Well I feel as if I was time warped into another dimension in the lecture today. The first hour of the lecture involved viewing E-literature and digital poetry. Now to your general school teacher, this would make their heart sing?? You would think so, but NO! At first glance it made me cringe, wince, laugh and balk at the thought of continuing to sit through another minute of the lecture. Yet, it has challenged my perceptions and raised a few questions. What defines poetry? What is literature? Will the students in my class see something in this that I may not and in doing so, I miss the opportunity to engage and connect with my students. So, true to my life motto, I decided to learn, unlearn and relearn in the interest of all my potential students in the future. How sacrificial and noble of me!
This is what I know already. Poetry is meaningful, beautiful, creative in its art of placing words in an order that can create a picture or transcend all boundaries of the page. Poetry falls within the category of literature. To define literature, the word means "acquaintance with words". Or as the Macquarie Dictionary says "all the writings of a particular language, period, people, etc". So this got me thinking, if poetry is an emotional response to what has been expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices then what is to say that Jason Nelson's poetry is not in fact another form of poetry that depicts a "language and period" of a particular time and people. The mere fact that it evoked such conflicting emotions within me proves that it has achieved its purpose.
Consider the following excerpt from a speech given by President Kennedy at Amherst College in honor of the late poet Robert Frost.
"When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment. The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, "a lover's quarrel with the world." In pursuing his perceptions of reality he must often sail against the currents of his time".
So touche Jason, I concede that your work is indeed poetic and that it has a place within literature. Although I cannot go so far as to say I enjoy it, it does evoke emotions and that is a job well done. Lesson learnt, unlearnt and learnt again...
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