Sierra Dellenbaugh Blog 11: The Power of Choices & Poetry
Week 11
(The Power of Choices & Poetry) - 2/16 [6:22]
“Don’t believe everything you know for sure.” Deep, right? Poets have a way of using words to completely transform the way we look at the world. Most of the time it doesn’t make sense at all, but in a way, that’s the whole point. The poet understands the world in a specific way, they share that specific perception, and people make of it what they will. If it makes sense to the reader, the poet succeeds, and if it doesn’t then they still win; either way, the reader learns a valuable lesson: either the lesson the poet intended to teach, or that nothing will make sense until you’re ready for it. It takes quite a bit of talent to form a single sentence that can really make someone question their entire outlook on life.
For a little context, the poet who wrote the poem above (yes, that’s the whole poem) goes by the name Atticus. He’s a well-known American celebrity of some sort, but he keeps his identity secret. No one knows who he really is, and he likes it like that. He sees Atticus as the one thing he has to himself as a celebrity; it keeps him sane, and whether his identity is known or not, he knows that he’ll make a difference in someone’s life either way. That choice in itself adds even more power to his words; his poems reflect the life of a normal, everyday person who’s favorite things are wine, Paris and stargazing, yet the reader knows that he’s a really famous person who may not have time for leisure.
I really like Atticus’s poetry because there’s not always a lesson; sometimes he just puts an event into words that make it seem like he’s having a very deep conversation with the reader. It’s a little hard to explain, so I’ll give an example:
“I shivered when I wrote it
she shivered when she read
what ghost is this
that follows words
into my lover’s head?”
It’s a little cheesy, but I love how much he appreciates the little things in life, over big, mind-boggling topics.
This blog turned out to be more of me rambling about one of my favorite poets, and I don’t really think there was anything to take away from this, but I guess that’s to be expected for this week since POAS has basically drained all my energy and creativity for the time being. Hopefully this was somewhat entertaining for you all.
(A song that feels like poetry: Astronomy - Conan Gray https://open.spotify.com/track/0KmgJyW4GDgonqsoyx0CZ3?si=46ed93666f8148b8 )
By the way, both poems are from Atticus’s book, The Truth About Magic. Highly recommend.
I think poetry is one of those things that are hit or miss because it always steadies the line between cringy and profound. If the poet does the job correctly, the reader is left to ponder the meaning of the poem rather than just admiring the words constructing the poem. I don't want to comment on the excerpt that you shared because it doesn't necessarily tell the whole story, but I will say that art for the sake of art is overrated and it often doesn't work with writing. Something that I always tend towards when I write is repetition, whether that'd be repeating sentence structure or repeating words. As you read it outloud there's this sense of dread but if you read it differently there exists an escalation of hope. This is something that I caught onto in the excerpt of the poem that you shared.
ReplyDeleteHi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI really, really enjoy poetry. Like you, I also find it fascinating how reading a poem is like looking into someone's world view. I have a lot of fun trying to find meaning in a poem which at first seems like gibberish, and it reminds me of solving a puzzle. I have never read any of Atticus's works, but they sound like great poems. Thank you for sharing!
Sincerely,
Krish
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post and it's interesting to learn about Atticus. Personally, I'm not the greatest fan of poetry. I will admit that some poems share beautiful messages in captivating ways, but oftentimes after reading a poem I find myself scrambling around each line to find the tiniest ounce of meaning. After reading your post, I realize that I should try to discover poetry on my own instead of only reading it for assignments, which automatically makes it tedious.
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI started to listening to Conan Gray recently too, I think his music is pretty nice too! The anonymity of the poet is respectable too; every artist has the right to express themselves how they feel, and Atticus' decision is a part of that expression as much as his poetry is. I remember reading poetry when I was younger and thinking it foolish that people were famous because of a few lines. My attempt at writing poetry was much harder than I imagined, and I as a result, I gained considerable respect for the poets of the world.
Sincerely,
Sean Wang
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteThe first quote that you present reminded me of another American literature giant: Mark Twain. One of the famous quotes popularly attributed to him is very similar in meaning: "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so." The information about Atticus is interesting, especially since I never heard of him before. An interesting YouTube channel with some interesting poetry is RedFrost Motivation. Check it out!
Sincerely,
Raymond Yu
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteNow that POAS early deadline is over, I hope you can relax a little bit since it is taken care of now (I will be resting a bit too). Personally, I really like the little poem you put as an example of Atticus's poetry. I have always been a fan of writing about the little things in life. The way he describes love and powerful language in such few words is truly amazing. I like how he used the word "ghost" which generally has a negative connotation, as if his lover is afraid of the message he wrote down. I also think poetry has always been interesting, as the point is for the poet to give the reader a specific perspective on a topic or event, but depending on the reader, they will see another point of view.
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI actually had a massive poetry phase myself. During the phase of mine, I began to understand the "meaning" of poetry. I think you put it quite well: the meaning that the reader interprets is either the poet's intention, the reader's personal interpretation, or the reader is not yet ready to understand it. I think it's very cool that Atticus's poems are so free-flow yet they still lead me on a journey despite both examples you showing being quite short. I will most certainly look into his poems more on my own time.
Yi-Kuan Cheng
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteIn like 5th grade, we had to make some poem about i forgot what and mine was just bad. Reading everyone else just made mine look worse. They managed to have a deep meaning in theirs: I could tell they had one but I just couldn't make my own. This is interesting because I as a poet (I don't want to be one) could not make a deep meaning in a poem but I could understand someone else's deep meaning. Also, after I learned that the first quote you put was an entire poem, I was shocked. How was a poem just one phrase? I may start looking into this, but for now I have to do poas unfortunately.
Sincerely,
Vivan Waghela
Hey Sierra!
ReplyDeleteI've always found poetry really beautiful and thought provoking. It is like writing except more abstract. I like the way it communicates a message or tells a story but leaves a lot of room for interpretation by the readers. I personally find this a bit intimidating at times. I sometimes feel a bit fearful of understanding or perceiving a poem the "wrong way" and I could never imagine reading it for fun. But in a way the beauty of poetry is that there is no wrong way to understand it because it is so subjective. In a way its like a song without the music, which I love analyzing and interpreting. Thanks for sharing and also astronomy is such a good song:)