POETRY

It's neither medicine nor fast food, but sustenance to be savored

By Susan Williams

Bowman
(Editor's note: April is National Poetry Month. IUB's Catherine Bowman wrote the award-winning collection, "1-800-Hot-Ribs", and also serves as poetry guide on NPR's "All Things Considered.")

"I too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all this fiddle. Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers that there is in it after all, a place for the genuine."

from Poetry, by Marianne Moore (1887-1972)

Plenty of people dislike poetry. Even among avid readers of prose, there are those of us who avoid verse. We know it's good for us, though, so occasionally, we approach poetry reluctantly, eye it suspiciously. Meter, form and imagery are like medicine to be swallowed, sit-ups to be counted, weight to be lost.

Catherine Bowman, assistant professor in the Department of English's creative writing program at IU Bloomington, isn't sure why so many people suffer poetic phobia, but she has her ideas. "I think, perhaps, they simply are not in the habit of reading poetry, have never really given their full attention to it and find it disturbing that it cannot be quickly consumed.

"Poems aren't fast food," she said. "They need to be savored and cherished. One of the great pleasures of poetry is the slow unfolding, the way in which a poem reveals a little more to you each time."

Bowman, a poet from "around the time I learned to write," is the award winning author of two poetry collections, 1-800-Hot-Ribs (Gibbs Smith, 1993) and Rock Farm (Gibbs Smith, 1996). Her poems have appeared in the 1989, 1994, 1995 and 1997 editions of Best American Poetry.

She also writes and hosts "Poetry Showcase" for National Public Radio's All Things Considered, and is working on an anthology of poetry presented there.
"What we do is record a poet reading his or her poems‹I think of poetry as an oral art, that a poem should be heard as well as read‹and then I give brief introductions to the work. When I introduce the poems, I try to open doors for listeners. I'm not trying to give all the answers or reading instructions," said Bowman.

Being uncertain we can find THE answer is what many of us find off-putting about poetry. While the rhythm of language and structure of poetry offer basic guidelines for reading a poem aloud, understanding a poem may be a bit like Alice's journey through Wonderland‹we're on our own without a map. But getting lost in a poem is not such a bad thing. Maybe we don't always need to know where we are going.

"Recently, I was reading an essay by the philosopher, political activist and theologian Simone Weil," said Bowman. "She said when trying to find 'methods for understanding symbols, imagesŠtry not to interpret them, but to look at them 'til the light suddenly dawns.' I think that's a great way to think about reading a poem. Rather than struggling or forcing your attention on the poem‹look at it 'til the 'light suddenly dawns.'"

Okay. So how do we begin? Why not start with the selection of poetry by IU faculty included in this edition of IU Home Pages.

"Jump right in," said Bowman. "Don't worry if you don't 'get it' on the first reading. Enjoy the sounds and images. Try not to bring the harshness of over-thinking and over-analyzing to a poem. Finally, learn to feel comfortable with the mystery and ambiguity that you find in a poem."

Go to this NPR Web site to hear Bowman recite a Christmas poem she wrote that aired on Christmas Eve:

http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnps05fm.cfm?SegID=68272

Comments: homepgs@indiana.edu

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