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08/09/07Echo of ConstructionBeauty aches in so many ways, Beethoven. Every key you press is a footfall on a stair -- one of many that spiral down and up, winding my soul in the dimness where I am less imperfect. There is no ground to speak of. Only one flight of stairs that unravel like a string of ribbon freed from a knot, circling a hollow as it falls. This is a room that lacks a window (that can frame the tale in your eyes) and a door to usher in a draft of my voice; because of that, we are less unfamiliar to each other. Therein lies the paradox of our crossing. So tread with care though step back you must to reshape the prints you leave for me to trace. There are no handrails here, none where your fingers can drum once, where your skin could have pressed, would have known how consistently flawed this place is -- this vast architecture your steps have begun to map with every repeated hesitation of a key. * This was written while listening to Beethoven's piano sonata mentioned above. As stated in my profile, I love, love, love classical music. Now if only I could fly someplace -- better yet, to another century -- where I could get drowned in opera houses. Sigh. On Beethoven (1770-1827). Since his 20s, he had been going progressively deaf. In fact, he wrote his most famous symphonies when he was already very much deaf. Hence, he had been considered by some as the greatest composer of all time (of course, there are those whose vote goes to some other renowned composer). Anyway, the onset of Beethoven's progressive deafness was sometime 1796/1798 (exact date unknown). He composed "Moonlight Sonata" in 1801... Hmm. For more info, click: - Frequently Asked Questions - Ludwig van Beethoven (short biography) - Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (background) =======================
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Poetry and Site DesignWriters and Readers
An Affair With Line BreaksNow, here's a bonus: a link to a portion of the handbook, Dictionary of Poetic Terms by Jack Myers, Jack Elliott Myers, and Don C. Wukasch, pages of which are available for viewing online, via Google Book Search. (Tip: Once the page loads, hit the 'refresh' button. Oh, and don't be deceived by the title of the book; it functions more like an encyclopedia than a run-of-the-mill dictionary.) The topic I've highlighted here is that of "The Character of Line Endings" with an explanation of the three types of line breaks (according to the effect thereof), namely: (1) anticipatory, (2) transformational, and (3) emphatic.I have always loved playing with words. Reading stories, telling stories, writing scripts, acting them out before an audience, directing and/or performing them onstage, writing endless pages of narratives, learning jargon in different fields, and arguing/debating 'with' them and 'against' them. When I crossed over from prose to poetry, I discovered something else that I loved instantly: playing with line breaks -- a fitting complement to my fascination with the utility of words. I was enjambing lines even before I learned what in blazes enjambment meant in poetry. This technique gave me room for experimenting not only with the effect of end-words (visually, and by way of sound) and of pauses, but also with layering meanings (that of a line read separately vis-a-vis that of two or more lines read together). In addition, enjambment paved the way for fluidity, for seamless continuity of sense from one line to another (which appealed to me for I had been used to the rigors of prose writing). Where I break lines is thus something I consider from Line 1 and so forth, and which I rethink while editing the poem. Moving words from the end of a line to the beginning of another -- to change or add meaning, and to strategically create effect -- is thus an incredibly useful, flexible means for purposes of how I say what I intend to say, and at what pace, with a considerable latitude for 'reader interpretation.' Do have a look at the relevant portion of the book. I highly recommend it (not just the emphasized topic of line breaks, but the whole handbook) for writers of poetry. It is, after all, an exhaustive collection of poetic terms, notably with a fair ease in providing explanations without the heavy bombardment of jargons explaining jargons, and yet without being vague or simplistic. And it's available for online viewing via Google Book Search which has a nifty "search in this book" feature; cross-referencing of terms is just a click away.
S.L. Corsua
11/11/08 |
