Sappho
What is your favorite poem? A Zen koan? Contemporary or ancient? Local or national? Diverse world poetry? Vintage W.Va.? Is it some poem by someone who seemed to zero in precisely on your story?
I think of those famous lines of Sappho’s, her thoughts of her muse, her love, a powerful stirring… Was it translated by Sir Philip Sidney, reinvigorated by Louis Zukofsky in “A Test of Poetry”?
“Mine eyes be dim, my limbs shake, / My voice is hoarse, my throat scorched, / My tongue to this my roof cleaves”
Do you like the elegance of Dryden? The bluntness of Bukowski? Your own work?
Poetry at last may be the only record of our sentient, day-to-day lives, as we experience the moments up close. Think of what we know of the Romans, the Europeans, the cowboys, the drunks of Hollywood. Does any slice of life really come to life in your mind? There’s a lot of bad poetry out there, and a lot of good poetry. What makes it good?
Please write to me, let me know your favorite poem, and quickly say why. Thanks!