I’ve always enjoyed writing poems, but as I look back, I really got into it since I went to Africa ten years ago. But they were written for nobody, kept only to myself, like a boiled-down diary.... Well, one day, I decided to have my mom look at one of my poems. (It was my proud piece - a very, very long one.) After reading, she simply commented, “Your poem is full of ego.” At that time, I was like, “How critical!” But now I understand what she meant. A blog I read recently brought it right back to my mind - her remark, so sharp, yet so truthful.
In this blog, a part of Shuntaro Tanikawa’s dialogue on poetry was quoted. Let me try to translate his words here.
“It’s only by my guts I can tell if words in a poem are established as a piece of artwork. One thing is that those words must stand independently apart from their writer. No matter how chattery the words are, such independent words set themselves apart from the writer’s noise, settling quietly on their own.
There are poems with only three lines that are too noisy. The poem does not work well without artistry, so the independent words crafted with artistry can convey themselves more effectively to their readers. Merely saying, “I’m suffering so!” does not communicate the essence of suffering to the audience as much as you’d think. The main source of noise today is that everyone is trying to express themselves, crying out loud, ‘I this, I that!’
In contrast, noiseless words or words with silence within are born from anonymity, a kind of collective unconsciousness, instead of belonging to a particular individual, I think.”
So now I realize I was writing poems too noisy. Not that they are so quiet now, but they were shouting, “I this, I that!” chorus back then.... Words are not only produced to convey our ideas and emotions for ourselves, but also to create space where others’ ideas and emotions can be brought out and be wrapped up. Not only my poems, but in my everyday life, I use noisy words with noisy attitude, so I’m sorry. (sorry if this blog has been noisy too.) I guess my way of living is reflected.... Words are such a raw property. I was struck by reading another blog, of a Christian music teacher, on the way of living. To sum it up, he was quoting E.G.White, “Jesus lived for this purpose since His childhood, to bless others in His life,” and how a principal at his Christian school made that his motto in his youth. I too, aspire to live to bless others, create blissful poems, drawings, and a blog....
In this blog, a part of Shuntaro Tanikawa’s dialogue on poetry was quoted. Let me try to translate his words here.
“It’s only by my guts I can tell if words in a poem are established as a piece of artwork. One thing is that those words must stand independently apart from their writer. No matter how chattery the words are, such independent words set themselves apart from the writer’s noise, settling quietly on their own.
There are poems with only three lines that are too noisy. The poem does not work well without artistry, so the independent words crafted with artistry can convey themselves more effectively to their readers. Merely saying, “I’m suffering so!” does not communicate the essence of suffering to the audience as much as you’d think. The main source of noise today is that everyone is trying to express themselves, crying out loud, ‘I this, I that!’
In contrast, noiseless words or words with silence within are born from anonymity, a kind of collective unconsciousness, instead of belonging to a particular individual, I think.”
So now I realize I was writing poems too noisy. Not that they are so quiet now, but they were shouting, “I this, I that!” chorus back then.... Words are not only produced to convey our ideas and emotions for ourselves, but also to create space where others’ ideas and emotions can be brought out and be wrapped up. Not only my poems, but in my everyday life, I use noisy words with noisy attitude, so I’m sorry. (sorry if this blog has been noisy too.) I guess my way of living is reflected.... Words are such a raw property. I was struck by reading another blog, of a Christian music teacher, on the way of living. To sum it up, he was quoting E.G.White, “Jesus lived for this purpose since His childhood, to bless others in His life,” and how a principal at his Christian school made that his motto in his youth. I too, aspire to live to bless others, create blissful poems, drawings, and a blog....
