"Perhaps poetry is an outdoor thing for me because it is more immediate than other forms of writing, more sensual, more intense and so is more at home in close proximity to the stream of sensations that that we feel while sitting on the sands or with our backs on a cool lawn" -- as I listen to the recording you have linked, this resonates. What a powerful, visceral reading. Thanks for sharing.
I often write poetry while in nature, but I have not tried reading it there (sounds like something I should do). Your description of Paignton, Devon, has made me want to visit it to see just how bad it is. I have seen this effect before. I told my brother that Liberal, Kansas, was a shockingly bad place to stop. There is a massive meat-packing factory (not shown on Google maps) that gives off a stench. I saw three feral dogs, one limping, run across the highway, and a large number of prey birds. The population is largely Hispanic. The tourist attraction is a 1970s-style Wizard of Oz museum. But don't be fooled...this arid place is not the Emerald City of America. I did not even know such places like this existed in America. So, of course, my brother stopped there--Why? He said it was the only place to spend the night after a full day of driving from Albuquerque, NM, to Chicago.
Paignton is nowhere near as bad as Liberal, Kansas seems to be from your vivid description! No feral dogs or meat factories, anyway. It's a fairly typical English town in some ways - with deprivation and neglect mixed in with more salubrious parts. But I've come across towns like the ones you describe - and moved on pretty quickly.
I can see that scene at the beach - "honey universe" is such a great phrase (among many.) I confess I am often a bit of a dunce with poetry, but when it's explained to me, it opens up very richly. Thanks for the taste of Neruda, Jeffrey!
This was great, Jeffery!
Your writing is evocative.
Your reverence for Neruda is endearing. And your idea about reading poetry outdoors is something I’m going to have to try.
By the way I loved the line — “Even the birdlife lacked class”
Thank you, Michael. Reading poetry keeps me going! And Neruda has been in my mind as I long as I can remember.
"Perhaps poetry is an outdoor thing for me because it is more immediate than other forms of writing, more sensual, more intense and so is more at home in close proximity to the stream of sensations that that we feel while sitting on the sands or with our backs on a cool lawn" -- as I listen to the recording you have linked, this resonates. What a powerful, visceral reading. Thanks for sharing.
I often write poetry while in nature, but I have not tried reading it there (sounds like something I should do). Your description of Paignton, Devon, has made me want to visit it to see just how bad it is. I have seen this effect before. I told my brother that Liberal, Kansas, was a shockingly bad place to stop. There is a massive meat-packing factory (not shown on Google maps) that gives off a stench. I saw three feral dogs, one limping, run across the highway, and a large number of prey birds. The population is largely Hispanic. The tourist attraction is a 1970s-style Wizard of Oz museum. But don't be fooled...this arid place is not the Emerald City of America. I did not even know such places like this existed in America. So, of course, my brother stopped there--Why? He said it was the only place to spend the night after a full day of driving from Albuquerque, NM, to Chicago.
Thanks, Arlene. Yes, it impacts me now just as much as it did the first time I heard it - decades ago.
Paignton is nowhere near as bad as Liberal, Kansas seems to be from your vivid description! No feral dogs or meat factories, anyway. It's a fairly typical English town in some ways - with deprivation and neglect mixed in with more salubrious parts. But I've come across towns like the ones you describe - and moved on pretty quickly.
I can see that scene at the beach - "honey universe" is such a great phrase (among many.) I confess I am often a bit of a dunce with poetry, but when it's explained to me, it opens up very richly. Thanks for the taste of Neruda, Jeffrey!