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IS VERS LIBRE really free - Brian Strand's Blog

About Brian Strand
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English experiential poet of open verse& creator of the FOOTLE (singular form)&EMAGI digital reverse ekphrasis.A regular @PS since 2007 ,with 9500+ poems posted&sponsor of 1260 contests ( Amazon books- (500+) reviews)GOOGLE my POETRY BLOGS @https://www.blogger.com/profile/02166493604739619406.Read an Ekphrasis e-book for free @ http://free-ekphrasis-ebook.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

IS VERS LIBRE really free

Blog Posted:9/19/2020 1:28:00 AM

No...I would say Vers libre(verse libre) is not (was never) free verse in the loose manner in which it is used in the common place as in sites such as this ,where it is so often a quick substitute for I do not know .

bcause.....literally it translated as 'verse freed' ....not verse free ..and abandoned to its own devices!!

historically..the history of verse libre shows it cannot be 'free verse' as now utilised.Quite the opposite in fact as the term vers libre ' was before the term free verse' circa 1900,and. from its French 'symbolist roots sprang the English 'Imagist 'genre that so influenced our 20th century poetic( and still does.)

for..The French symboliste poetic avant-garde school of the late 19th century,poets wished to liberate techniques of versification in order to allow greater room for "fluidity", and as such were sympathetic with the trend toward 'freer 'verse.

which..It was to become at the heart of the 'Imagiste' movement(less a movement, for as Rene Taupin remarks

       'It is more accurate to consider Imagism not as a doctrine, nor even as a poetic school), but as the association of a few poets who were for a certain time in agreement on a small number of important principle,

Taupin a French translator, critic, and academic who lived most of his life in the United States compares the effects of Symbolist poems with those of Imagist poems and the different uses of imagery.As Imagism duly became a genre ,which in turn laid the foundations for so called 'Free verse' ('open poetry), ..

....as it became a discipline and acquired status as a legitimate poetic form and thus

Perhaps verse libre is be articulated (as in this 'definition'. ...

..Vers libre is an open form of poetry that abandons consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or other forms of musical pattern.

and 

           thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech.



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Riginale Avatar
Beto
Riginale
Date: 10/5/2020 1:12:00 PM
Brian, would you please elaborate on your intriguing comment below: "Haiku is a unique literary phenomena rather than a mere poetic genre:"? thx ~Beto
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Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 10/5/2020 3:23:00 PM
It seems to have become an expression of zen in a literary form and is therefore almost untranslatable to our English minds.There are a couple of books that could elaborate this viewpoint
Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 10/5/2020 3:19:00 PM
Beta,my comment refers to the haiku from a Japanese perspective and from all I have read (studied ) thereon the haiku had (and still has) a literary (and more) in the hearts and minds of that country and its culture.
Riginale Avatar
Beto
Riginale
Date: 10/4/2020 1:59:00 PM
Brian, I concur with your words re FV, perhaps due to my math background wherein the beauty of a proof lies in its conciseness and my experiences with the SF Beats in the late '50s. I have always been drawn to FV and, more recently, haiku. I would add that the concise character of haiku is a predecessor of Imagism. Also, Pound's rules of Imagism (1913): "Direct treatment of the "thing," whether subjective or objective." "To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation." "As regarding rhythm: to compose in sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of the metronome." ~Beto
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Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 10/4/2020 3:12:00 PM
and Beto ..Haiku was indeed the 'seed' for imagism (especially to Adelaide ,the queen of American cinquain fame)but in reality Haiku is a unique literary phenomena rather than a mere poetic genre,influential though it maybe in English speaking circles.
Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 10/4/2020 3:12:00 PM
Thanks Beto,sadly too late methinks to alter the popular conception of FV,except amongst 'thinking poets' for my part I vow only to refer to it as ' VF' (verse freed).
La France Avatar
Constance
La France
Date: 9/21/2020 9:00:00 AM
Brian, I feel Free Verse does have rules for although free in a sense, it asks for staggered lines, the use of metaphors and pauses in the right places, it is not just a jumble of words spilling out _Constance
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Riginale Avatar
Beto Riginale
Date: 10/4/2020 2:32:00 PM
Constance, while I agree with most of what you write, I don't think FV "asks for staggered lines." For instance, Ginsgerg's "Howl" has none at all. The PS copy is incorrectly typeset. Also, WCW did not use staggered lines (with but a few exceptions) until the late '40s. ~Beto
Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 9/21/2020 9:04:00 AM
Sadly,from the many I read in my contests ,they are as you say 'just a jumble'
Cornish Avatar
Craig
Cornish
Date: 9/21/2020 8:51:00 AM
Interesting blog Brian- I agree
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Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 9/21/2020 9:01:00 AM
Cheers Craig appreciate your comment
Dietrich Avatar
Andrea
Dietrich
Date: 9/19/2020 5:46:00 PM
Yes, poetry without musicality! That is why it's difficult for me. I write with meter in my head. Also it's not so easy to create unusual imagery. If one just writes basic stuff, that is more like prose or narration. To be a good free verse poet is NOT easy!
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Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 9/19/2020 10:04:00 PM
Reading aloud Andrea,is the key to the quality of all poetry ,whatever label is attached .More on poetics however in a future blog methinks.

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