written by Jose Montalvo. Not bad, some really good lines:
Todos muy monos
luciendo
holy ashes
en la frente
So, thesis wise, what am do I get out of this book. Consistency. He had many type of poems in here about his military experience, barrio, and activism. I think perhaps the poems were written in different periods, and represent styles he has gone through. I do like how his poems are more "Texas" than those I have read from outside poets. I shouldn't have a problem writing poems like these. The usual love, abuelita, pulga poems. Some mixture of spanish, but no works completely in spanish. I want a spanish poem in mine. Must have. The poems of his I didn't like felt to "easy" in that it read like dialogue, including words that didn't create a lasting effect. But most of all I have to be careful to not recreate his poetry (as well with others). Do I want to limit myself to pulga poems and all these "Mex-Am/Chicano" themes. How many times do we have to hear about a high school dropout? I don't want to move away from these subjects, but I'm afraid I won't be able to create a piece which separates itself from predecessors.
Time to read another poetry book. Have some I found in the library. Hopefully I am not just reading the weak authors and basing all my assumptions on failures. It's a learning process. I'm going to submit to bordersense, and hopefully that goes well. Although I think I am running out of publishable poems. That's a bad thing to say, I need 40+ for thesis. lol Anyways, I'm ready to head out to New Orleans. I don't know what to expect since it has been about 4 or 5 years, but mostly because of what I cannot assume will be there because of Hurricane Katrina. I will get some writing done over there. I will try to experience much and unexpected.
2 comments:
I heart pulga poems very much.
We'll I mean I wrote one so I heart it that much
I find myself torn between being toooo mexican and not being enough
like listening to 20s jazz songs and knowing the lyrics when you're out with Rigo Tovar
You feel like you aren't doing justice to Rigo and his love
but at the same time
sometimes Rigo is forign
like something you put away into a far quiet place of yourself
and touching it seems so contrivied, so obvious
but necessary
I guess it is that stuggle between Rigo tovar and Ella Fitzgerald that makes your poetic place no?
Your environement, and en fin
que no es
nuestro environment that others seeks to lose themselves in for a few moments as they read?
Quen sabe? Que viva Billy Holiday and Pedro Infante!
You need to write the poems that are you. It sounds like modeling Montalvo you will sound less like you, since it will be easy to write those poems. The real you should be a struggle to get out. Maybe something is wrong if the poems come out to easy? Then it's not 'you' but a slacker version of yourself. People might say "hey that's a good poem" but you know the truth. Don't be a farce.
A wise teacher once told me you can learn a lot from all poets, all kinds of voices. So there are no such things as failures. At the same time, some poets have more to teach than others. If you keep reading the same kind of poetry, you will write the same kind of poetry. The GIGO principle.
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