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CONFESSIONAL POETRY now with an update - Brian Strand's Blog

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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/

 

 

 

 

 

 


CONFESSIONAL POETRY now with an update

Blog Posted:6/16/2017 11:03:00 AM

My last blog concerning Sylvia Plath prompted me to remind myself of her style of poetry which along with others she was described as a confessional poetry and there is a genre now so known.Poetry conceived from those dark p!aces we sometimes enter in some way or another.

It set me musing on how we creative sensitive types confront such issues and put them into words.

Some here may know such an event happened to me in recent times  and although, before then I was fairly open in my writings (well as much as male gender maybe).

Here is one I wrote in the middle thereof

 

WHIRLPOOLS OF THE MiND

Cycles of life..churn..revolve,dissolve..
resurface..mix in restless sleep.
Deep from the chasms of the
unconscious, the froths of 
yesterday's concerns as flotsam
become a jetsam dream..to
scatter up on the beach of
our tomorrow..as hazy recollections.
Forlorn..half-remembered..such 
detritus of our persona slowly erodes
shrinking in the light of day.
Put into proportion such giants become
dwarf like..distant litter on our
horizon..to fade away forever upon 
the tide of each new dawn's..reality.

Another of mine entitled 'CRISIS' describes my situation at my lowest point in this journey which truth to tell has affected me  both as  a poet and a person.

Are you now a confessional poet following some event in your life ,like myself and the Plath era of poets?

 

UPDATE

Here is a link to an interesting article suggesting this 'genre' was a ground breaking event in English language poetry.

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-confessional-poetry 

 

 

 

 


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Date: 6/19/2017 12:21:00 AM
Kathy I read your poem you mention in your comment and to me it reads as a confessional genre.I especially liked the closing couplet on each stanza , some fine imagery and concluding couplet "I am God’s creation,/ A jigsaw of sharp-edged pieces."
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Date: 6/18/2017 8:37:00 AM
Hi Brian, I love how your poem shows the intermix between our conscious and unconscious lives. I didn't know that there is a genre called confessional poetry. I am intrigued. I think my recent poem The Inner Workings of A clock is of such an ilk. It pulled out experiences that have lain quiet for many years. I always learn something from your posts. Thanks, Kathy
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Brian Strand
Date: 6/19/2017 12:18:00 AM
Kathy see my comment above
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Brian Strand
Date: 6/18/2017 9:58:00 AM
Thanks Kathy,I think literary folk like to label things,hence this title.I suppose our style depends on our unique personalilties and whilst most of my poetry comes from my experience my first love still remains as an imagist at heart
Date: 6/17/2017 3:08:00 PM
I, too, enjoyed your poem, especially the line "such detritus of our persona slowly erodes," all those ssssssss... I don't like to label myself other than as a poet and writer. I DO write confessional poetry, but I write in other poetic styles, as well. I'm awaiting a response from a journal about a confessional style poem about what it is like to have a child after sixteen years of infertility. The thing about confessional poetry, is that although it seems about self, often it connects to readers in a real and very deep way. It's about wearing one's heart on one's sleeve, being truthful, direct and intensely candid... and it is HARD, to be that transparent. It is brave.
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Brian Strand
Date: 6/19/2017 8:34:00 AM
Best wishes with the poem Cyndi,often those from heart of our experience 'gel ' with others who have spent time alone in that same ' dark room'.
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Brian Strand
Date: 6/18/2017 9:59:00 AM
Thanks Cyndi,if ever I needed someone to write a forward to my efforts you would be my first choice.Best wishes with the novel and your other endeavours
Date: 6/16/2017 6:31:00 PM
That was a good poem, Brian. I love that ending you gave it. Though I am not an emotional poet, I have written poems AS an emotional character! But when I had my bout with cancer last year, it inspired from me several more personal type poems; however, none were highly emotional except for the two that were metaphorical. I like your intellectual approach to this "crisis" you had. When someone goes into a crazy rant about their life's problems, I find nothing poetic in that.
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Brian Strand
Date: 6/18/2017 10:01:00 AM
Thank you Andrea,experimentation is good for learning but you know I think your niche and reputation you have established amongst us here
Date: 6/16/2017 12:10:00 PM
I think there are a lot of confessional poets, I am not, though I say that in the sense of telling a story, I do draw emotion from experiences, but not the experience in a way it would replay the experience, I've posted on this site 3 poems that were actual events, the rest are just shadows of events used for an outline to a story, everyone uses what they use whether real or imagined...strong poem you posted on this blog
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Brian Strand
Date: 6/18/2017 10:02:00 AM
Thanks Frederic.

My Past Blog Posts

 
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