April 5, 2006

• ElectricPoetry Introductions

  

  

   On my May 24th, 2005 blog entry, I posted some of the Introductions to my Poetry Volumes over the years. There remained one more introduction to transcribe, and I finished this task just now. You can read some of the other introductions by following the link above to the earlier blogpost. I wrote the following "Introduction" at the end of 1978, the year I composed all the "Cathy Poems" of which I have supplied examples on this blog often. I think it is interesting to note that even before the age of blogs and computers, I was analyzing and writing my own impressions of my poetry. The photos accompanying this post are photos of my actual "Poetry Volumes" which exist, intact, in my bookcase. Every thing was handwritten until about 1996, when I bought my first word processor. Eventually the complete Introductions page will be constructed to replace the current Introductions page on the ElectricPoetry website.

   

  "Poetry: Why  I Cry"
  An Introduction to the poetry to be written in 1979 and an epilogue to the poetry of 1978.

  Time has performed one of her cleverest little tricks again: slapping December upon us just as we're trying to figure out what happened last January. It seems that just yesterday I was sitting here composing "Poem for the New Year 1978" and now I have collected a full year's worth of experiences and written, finally, a  full year's worth of poems chronicling those experiences. Tomorrow is 1980 - and before we know it next week will be 2000 etc.

  I have titled this rhetoric "why I cry" because all of this past year's poems have been very negative love poems, and I see this trend continuing until the subject (inspiration) of those poems finally accepts me as a lover, if that ever becomes reality, and the love poems can take on a more celebrative, optimistic viewpoint.

  If not, negativism will control my life. At least until the next scene.

  "Poem for the New Year - 1978" discusses the poet's downfall in terms of comedy, proclaiming that Act III will have a happy ending. Then it ends with "It has to." showing that the poet still is not sure. (Of course, who can be sure in life?) He remains cynical.

  Cynicism dominates the first few poems, until the transformation with the "Cathy poems", a large body of work (all major '78 poems, about 60) which rehashes the same old theme "I love you. Why don't you love me?" and adds a few new subthemes. By the end of the span, one can get a pretty clear picture of how the poet attempts to win love with subtlety, with praise, with contempt, with force. All to no avail. Since he cannot abandon the theme (only 6 poems for the year

  1978 were not written for Cathy.) he experiments with style, rhyme and rhythm patterns, and even commands some lyricism. Sadly, though, the words keep coming out the same. This coming year, the poet should strive for equal or better production, but should pay more attention to word usage, especially with rhyme. I'd hate to read over all the love poetry since 1971 counting the number of times "love" is rhymed with "above". "If only I had a nickel....etc."

  There are some pleasant surprises in the poetry of 78, especially if one recounts the drought of 73 through 77 and some of the totally bad poetry written during that time.

  The "first letter reading down" (anacrostic) school of poetry picks up about four new poems and in "The Language to Win You (has never been written)" the first letters of each line actually spell out a message instead of a mere name.

  There is some experimentation with drug induced poetry (cf "Children" "The Definitive Balloon Poem") and poems disclaiming drugs ("Water on the Brain", "The Last Beer") One poem which could truly be considered epic is the long (8 pages) "Lyrical Nostalgia and Foolish Nonsense" a rather "ambitious undertaking in poetical thought" where the poet gives an autobiography in free verse, delegating a few lines to each year. If ever I wanted to say, here's a poem that is me, this be it. I already have plans of writing another bio-poem about Cathy for her next birthday. The style echoes some of the more ambitious poems of 1974 ("n...a strong and deep feeling of...." comes to mind.) where each verse is simply a jumble of words with little puncutation or syntax.

  In "The Great Battle Twixt Mind and Heart Rages On" the poet elaborates in great depth how emotion battles intellect for possession of the girl. Emotion epitomizes hope, which wants the girl because it knows that true love exists in a romantic sense but has to be given time to grow. Intellect epitomizes cynicism which urges the poet to stop the mindless exercise (as the girl herself does) I'm very proud of this poem, in that it correctly states my mind's raging battle, and the conflicting thoughts which occur when one person tries to steal another from their lifestyle anbd plant her in his own. The poem also shows clearly how cynicism and romantic love can exist side by side and how an individual who loves someone and is trying to win her can easily get mad and say the wrong thing to her. This poem might  very well answer all of the "questioning" poems in these volumes. Heart and mind are separate, warring partners. I can see that this is going to be a major theme to elaborate in 79.

  Some poems work on double and triple levels and some have subtle double entendres included.

  The best two songs both describe looking into a lover's eyes - and the "universal kiss". They are "Solitaire/Darting Eyes" and "A Personal Note". Both poems try to capture the moment of love - where romantic (spiritual) and sexual (carnal) harmony is attained. Women experience orgasm n this way (the best way, there are others) And men can experience the closest thing to a woman's orgasm in this way mentally and emotionally.

  This feeling occurs very seldom - has never occured in my relationships, and I've never known any woman who confessed she had experienced it. (Poets are the only ones, I fear, that even know it does exist, and nobody reads poems but poets and women (and critics, but they don't count.)

  Sadly, if the "Cathy Poems" prove futile in winning their subject, the poet will never be able to fully expand his knowledge of the subject, but C'est la vie.

  Byron and Shelley knew and practiced faking the feeling for many women, and became known as masterful lovers. (These poets were a lusty lot.) However, I hold to the belief that I don't want to fake the feeling, and it only happens for two people who truly love each other.

  True love (romantic love) is the total subject of each Cathy poem and all my poetry in general. It is good for the poet to have unrequited affairs, because "lost love" poems are very sensitive. However, I never seem to have a true love experience although I, as a sensitive person and a poet, know that true love exists.

  In 1979, I will look forward to fully exploring the love feeling, maybe asking around about true love feelings in others, or attempting to make observations. I would love to write a positive love poem and not have to call it "Solitaire".

  I find I have a distinct duality which shifts drastically, and I have no control over it. My emotions rule me and my intellect rules me, and they fight all the time. My intellect doesn't trust anybody and my emotions trust everything. My physical person can't take this most all the time. I'm either cynical, and assholish, or I'm crying.

  And the crying isn't just a jag, as I would be saying if I were "macho". I very seldom cry when drunk. I cry most easily when I look into Cathy's liquid eyes and see the love they have in them, and then see the door slide shut and bar me out as at the same time my love comes out of my eyes so hard and so fast it formulates in tears.

  I've called this essay "why I cry'. I do physically cry and my poems cry. Crying embodies sadness. When mothers cry at weddings it is because they have lost their daughters.

  When father died, I cried for days, and my sister didn't cry at all. I remember when a girl in high school's father died, she didn't seem upset at all and I accused her of having no heart. On the day of my father's funeral, I had come to grips with the situation. My sister began to sob openly before the preacher finished with the eulogy. We all cry in different ways, and I cry for Cathy as much as for myself because we need each other.

  For the first part of 1979, at least, I know my poetry will consist of sad songs about love.

  And I know now I will only write "the last love song" when I'm satisfied with love and not until.

  I hope I'm as productive at least this next year as I was last year., and I hope I can be less cynical, and maybe happier.

  Let us resolve the situation
  Close the book and end the show
  Le't touch each other with our eyes
  And find out all that we don't know

  Thanks for listening (again)
  Michael F. Nyiri
  2:30 to 4:00 pm
  11-25-78
  Torrance, California

  
  

  • 8:40 am
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