Epiphany in the next afternoon, after canteen lunch
For the uninitiated, this is part 2 of "Epiphany at midnight" by Ratish
Now on the subject of classifications. "Wedge" as Pirsig would call it. Wedging poetry.
Word play is shallow. Yes. Ex. Most of what goes by the name of pop.
Too much of "I am truth-telling". stuck up. Ex. you get a lot of them in mags, romance songs by lady poets in tamil cinema, blogs ;-)
Major structure major substance...just clever. Like today's Vairamuthu
Bang on. Lots of the aping stuff end up without substance or form.
Ok at the end of the day its a infinity X infinity matrix. But for the benefits of our lazy minds which never graduated to managing double digit classifications, I would stop with adding just one more to both axes.
"Tempo". Well that sounds like the wicked looking van we all went ot school in. So, may be I'll call it "roll". Structure and substance qualify static aspects. Now it is not a picture is it? Its a poem. Someone's got to do the dynamics. So you get the roll-out that inadvertently stings, surprises, trips, wickedly twists, teases, and progressively rolls out imagery. The pace of it brings a taste of its own.
Perhaps, that explains why Floyd's utterly simple words, in a seemingly nursery rhyme, can speak weightily about darkening of the soul in the industrial town in early 20th century england and march right into your soul, to stay there forever.
"Vera, vera what has become of you.
Does anybody right in here feel the way I do."
"The time is gone, the song is over, thought I had something more to say"
Another of those is the american poet himself... in a free wheeling 90 odd minutes, seemingly no structure , no substance, but the roll makes out a dynamic thats irresistable.
Lately in 7 G. Every line in isolation would suck. The ideas cliched. The structure is trivial at best. But the ebb and flow, the alchemy is just mind blowing. "Kan pesum varthaigal.. "
The all time great - "Indha minminkku kannil oru minnal vandhadhu" - Vairamuthu/Raja in Sigappu rojakkal
Essentially, this style where the emphasis is not structured rhyme, nor great new truth, but an experience, the ride, the trip, which to me is the very essence of everything post-mordern. Where there is no cheap trickery, no on-your-face calling for attention, but noble experience- speak, tastefully done. Where the viewer has greater freedom for interpretation. And much of the richness of the art is derived from the viewer's taste. So throughly post-modern. No ranting, no preaching, no pretensions at intellectualism, no disrespect to your intelligence - come on roll, baby roll.
Check out Andy Warhol. Salvador Dali. Truly post-modern.
But interestingly most of Indian philosophy is told in popular forms in this style. No tight structure, no pretensions at greatness, simple poem, with a lot of idea self-referrals going on and back. The Gita for example. Especially sections on the lords greatness, using weaves like I am here, I am nowhere, untouchable, untouched and on. The contradictions I like to think were meant to fudge the judging mind. So there were no bullet points to learn from the GITA, but it by itself is an experience, which is interpreted by each and everyone in his own image at the time of his reading. Which is why so many people say that the GITA has something new to say every time they read it. Come to the Gita - come on roll, baby roll.
Ps : Those puritans of english literature, you might have all these ideas pinned down already. Spare the knowledge from engineering minds. Nice to discover a few things again by ourselves. However, half-cooked and not-ready-to-eat. Even if it is 200 years after the original discovery.
posted by zenmotor @ 4:11 PM
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