The Freedom of Poetry

“There are poems by men and women, living and dead, familiar to millions and unknown to everybody. The only things that all the poems have in common is that they are all strange in some way, because all great literature is strange, they way all Good slides are slippery.”

Lemony Snicket

   While perusing the works of Eileen Myles (a contemporary poet), I found that her poem “Uppity” is published in Lemony Snicket’s All Slides Are Slippery. Snicket’s book is a compilation of various poems he found and enjoyed. Snicket writes, “Poetry is like a curvy slide in a playground—an odd object, available to the public—and, as I keep explaining to my local police force, everyone should be able to use it, not just those of a certain age.” After reading Snicket’s blurb about his book, I began to think of Gertrude Stein. Snicket says, “The only things that all the poems have in common is that they are all strange in some way, because all great literature is strange, the way all good slides are slippery.” Now, this may be a stretch to connect this quote with Gertrude Stein, but I think it is safe to say that Stein’s work entails all things strange, yet is a wonderful piece of literature. I like Snicket’s take on poetry, because he embodied my exact feelings when I read Gertrude Stein.

This is my first go around with Gertrude Stein. I want to pretend that I have all of these profound thoughts and conclusions about her poem “Patriarchal Poetry,” but if we are being honest, reading Gertrude Stein was just as much as a learning experience for me as it probably was for you. Stein made me feel confused, anxious, frustrated, dumbfounded, the list could go on and on. I had no idea what to think of her when I read the first page, but I grew to appreciate her writing when I reached the end of “Patriarchal Poetry.” It is obvious throughout Stein’s poem that she did not just slop words down on a page, but Stein had a purpose when writing “Patriarchal Poetry.” Yes, her writing is extremely obscure and unlike anything I have ever read before, but I feel like we get a small glance of Stein’s character when we read “Patriarchal Poetry.” What is unique about Stein is that she uses the simplest and most common words to write her poem, but the way she puts those words together have almost an overbearing, and drowning effect on the reader. Throughout the entire poem I felt like the words on the page were slipping through my fingers like sand. I could not grasp or formulate any ideas or concepts from her poem, all I could see were chaotic words on a page. The more I read Gertrude Stein and became more familiar with her style and the rhythm of her poem, the more I could appreciate what she was doing. I appreciate the fact that she took such a defiant stand with her poetry, and that she wrote in such a way nobody had ever done before in her time. One of the greatest and most frustrating elements of Stein’s poem was the repetition. For lines on end, Stein would repeat a jumble of words together that formed a formless “sentence,” yet this form of poetry is what makes Stein, Stein, and for me that is respectable.

“For before let it before to be before spell to be before to be before to have to be to be for before to be tell to be to having held to be to be for before to call to be for to be before to till until to be till before…”

Line after Line, Stein produces consistent repetition. However, Stein does not just use the same words over and over for 15 pages of her poem, she has different sections of her poem that repeat different sets of words. Also, after every section of repeated “stanzas” or sections, there is a statement about Patriarchal Poetry. Stein writes,

“Fairly letting it see that the change is as to be did Nelly and Lily love to be did Nelly and Lily went to see and to see which is if could it be that so little is known was known if so little was known shone stone come bestow bestown so little as was known could which that for them recognizably.

Wishing for Patriarchal Poetry.

Once threes letting two sees letting two three threes letting it be after these two these threes…”

Stein wants to emphasize this Patriarchal Poetry, and although I still do not have a firm grasp on what Patriarchal Poetry is, it is a major theme in Stein's writing. Stein writes her poetry defiantly, independently, and with her own style and character. She has produced a respectable piece of art, which is unlike any type of poetry written during her time.

Eileen Myles is an interesting character as well. She of course, is a contemporary writer, but I thought it would be interesting to compare/contrast her with Gertrude Stein. Unlike Stein’s “Patriarchal Poetry,” Myles’ poem “Uppity” is 5 lines long, there is no consistent repetition, or rhythm.

Roads around mountains

cause we can’t drive

through

That’s Poetry

to Me.


          But even though Myles poem is written simply in form, the simplicity of her poem does not take away from the greatness of her writing or make her poem any less significant because it is short. Just as Stein writes in a way that expresses her own style and character, I believe Myles is doing the very same. She writes a simple analogy about what poetry means to her, and I enjoyed Myles short, simple poem. There are vast differences between Myles' "Uppity" and Stein's "Patriarchal Poetry," yet both poems carry traces of the author through them and that is what makes them enjoyable. Stein's poem may be chaotic and confusing, but she wrote poetry the way she wanted to. Myles poem may be short and simple, but again, that is how she desired to write this poem. Both of these poets helped me to see that poetry can be whatever the author desires it to be, and that different types poetry are specific and personal to each person.