Hello, Everyone:

Note: I’m new to the ODYSSEY, so I thought it would be nice to start off with a simple introduction before jumping into our discussion on poetry.

My name is Savanah Burns, and I am currently a graduate student at Sam Houston State University. There are two other things you should know about me: one, my life is a mess, but it’s my mess. (I hope that gives you comfort.) And, two, I identify as a poet.

What exactly does it mean to be a poet, let alone, a writer? And what makes a “good” writer so “good?”

In Charles Bukowski’s poem “so you want to be a writer?” he lists off a litany, or a series of inquisitive statements that aim at expressing the same answer, in order to express what he thinks a writer is and why they write.

In his litany, Bukowski asserts that a writer is someone who is passionate. A writer is someone who writes when the feeling hits and who doesn’t expect to gain anything out of writing (Bukowski, lines 1-2, 14-19). A writer is someone who is patient in regard to when the right words come to them and who isn’t ready but insists on getting feedback (Bukowski, lines 28-36). A writer is someone who doesn’t try to be anyone but themselves and who writes because they are compelled. A writer doesn’t choose their passion for words; it chooses them (Bukowski, lines 37-64).

As for determining if a poet is good or not, there are two pieces to consider in this answer. One, it takes time invested in reading widely and diversely to know what is considered good writing and what isn’t. Also, there will always be an element of personal taste and subjectivity that is yoked with the former.

In saying that, I’m not going tell you my definition of “good” poetry. Not outright, anyway. Mostly I won’t tell you because that’s a question for you to answer on your own. However, I will share with you my thoughts on poetry and small pieces of my life as we go forward. But, more than that, I look forward to entering a conversation with you.

What is The Great Conversation?

The Great Conversation is this notion that writers and thinkers are free to enter any given conversation, on any topic, in any given time period, and be able to reference, build on, or refine that idea, thereby furthering the conversation. According to Robert M. Hutchins, The Great Conversation can be described as “the spirit of inquiry” and the use of “Logos” (48-49).In other words, “Nothing is to remain undiscussed. Everybody is to speak his [or her] mind. No proposition is to be left unexamined” (Hutchins 49).

How do you enter this Great Conversation?

I could give you a plethora of examples, or I could show you a personal one.

Recall how Charles Bukowski’s poem, “so you want to be a writer?”, asks the question: what is a writer and why do they write? To recap, a writer is someone who writes because of passion and is compelled to do so. It is part of who they are, and they write despite the disadvantages and being told not to write. If I were to enter this conversation, I would ask myself the same question: what is a writer or poet, and why do they write?

My response:

If You Were to Undress a Poet . . .

—After the poem, “so you want to be a writer?” by Charles Bukowski.

If you were to check the pocket of a poet,

you would find that they carry with them:

a bulge of air,

that’s heavy and ready to be cleared.

If you were to undress a poet,

you would find their paper soft skin.

Bare because they threw out their old draft;

Trash, worthless trash, written onto their body.

Revised draft, until perfect and holy.

If you were to open a poet’s chest cavity,

you would see their wings;

lungs—

replaced with glass.

Watch the doctor pull it out, wipe it off, and put it back in.

If you were to ask a poet, “what is most precious to you?”,

they might tell you, “Fire.”

It’s how glass is made.

It’s how they discarded their old skin, etched in nonsense.

It’s how they find the passion to keep breathing.

How did I enter the conversation?

When I entered this conversation, I made a couple of choices. I chose to consider a few specific details Bukowski made in his poem while making my own poem for the sake of making it feel like it was in direct conversation with his.

While Bukowski focuses on the process of writing and their voice, I decided to focus on what a poet looks like. In deciding that I wanted to comment on Bukowski’s poem, I wanted to take aspects of his writing to incorporate into my own. I mimicked some of Bukowski’s language while maintaining my own stylistic preferences; I copy how Bukowski repeats the “if” statement, but I was reluctant to mimic his choice of breaking a rule of grammar (capitalization). There are other choices I could have considered, but, this was enough for me to write the response I wanted.

Note:it should be said that, sometimes, a poet doesn’t acknowledge, or consider, what someone else has said when they enter The Great Conversation or talk about a given topic... To each their own.

Going forward, I hope you will consider continuing this conversation. I challenge you to select a poem from a website like poets.org and respond to it. However, even if you don’t, I still look forward to our next chat.

Best,

Savanah

Sources:

1. Bukowski, Charles.“so you want to be a writer?” poet.org. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/so-you-want-be...
2. Hutchins M., Robert. The Great Conversation. Britannica.com.http://blogs.britannica.com/wp-content/pdf/The_Gre...