Elizabeth Block is a poets who has also received national writing awards for her fiction, including the Doris Roberts/William Goyen fellowship from the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. She shares some thoughts on poetry today on 1st Books. – Meg
“But I beneath a rougher sea”
Was leaning
The water sharply sliced, hypnotized
Foam into down
Cascades green bubbles
Treasure, all its sea within
The boat
In cataracts
This poem was inspired by one of my favorite novels, a poem itself, To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. It is also a poem from my forthcoming book of poetry, Celluloid Salutations (BlazeVOX: NY).
I don’t remember I time where I did not write poetry. From as early as high school I was receiving awards for my poetry and writing it saved me through the worst moments of my life.
Even though I have published an award winning novel (A Gesture Through Time), essays (including on Signet Classics: Penguin New American Library), art and book reviews, poems in journals, audio, film, and in writing for stage, I would say everything I write is poetic. My prose is, indeed, infused with poetry. I believe the best prose writing is poetic. My novel is also formed with poetry as a structure, and some would say it is a hybrid form of prose and poetry, but it does have a an accessible love story. I am really one who believes writing is best when genres are conflated, although I understand and love the discrete significance of each genre. I always return to poetry, as it has been my earliest form of creative expression. I only wish our society valued the long term effects of poetry on our culture. Increasingly, moreover, higher education devalues publication, and as a result only the elite have access and time to write and read contemporary poetry. I have no favorite genres of poetry. As long as poetry moves and makes one think, it has value and should not be ridiculed, by the public, educational structures, or poets alike. I hope we try to value many kinds of poetry and respect how much time and practice an author puts into her work. The rewards are endless. Likewise, children’s poetry/literature is invaluable as beautiful writing and, with its rhymes, is the best education in literacy for the young. Thank you for you kind reading. – Elizabeth
