring improvisatory poetry-jazz compositions. Lazer has taught and done administrative word at The University of Alabama since 1977.
Passage:
4/11/95
81
you put them
there & fix
their place in blocks
& in columns
as you will
& then they have
quite apart from
you relations
all their own
with which you are amused
This poem is actually readable but you still can't see what he is talking about specifically.
Correlation:
I cannot relate to this passage. I really have no idea what he is talking about. All I can do is appreciate his talent for lyrical writing, and the fact that he understands it. I guess I just don't know how to read it and understand it as lyrical.
1. The tragedy is that I can't understand it.
2. The comedy is me trying to make sense of it.
3. The joy is the fact that the writer understands it.
"word collage"
Hank lazer
Hank Lazer is a poet who writes in a style that fits into the emergent and innovative. he has published 12 books of poetry, and has been nomineed for the pulitzer prize. lazer has been working at the universty of alabama since 1977.
passage...
"i sing the body
eclectic uh defective
icing the bawdy
directive rodin to young
rilke "toujours travailler"
all words & no fray
makes yack a dull
"stable & precarious"
rose on licorice er
icarus' wings"
this poem demonstrates lazer's unique style. as oppossed to the usual narrative poems we are used to, lazer's poem is more of a collage of words, even playing with them at times using homonyms.
his poems are not constrained to a particular story, but to a specific moment in time.
correlation
i can relate to lazer's poems. if i tried to write down what was going through my head at a particular moment, it would sound alot like his poems. in parts of his poems, its easy to think that his words and thoughts are pointless, but at any given time i can catch myself pondering the most ridiculuos things.
comedy. many of lazer's poems are not narrative, and have no story. they dont deal with a comedy or tragedy. or maybe the comedy is that you dont have to bother trying to figure out what his poems mean.
Hank Lazer
He recieved a A.B in English at Stanford University then his M.A and Ph.D. degree in English from the University of Virginia. He went to become a professor at the University of Alabama in 1977. He has published 12 books of poetry.
Passage:
84
4/15/95
slow to slogan
voracious to
veracity amen
to mendacity
flesh to pleasure
legs to legendary
costly to apostle
mesh to measure
& i wake up
next to you
Commentary: by musical extension, made extant, a tent, rolls on & off the tongue, a fleshy pleasure, to be beside you, juxtaposition, awakening to & into that fact, flesh to pleasure, such words so
I feel that he want to think out side the box in order to get his thoughts across. I this writing, it seems that he just wants to show how he feels about someone from one extreme to another.
Correlation:
His works are very hard to read, but I do see where he is trying to show his feelings in good and bad, from one extreme to another. This is a relationship and that is the way relationships are. You except that person and wake up next to them. I have been in many relationships that I have felt like this.
1. Identify the cause of human suffering-tragedy
There is no human suffering
2. How can this tragedy be turned into a comedy?
I think that this is a comedy that he takes such extreme words to a common relationship.
3. Identify the cause of Joy or happiness?
For someone to know this much about you and that someone is that attentive of you and is still waking up beside you.
I am commenting on roberto's response:
I agree with roberto, Lazer does "build" up the words like he is trying to "construct" something or create a new type of "art" form.
Hank Lazer
Selected Poems for Days
"WORD PLAY"
About the Author:
Hank Lazer has published 12 books of poetry. His poem, The New Spirit, was a nominee for the pulitzer prize. Over the past couple of years, Lazer has been involved in several poetry collaboration projects. Also, Lazer has taught at the University of Alabama since 1977, as Asoociate Provost for Academic Affairs. In 2008, Onnidawn will publish Lyric and Spirit, a selection of Lazer's essays recent essays.
Passage:
slow to slogan
voracious to
to mendacity
flesh to pleasure
legs to legendary
costly to apostle
mesh to measure
and I wake up
next to you
Lazer is using adjectives in various forms to get his point across of how he is feeling. When you first look at this passage it is confusing, but after re-reading it a couple of times the theme seems almost transparent. He is using adjectives to describe the person's physcal traits and characteristics, as well as portraying his feelings inside. In the beginning, its almost as if he thinks this person is too good for him that is laying next to him. Then towards the end, you get the idea he is happy and takes PRIDE in waking up next to this person and when he does, it is not a dream, the dream becomes real to him that he really is laying next to this "certain" person.
Correlate: I can actually relate to this passage. Not in the fact of necesarily, waking up next to this person every morning but having someone in my life that I know I do not deserve to have. Alot of times, myself I think he is too good for me and I do not deserve his patience and kindness in my life! Sometimes, I want to pinch myself because it doesnt seem real!
1. Identify the cause of tragedy or human suffering.
I do not believe their is any in this passage!
