Who is your favorite poet(s) and why?
- Thread starter Mycanid
- Start date
Rudyard Kipling wins for me, followed by TS Elliot.
I like Kipling's poetry because a lot of it has a martial theme or deals with subjects that the common man would be interested in, my favorite being McAndrew's Hymn. TS Elliot interests me because of the dual nature of his work, the man whole wrote "Not with a bang, but with a whimper" as his most memorible line also did Old Possums Book of Practical Cats which shows a universe of difference between the two.
I like Kipling's poetry because a lot of it has a martial theme or deals with subjects that the common man would be interested in, my favorite being McAndrew's Hymn. TS Elliot interests me because of the dual nature of his work, the man whole wrote "Not with a bang, but with a whimper" as his most memorible line also did Old Possums Book of Practical Cats which shows a universe of difference between the two.
Bloodstone Press
Explorer
Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Why?
The whole first half of the Rhyme of the Anciant Mariner, including some of my favorite verses:
"And I had done an hellish thing,
And it would work 'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
'Ah wretch!' said they, 'the bird to slay,
That made the breeze to blow!'
and
The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.
About, about in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white.
And some in dreams assured were
Of the spirit that plagued us so;
Nine fathom deep he had followed us
From the land of mist and snow.
And every tongue, through utter drought,
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no more than if
We had been choked with soot.
Ah! well-a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung."
and
"With throats unslacked, with black lips baked,
Agape they heard me call:
Gramercy! they for joy did grin,
And all at once their breath drew in,
As they were drinking all. "
and
"For the sky and sea, the sea and the sky
lay like a load on my weary eye
and the dead were at my feet"
JRR tolkien.
Why?
Most of the content of the Lays of Beleriand. No, I won't be retyping any of it here.
William Blake
Why?
Blake was just way cool. i used to have a book of his poems, but it is lost now. The Poison Tree is the only poem I can recall right now, but there are many others I liked as well.
William Shakespeare
Why?
I liked a lot of his sonnets, actually.
Edgar Allen Poe
Why?
The Raven "Thrilled me--filled me with fantastic terrors, never felt before."
The Conqurer Worm "And the angels sob at vermin fangs, in human gore imbued."
And many others.
Ovid
Why?
The Metamorphoses: "Then came the age of iron, and from it poured the very blood of evil... and War, inspired by the curses of iron and gold, lifted blood-clotted hands and marched the earth."
Of course I could also mention Jim Morrison, Dave Gilmore and Roger Waters (Hear the lark and hearken to the barkin' of the dog fox... gone to ground)
Why?
The whole first half of the Rhyme of the Anciant Mariner, including some of my favorite verses:
"And I had done an hellish thing,
And it would work 'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
'Ah wretch!' said they, 'the bird to slay,
That made the breeze to blow!'
and
The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.
About, about in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white.
And some in dreams assured were
Of the spirit that plagued us so;
Nine fathom deep he had followed us
From the land of mist and snow.
And every tongue, through utter drought,
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no more than if
We had been choked with soot.
Ah! well-a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung."
and
"With throats unslacked, with black lips baked,
Agape they heard me call:
Gramercy! they for joy did grin,
And all at once their breath drew in,
As they were drinking all. "
and
"For the sky and sea, the sea and the sky
lay like a load on my weary eye
and the dead were at my feet"
JRR tolkien.
Why?
Most of the content of the Lays of Beleriand. No, I won't be retyping any of it here.
William Blake
Why?
Blake was just way cool. i used to have a book of his poems, but it is lost now. The Poison Tree is the only poem I can recall right now, but there are many others I liked as well.
William Shakespeare
Why?
I liked a lot of his sonnets, actually.
Edgar Allen Poe
Why?
The Raven "Thrilled me--filled me with fantastic terrors, never felt before."
The Conqurer Worm "And the angels sob at vermin fangs, in human gore imbued."
And many others.
Ovid
Why?
The Metamorphoses: "Then came the age of iron, and from it poured the very blood of evil... and War, inspired by the curses of iron and gold, lifted blood-clotted hands and marched the earth."
Of course I could also mention Jim Morrison, Dave Gilmore and Roger Waters (Hear the lark and hearken to the barkin' of the dog fox... gone to ground)
MavrickWeirdo
First Post
papastebu said:
MavrickWeirdo
First Post
MavrickWeirdo said:My Brother, Brian Ellis
he is a member of the Cambridge, Cantab Lounge, 2006 Poetry Slam Team
He is headed to Austin to compete in the nationals next month.
Just to update, My brother performed a poem at the National Poetry Slam competition and scored a 28.5 out of 30, however his team came in 28th (only the top 25 go to the semi-finals).
Mycanid
First Post
Yes - it was Thoreau who "ran off into the woods away from his problems" ... although some would argue about whether or no he was in fact running away from problems.
Bloodstone Press - I totally agree about Tolkien. Sigh! I just heard (on an audio book) Bilbo's "translation from the Elvish" he had made while in Rivendell about Earindell the Mariner. It was BEAUTIFUL and an amazing piece of poetry to boot. Amazing stuff.
Bloodstone Press - I totally agree about Tolkien. Sigh! I just heard (on an audio book) Bilbo's "translation from the Elvish" he had made while in Rivendell about Earindell the Mariner. It was BEAUTIFUL and an amazing piece of poetry to boot. Amazing stuff.
