I think that this is one of the most challenging of the four poems we're reading tomorrow, mainly for what Lerner doesn't say, than what he does say. This is something he's said about the poem, and the book which it comes from:
Your poetry collection is called No Art – an inviting no entry sign…
It
is the title of a poem at the end of the book, which is a defence of
feeling in poetry, and talks about love being more avant garde than
shame. The poem is an argument against detachment. It is also about the
way the title changes as you read, and the book changes in the light of
that poem.
This comes from an interview he did w/ The Guardian. You can read the whole thing here. He says a lot of interesting and useful things about poetry.
In"no art" there is a sentence I feel encapsulates the full depth of what the author is trying to evoke in the reader. the line "as if the silver leaves behind the glass were politics and the wind they move in and the chance of scattered storms" speaks to the nature of authoritarian imposed moralities/sensibilities. Where these same authorities, however carefully configured to present a solid image, fall apart in the unrelenting change of existence. The image that one's been conditioned to accept, seen through the mirror, becomes a fleeting state dependent on an unstable climate, with a chance of scattered storms.
ReplyDeleteNo Art by Ben Lemer in this poem I think the poet was trying to explain his relationship and detachment he had with his first teacher he is explaining his love he had with his teacher "more avant-garde" " all my people are with me now...". These sentence explain the feeling he had with his teacher.
ReplyDeleteIn No Art, the meaning behind the poem is that it is relating art to modern life. He is saying that art is like real life, where he is describing art to be something that is difficult, and uneasy. Art is being depicted in this case to be a saddened, and depressing thing that he is saying is causing pain to him. The verse from the poem "No art is total, even theirs even though it raises towers or kills from the air there's to much piety to despair" resembles that art is causing panic, and trouble. He is saying how it is effecting his life, and other people's lives around him.
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