2. How can this tragedy be turned into a comedy? There already is alot of joy and comedy in this passage.
3. Identify the cause of joy or happiness.
There is ALOT of happiness due to the fact that he is so humble in this passage! He feels like this person is just so amazing that not even he deserves them. I really like how he humbles himself and is so proud to be waking up next to this person, who is so dear to him!
In response to the mandrake:
I really agree with you, with how Lazer just thrown things down at a particular moment and time, just putting any words down used to describe his feelings. Also, when you stated that sometimes you write your feelings down you have so much going through your head it doesnt make since to others. I do the same thing when I write, sometimes as well. I have so many thoughts that by the time, youget to the end of what your saying it doesnt even make since because your feeling are so rampant!
Free words
Hank Lazar
Hank Lazar has published 12 books of poetry most recently, "The New Spirit". His poem are often for advanced students in English. He was once at professor at the University of Alabama in 1977.
Basic Passage:
4/11/95
81
you put them
there & fix
there place in blocks
& in columns
as you will
& then they have
quite apart from
you relations
all their own
with which you are amused
Commentary: a compsoitional practice, you do put them there by hand i know you do, the poem' existence in time, as it becomes necessarily strange to the writer too, possibly amusing, of necessity so as the poem disconnects from its immediacy of compositional inception, is initially placed & put, but then ...
I think that he is talking about building words on top of each other. And how you would put them together. Like in rows and columns. This shows Lazar's talent for building words.
Correlation
I really can't correlate with this because I really don't like to play with words like that. This passage just shows Lazar's love of playing with words.
(1.)What is cause of human suffering?- Tragedy.
There is no tragedy
(2). How can the tragedy be turned into a comedy?
There is no tragedy to begin with.
3). Identify the cause of joy or happiness-comedy
Lazar love of putting words together
(Difficulties)
None
Hank Lazar
“Is it Love or Evol?”
Hank is a famous writer who still lives today. He has published 12 books of poetry. The most recent one is “The New Spirit” which was a nominee for the Pulitzer Prize. Lazar has been involved in many poetry collaboration projects.
Basic Passage:
her virtues
know thus far
verbal which
what think you
when wind across
key principle
forms of distance
love the
reckless irritant settled
athwart the hips
Correlation:
It was kind of hard to understand any of the poems, but this one made a little bit of sense to me. I think that in this poem he is relating to love itself. How it can be good or bad with possible twists and turns. Love is something wonderful if the cards are played right. It hurts some, makes a few feel better about themselves, and also brings some couples together as one. We just have to learn to control love instead of love over ruling people. I think we should try to change the phrase “Love makes us do crazy things”.
1) I think the tragedy is love –it can be bad or good
2) I do not know if love can be a comedy (seriously)
3) The joy or happiness depends on the person
Comment to gtgirl:
I agree with you that he is thinking outside of the box to get his thoughts to come through. I see that he is jumping from one extreme to the other to show his feelings about the one he is writing about.
Hank Lazer
Laszenot only has won the Puliter Prize But has also published 12books on poetry and is a rising hit. With is witty word usage and jazz like combos he is bring a new sound to poetry. He writes not for quality but discovery and to make on open his mind and eyes in a new fasion.
4/11/95
"you put them
there & fix
their place in blocks
& in columns
as you will
& then they have
quite apart from
you relations
all their own
with which you are amused"
In this poem Lazer expresses peoples focus on the order. And the constant need to have things Fit into a certain place. Then he reveals that no matter the order you put things in they tend to take on theri own meanig and If you let them fall as they may you might be amused.
Correlate
I can relate to this because I have always had a certain order to things in my life. but once I relized that thimgs had their own order and let them flow i had a better rythm in life.
1. No tragedy
2. they are comedy
3.comedy is the way he stacked the words kinda like a kid would araang blocks I found that amusing.
Comment for almondjoy
Iagree that this particular passage of his is ritual like. When you read it aloud it does sound as though he is speaking in tongues. His play on words is like no other I have read.
This is a comment on the Mandrake:
I agree with you that his style is unique, and very different from much of the poetry we've read. I think it is good though it gives us something to read just to read...not analyze and pick apart.
Author
Hank Lazer
Hank Lazer
Hank Lazer has published books of poetry. Since he has been writing he has published 12 books. Lazer has written essays steeped in lyricism and representations of spiritual experience. Since 1977, Lazer has taught, and done administrative work at the University of Alabama. Lazer is Associate Provost of Academic Affairs.
