"One Art" a Poem by Elizabeth Bishop, Read by DJB

Please the inside joke to Vince, the entire introduction! :)

This is one of my favorite poems ever. According to Novelist Reynolds Price, in his book The Promise of Rest, Elizabeth Bishop wrote this after she lost her long time companion Lota Sores to suicide. The poem is a re-imaging of the French Villanelle form. To observe how she altered the structure, here is a link to an article at Poets.org about the details of the traditional form. http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5796

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[HerAeolianHarp]

I agree about top ten. This is one of the greatest American poems, and in general, so great to see the topic of loss described with vigor, momentum--and dare I say liberation--when the theme could have bowed to sodden elegy. Wonderful work and I enjoyed the reading.

[sonofwalt]

@HerAeolianHarp Thank you for your kind compliment and for sticking through that entire two minute private joke between Vince and I at the beginning. I may need to record that one again some time.

[dougfunnie007]

nice. Some poeple say poetry wasn't made to be read aloud, but I think in some cases you can bring life to the poem by reading the right way, imagining and putting the author's interpretation and emotion in your reading.

[sonofwalt]

@dougfunnie007 Thanks for the comment!

Funny that some think is isn't made to be read aloud. Because, really it is. Though I disagree with a poet friend of mine about just how much of an element of song need be in a poem, I do agree that there is a music to language, cadence, pauses, line endings and caesuras, a certain pace that is best represented by a voice.

Sometimes a poet reads his piece differently than I might, but that speaks of the personal aspect of the art. I love that.

[sonofwalt]

I will. Elizabeth Bishop is the bomb, and this one is my favorite by her. It's probably in my top ten ever... not that I've ever tried to establish my top ten... lol

Thanks again, SB!

[SilentBombr]

Awesome my man, keep doing your thing.