I'd like to thank you for turning on your confuser tonight (confuser = computer)
Before we begin on this lovely winter evening, I'd like to take the opportunity to say that in tonight's choice rant, I mean no offense to any author or literary work, books nor magazines, silent films, billboards, or any other such written material. Thank you.
And so the fun begins.
I have heard Edgar Allen Poe too many times for my taste. I have endured endless praise for Mark Twain endlessly. If the Wild called me I would politely decline. I do not know why a tree grows in Brooklyn nor do I know why this particular tree would be exceptionally fascinating. Robert Frost's ability to have his poems permeate every single school in the United States both astounds me and turns my mood rather frosty.
I DON'T GIVE A WHIT ABOUT WALT WHITMAN. HE IS COLD AND DEAD. SO ARE HIS POEMS. HE MAKES ME FEEL COLD AND DEAD INSIDE.
Why do we have to endure such torture as to hear literature repeated over and over and over? Why do the same poems, the same stories, the same authors have such a social stranglehold on schools?
I don't see how every teacher seems to love the same literature. And then, their procedures for teaching said literature to their students isn't unlike flogging them with a rusty yardstick. Do all job requirements for English teachers say "Must love classic literature with a fiery passion and must have same passion for passing on their passion for classic literature to pupils?" Really?
Poems and stories are good the first few times. I respect authors, poets, publishers, the like. I even enjoy some of the works of the authors I mentioned earlier. It's just that I have heard their works, usually the same work, in fact, repeatedly throughout the years. Also, teachers seem to find satisfaction in making reading classic literature mandatory. It's like adding insult to injury and making it routine to boot. Also, if teachers think that a book/poem/work is wonderful, that's their opinion. Not the opinion of the thirty-some-odd students in their care.
The only book I've seemed to enjoy while in English class was S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders.", and even then we had to memorize the whole 'stay gold' poem. Not that it was a long poem, it was just frustrating. "Island of the Blue Dolphins" wasn't bad either, nor was "My Side of the Mountain" or "Hatchet".
Goodnight reader.
although i understand your point that we hear about poetry too much, i disagree with your opinion on Robert Frost and Walt Whitman. personally i like both of them. And just because a particular poet writes in a darker or more depressing tone doesnt necissarily mean they are "dead inside" lol. what do you think of shakespeare's sonnets?
ReplyDeleteKellen, there's so much Frost that *doesn't* make it into standard curricula. You should check it out. Also, how can you not like Whitman? He's the father of modern American poetry! The first guy to write in first person about himself so obviously!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Your blog is interesting, but you need to be posting about your independent reading! See the directions on my blog!
ReplyDeleteso, i was ponderously doing nothing and reading peoples blog posts when i came across this one. needless to say it is amazing. not only is robert frost and IDIOT who has 'lover's quarrels with the world,' he is overly dedicated to nature and winter and la-la-la isn't life wonderful kind of things. people cannot seem to grasp the fact that he is not a genius, he just likes cold depressing woods and ponies. also he is dead and gone and reading his idiotic musings on snow are not going to bring him back to life. no matter how many times people read his poems and milk them of their last meaning.
ReplyDeletein short: i agree with you.
errrrrrr, here's a frost poem that's nothing about ponies or snow. not that i'm saying you have to like it, although i do. but it's pretty non-canonical frost (if i can use a big word like non-canonical.)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usefultrivia.com/poetry/the_black_cottage.html
just because you've read one or two poems by a famous poet doesn't mean you are a scholar of that poet. try to open your minds.
And here's another I forgot about 'til now - a mysterious and heartbreaking on, I think:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ketzle.com/frost/homeburi.htm