Re: _how_is said vs _what_is said --- choice?

Jagdish Bisa (jbisa@bbnplanet.com)
Fri, 03 Oct 1997 13:48:01 -0400 

Sri Rao (Releived) Veluri opens the dialogue:

> JB: The second poem is filled with stunning sound devices (SrI SrI
>     did this with absolute grace) buried within words, besides
>     striking with rhythmical pattern on the way!
>
> Me: But, I submit it is a poem first, not because of sound devices and
>
>     striking rhythmical patterns, etc, etc, etc.

Please note that it was you who thought that the poem in question
wouldn't qualify as a poem based on it's form, not me.  In fact my post
above denied that and gave good reasons as to why the poem qualifies
based on it's form.

>     Let us see the same 'poem' this way:
>
>     When I die, do not throw the meat and bones away. But, pile them
>     up and let them tell by their smell what life was worth on this
>     earth and what love was worth in the end.

Now it's definitely not a poem.  In this case, since we don't *think* in
terms of lines anymore,  the rhythm effects and sound patterns are
*lost* forever.

The main difference between a poem and prose, as far as form goes, is
the line length: in poems, the length of the line is part of the art
form.

Prose on the other hand is continuous. That is, the length of a line has
nothing to do with the form.  It varies according to the size of the
page on which it is being printed.  The author leaves this up to the
printer or typesetter.

The poet does not allow the printer/typesetter to make the slightest
change in the length of his lines because in most cases he has used them
to create rhythmical effects or sound patterns. It's part of his
language -- an element that is simply not present in prose.

In this specific case, the poem being simple in nature, reading it as
prose as well as poetry may manage to strike the same chords in the
reader, but it is the  poetic form which  makes it special and
memorable.

Coming back to our aSleela padyamulu:  It's true that the dude is making
us feel something, real or surreal and enjoyable or not, but so does
*smut* and the ubiquitous "Boston Telephone Directory", right?

Now, tell me if you care, why should we consider vaa.ci.vee's 'aSleela
padyamulu' as a form of poetry and make SrI SrI turn in his grave?

-Jagdish ( just for the heck of it! ) Bisa