Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.quux.org!news.nk.ca!rocksolid2!i2pn2.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: will.dockery@gmail.com (W.Dockery) Newsgroups: alt.arts.poetry.comments,rec.arts.poems Subject: Re: Charles Bukowski "Bluebird" review Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2025 02:36:06 +0000 Organization: novaBBS Message-ID: <23bb6e569a5e0aa9c71e380671ce7dab@www.novabbs.com> References: <83bbcaa1-f0b2-4da7-ba08-56a3f9718d53n@googlegroups.com> <09590b1e-a35a-4d67-8ac4-fad0581c0cben@googlegroups.com> <598208c9a79eb6563ca1bf75a0d03ccf@news.novabbs.com> <8301de29-d4d1-4262-9925-20385496eeban@googlegroups.com> <897d3c87-4fa2-4545-a31c-aad175106d74n@googlegroups.com> <38943d87-da54-43f2-9049-e916cefeef5fn@googlegroups.com> <14a82409-7e4e-4fe9-966a-2836fd2e439dn@googlegroups.com> <6da36e302388115c025e0c1144c9d69d@news.novabbs.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Info: i2pn2.org; logging-data="3882721"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@i2pn2.org"; posting-account="Vf9CM7g99yqfGvzEHTw0bhrjcIfvzYBBhUuRma0rLuQ"; User-Agent: Rocksolid Light X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 4.0.0 X-Rslight-Posting-User: acd0b3e3614eaa6f47211734e4cbca3bfd42bebc X-Rslight-Site: $2y$10$PpyyHW3fqgrBnoCTOB5EE.tW4hAjBWCtXNDfM61X53FQLtStff.kO George J. Dance wrote: > Will Dockery wrote: > >>>>>> Another one from Bukowski, "Bluebird": >>>>>> >>>>>> https://youtu.be/lyMS4qJ8NXU >>>>> >>>>> Blech. >>>> > > >>>> Wow! It's a good thing I read "Bluebird" for myself. I might've formed >>>> the wrong opinion of it. > >>> For continuity, the George Dance review of "Bluebird": > >>> George J. Dance wrote: >>>> >>>> > On 2022-07-21 7:00 p.m., NancyGene wrote: >>>> >> On Thursday, July 21, 2022 at 10:51:22 PM UTC, blackpo...@aol.com >>>> wrote: >>>> > >>>> >> https://youtu.be/lyMS4qJ8NXU >>>> >>>>> It's really just a paragraph or two being read. >>>> >>>> No, it's not 'just" a prose paragraph. Just from Bukowski's reading, you >>>> can tell he's reading a poem: you can hear the line breaks. >>>> >>>>> That said, we don't like the last line ("But I don't weep, do you?"). >>>> >>>>> It reminds us of a former first lady's coat, which said "I don't really >>>> care, do you?" although the Bukowski quote predates that. >>>> >>>> I don't know, but I'd bet it was her husband who said that. That's >>>> always a problem in a poem (when a line or phrase unintentionally echoes >>>> something more familiar, resulting in a mixed image), but it's probably >>>> one that will go away: the Nixons have been consigned to the dustbin of >>>> history, where they belong. >>>> >> >>>> Having the line end with "do you?" is a totally obvious choice and hurts >>>> the poem. >>>> >> >>> It may detract from the poem for some; it turns it from a purely >> >>> introspective piece into a didactic or 'message' poem. But there's >> >>> nothing wrong with didacticism per se. And I admire Bukowski for going >>> there. >> >>> >> >>> I think "Bluebird" was written as a spoken piece (from all that >> >>> repetition); that Bukowski was considering his audience, whom he was >> >>> writing for; and that his audience -- tough guys, hard workers and hard >> >>> drinkers, rebels without a cause -- are the men most likely to have >> >>> their own bluebird problem, and (for the same reason) most likely to >> >>> suppress that knowledge. He cannot count on that sort of man (he knows, >> >>> since he's been one himself) to just suddenly think, "Gee, he's not only >> >>> talking about himself -- he's talking about a general truth about man, >> >>> which might be true of me as well." Especially in a spoken reading, >> >>> where he and his audience will have passed on to another poem a few >> >>> moments later. For the poem to be most effective, he has to give his >> >>> audience that thought explicitly. Exactly, well put.