all which isn't singing is mere talking

So I’m re-reading Run with the Hunted again, to prep my thoughts on C.B. It includes many of his poems as bridges in the narrative. And I’d forgotten how much I love his poetry. I say this, because generally speaking, I am not much in love with the form. Nor do I read short stories for that matter. I suppose I find them unsatisfying because it is so rare for one to convey all that I need from the characters. Not sure why I don’t enjoy poetry more than I do. There really are barely a handful of poets I can read at any length and they're pretty standard: e e cummings, W.H. Auden, Ezra Pound, and yeah, Bukowski (the post on him is coming around, yes, slowly ...).

I used to have a book of poems I had to buy for a college class. As I no longer have the book, and don't remember the class ... one of my writing courses, certainly, I'm afraid I can't offer the title. I doubt if I ever cracked the spine of it more than once. I was never that kind of student, I preferred to listen to the lectures and class dialogues, and study from my own notes and memory. Served me well. In any event, I know that I paged through this book at least once, because I remember coming across a section that dealt with the poetry of song lyrics. I don’t seek out lines of poetry the way I do song lyrics. I don't know if the words mean more to me because I can hear them to the music or not. I imagine that must have something to do with it.

The connection between poetry and music lyrics seems a pretty obvious one to make. I don't think there is anyone who would argue the poetry of certain songwriters. I suppose some might say songwriting is harder, in so far as the musical accompaniment required, but, I don't know that it is a significant enough difference. And from a strictly technical standpoint, they both require a knowledge words and how to twist and play and use them; they require rhythm and rhyme; and the understanding of metaphor extensively, etc. And then, from a historical perspective, there again they are intertwined: the minstrel, troubadour, court jester, what have you. The lyric poem, the poetic lyric, one in the same.

As far as favorite poet lyricists, I can name more than a handful of mine; Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Phil Ochs, Woodie Guthrie, Lou Reed, among others. And as much as I would love to sit a while and discuss each of these artists at length, it’s the first three that are dearest to me, and they were the three who had songs that were used as examples in the book (there is actually a course at the University of Alberta that uses all three together). Unfortunately, the editor’s choice of songs was pretty uninspired; "Suzanne," for Cohen, "Like a Rolling Stone," for Dylan, and "Born to Run," by Springsteen. I admit here, in print, that I loathe the song "Suzanne." Yes, loathe to hear it, the words on their own, however, don't bother me as much, a little trite, but they don't have me running for the fast forward button. As for the other two, they're more than fine tunes, but would not have been my first choice for examining the verse of either artist. I don't think they represent the strengths of any of them. Dylan and Springsteen, are easier to compare (despite their significant differences). They share a similar sensibility, in their ability to put words to the experience of the "common man," the rambling folksy-Americana--Woodie Guthrie, whom they also share as far as an important influence. Cohen's work has the structure of a writer and poet, with language that is more refined, formal, and referential. And many of his songs were poems first before they were put to a tune. Forced to choose, I would have placed these in that chapter instead:

Springsteen: Drive All Night
Dylan: It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
Cohen: The Stranger Song (after much handwringing…)

["Bird on a Wire" art as T-Shirt from Meddlesome Kids]