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Poetry as Divine MadnessIt took me years of writing poems before I dared to say “I am a Poet” (with a capitol 'P'). Not out of simple modesty was I holding back – but a deep respect for the art, and also a kind of mild terror (?) at what Poetry does to a poet. For example: signing the I Am A Poet contract means you agree to the following:
Now you're good to go, having taken the vaccine that will allow you to function inside a state of Divine Madness without losing your mind. You will be able to sing out to whatever muse or divinity may be guiding your writing life:
As a rebellious teenager I read this and thought, “Wait a minute! 'fervor' and 'wonder' are already excessive. You mean Poetry teaches me how to be extreme on purpose without being accused of disobedience, lying or lunacy? Yes, and Poetry eventually starts demanding you to live up to the part of the contract that says, “make use of this wild excess you have agreed to nurture inside yourself.” As poet Roya Marsh says, dive deep for
And in a poem I've never finished, another reminder to Poets:
6 Comments
Amanda Powell
8/5/2021 03:02:38 pm
As a mad neo-platonist myself, I love this!!
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8/5/2021 03:58:56 pm
The idea that Love itself IS Divine Madness (and poetry its practice); yum!
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Susan Kline
8/5/2021 04:02:07 pm
The amount of scholarship contained in the contract is remarkable. I have to assume that a number of poets feel the madness without having the education to define it this way.
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Charles Goodrich
8/5/2021 04:38:49 pm
Love this, Anita.
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Erik Muller
8/7/2021 11:08:13 am
Anita, I have had something tugging at me for sixty years, and I'll venture to say it is my more venturesome self, even crazier self, a self I do accept and love, as I love the poetry that originates from it! Thank you, Anita
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8/10/2021 09:38:41 pm
Damn, Anita, I love your unfinished poem. Maybe you could "make use of this wild excess" and finish it? I'd be grateful.
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