Basic Passage:
84
4/15/95
slow to slogan
voracious to
veracity amen
to mendacity
flesh to pleasure
legs to legendary
costly to apostle
mesh to measure
& i wake up
next to you
Commentary: by musical extension, made extant, a tent, rolls on & off the tongue, a fleshy pleasure, to be beside you, juxtaposition, awakening to & into that fact, flesh to pleasure, such words so
Correlate:
I can feel this poem. It is making love on paper the sounds are sensual and smooth. They flow together very well you can see them compliment each other.
3)Identify the cause of tragedy.
There was no tragedy in this poem.
2)How could it become a comedy.
This poem is a comedy.
3)Identify the cause of joy and happiness. I think love is the cause of joy and happiness.
Comment to Roberto:
I agree with what you are saying. He has created something new that many may never comprehend. I believe he is his own person and enjoys what he does to past free time in his life. Even though I do not quite understand his poetry I give him credit where its do, because he does not care about what people thinks, he just continues to do his own definition of poetry.
In response to almond joy
I agree with you that his choice for words, makes his peom tight and smooth. It does sound like his is singing in tounges.
Hank Lazer has written and published 12 books of poetry. He titled these poems after the day he wrote them.
71
3/3/95
good god bob
you're the one
of course who
made loveable &
why the fuck
not in such
a tight span
these twists of
thinking specific
to an instant
im sensing a little frustration in this poem but you can't tell.
Correlation: I Thought that this poem was easy to relate to because i have been frustrated a time or two and he shows some as well.
1. I think that him being frustrated with his friend was the tragedy.
2. this could be turned into comedy if he wasn't so mad.
3.there is no joy or happiness in this poem.
Comment on partyfoul!
I didn't think of Billy Collins when I first read this but it is a good point. It's hard to understand the poem but there is a meaning somewhere I just haven't found it yet.
In response to chloe:
I really liked the way you compared Frost to Lazer. The poems were so different but they were both about spring.
Response to Incog-Negro:
I agree with you in that he uses his words in a very sensual and smooth way to describe love of a person.
Response to Chloe:
I agree that Lazer's poems doesn't make any sense.It is said, when you hear his poems try not to make sense out of them, but it's in everyone's nature to try to make some sense out of them. I also agree that I don't know how some of his writings are considered poetry because it looks like he copied one of my english papers, published it and called it poetry. If his writings is considered poetry then I have been writing poetry all this time, and I should turn in all of my work. I could be make the big bucks too.
WORD BLOCKS
SELECTED POEMS FROM DAYS
HANK LAZAR
Lazar has published twelve books of poetry. His book THE NEW SPIRIT was nominated for the PULITZER PRIZE. Now he teaches at the University of Alabama and edits THE MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY POETICS SERIES for the University of Alabama Press.
BASIC PASSAGE:
4/11/95
81
"you put them
there and fix
their place in blocks
and in columns
as you will
and then they have
quite apart from
you relations
all their own
with which you are amused"
In this poem I believe that Lazar is referring to the idea that he writes a poem intending it to mean one thing, but when other people read his poetry, they rearrange and make it their own. This is amusing for him to see the various ideas people get from his writings. Its crazy how words can stay arranged in one position physically and from person to person it can be scattered then rearranged mentally.
Correlation:
I can related to this because, sometimes when I tell my boyfriend something I could mean one thing, but once he's recieved what I have said he will rearrange it to his liking. Unlike Lazar who finds amusment in this, I find it very frustrating.
Tragedy:
Most people find it difficult to read his poetry.
Tragedy made into Comedy:
I think its neat how he arranges words but I guess he could make his works easier to understand, but I think that's what makes his poetry great.
Cause of Joy:
Lazar's amusment.
Difficulties:
This poem was very difficult to understand, but I think it was because I was trying too hard.
In response to Lauren
"I cannot relate to this passage. I really have no idea what he is talking about. All I can do is appreciate his talent for lyrical writing, and the fact that he understands it. I guess I just don't know how to read it and understand it as lyrical."
I agree. I can't understand it either. Well, I suppose if I stared at it long enough and really thought deep I could, but where is the enjoyment in that? I think this is the type of poetry where you either love it or you hate it. If someone doesn't get it it doesn't make them stupid, they probably just have a higher standard when it comes to what they consider "good" poetry.
response to partyfoul!
I agree with what you are saying. You cannot always look for a meaning in poetry, especially if it is Lazar's poetry.
in response to roberto
i agree with you, i think his poems are more like visual art then poetry. its really nice to not have to sit their distracted from the poem trying to figure out it hidden meaning. hearing him read his poems gave me an apreciation for his unique way of expressing himself...
In response to Cloe
I agree with you. I think that Lazer puts words that might sound good together in his head on paper then he calls it poetry.
Comment on the truth
I can agree with what the truth said because I have been frustrated and it makes you angry and you can't really put the feeling together to describe it.
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