Cocteau Twinge
December 12, 2023 3:27 PM Subscribe
Poetry is not holy just because it speaks of things that are holy. Poetry is not beautiful just because it speaks of things that are beautiful. If we are asked why it is beautiful and holy, we must answer as Joan of Arc did when she had been interrogated for too long: “Next question.” from The Secrets of Beauty by Jean Cocteau [The Paris Review; ungated]
no oƨ bnɒ ϱninɒɘm ɘʜɈ ϱniɈɿɘvni γd nwob ɘbiƨqυ ɈxɘɈ ƨυomɒʇ ɒ nɿυɈ bɿɒwɿɘɈʇɒ ƨqɒϱ ɘʜɈ ni lliʇ bnɒ ɈɔɘƨɿɘɈni ƨɘnil ɘʜɈ ɘɿɘʜw ƨɈnioq ɘʜɈ no ƨbɿow ɘɔɒlq ϱniwɒɿb ɔiɿɈɘmoɘϱ ɒ ɘʞɒm ɿoɿɿim ɘʜɈ ni ɿɘqɒq ɘʜɈ Ɉɒ ϱniʞool ɘliʜw ɘɈiɿw ƨɿɘɈɈɘl ɿυoγ qυ nioį ƨbɿɒwʞɔɒd ɘɈiɿW
posted by clavdivs at 4:44 PM on December 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 4:44 PM on December 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
Thank you, clavdivs, for giving me a chance to check my brain function. Once, I got into the groove I could read it fairly qickyul!
posted by njohnson23 at 8:07 AM on December 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by njohnson23 at 8:07 AM on December 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Given all the current events horror discussed on these pages, it’s healing to be able to read something both short and truly sublime…
posted by njohnson23 at 8:55 AM on December 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by njohnson23 at 8:55 AM on December 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
“A poet should be recognizable not by his style but by the way in which he looks at things.”
This is such a brilliant way to think about what poetry is. I tend to think of poetry as, essentially, playing with language, and therefore look to language as the mark of a poet. But playing with language is, in some fundamental way, impersonal and easily reproduced. However, a human being’s perspective will always be unique, as no two humans will see the world from the same point of view. Being able to communicate that uniqueness through playful language is the measure of a poet. Or at least one way to think about it.
posted by Kattullus at 2:10 PM on December 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is such a brilliant way to think about what poetry is. I tend to think of poetry as, essentially, playing with language, and therefore look to language as the mark of a poet. But playing with language is, in some fundamental way, impersonal and easily reproduced. However, a human being’s perspective will always be unique, as no two humans will see the world from the same point of view. Being able to communicate that uniqueness through playful language is the measure of a poet. Or at least one way to think about it.
posted by Kattullus at 2:10 PM on December 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by drowsy at 4:31 PM on December 12, 2023 [16 favorites]