Discuss: Poetic Objects and Economies
by Fringe Magazine • 10.31.2011
Poetry editor Anna Lena Phillips writes about the tactile joy of broadsides, and their value as objects for trade, for sale, and for friends in today’s Fringe feature.
Are you convinced? Will you be zooming out to buy broadsides or put your own work on cards?
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I’ve always been disappointed that more poets don’t see the object that the poem is sitting in as an extension of the formal aspects of the poem. It’s like considerations of form are bounded by the rectangle of the page the poem happens to be printed on. I love your concerns here, Anna Lena.
Broadsides are an excellent way to show-off your thoughts like dancing in a new dress or admiring oneself in a suit. “Bring me to life and to be admired” my words would chant to me, “instead of being buried in pages of a book yet to be read by human or be seen.”
Very interesting article, Anna Lena! I love broadsides and beautiful letterpress pieces too, but I still prefer my poems in a smallish collection — a thoughtfully designed book. You talk about how a great poem can be diminished by those surrounding it, but don’t you think a poem can also be made stronger by its position in a group, where each adds another detail to a beautiful, intricate whole?
I like to think of great books of poems like favorite record albums. Hits, sure, but not just hits. There’s a long slow ballad, one that’s all groove, another that’s just an excuse for some hot solo; one serious, one funny, one light, one eccentric, maybe one just weird. The whole is greater than the parts.
But then, maybe you’re just a singles lover. (Old-time banjo 78s?!)
I laughed when I read “stupid perfect binding.” I’m a graphic designer, and I just finished a job where I convinced my boss to let me do perfect binding instead of saddle stitching because it looks more perfect and polished. It’s interesting to hear the other side of the argument.
made for a nice reading …
Here is a site a stumbled upon which has a good collection of modern poems. Check it out
http://www.literarti.in/index.php/poetry