November 26, 2008
Sarah Palin for Poet Laureate
From Prospect Magazine:
Reading Sarah Palin’s anguished interview with Greta van Susteren of Fox News just after the election, I had an epiphany: Palin is a poet, and a fine one at that. What the philistine media take for incoherence is, in fact, the fruitful ambiguity of verse. Here she is, in a work I have taken to calling “The Relevance of Africa.” (Not a single word or comma has been changed, but the line breaks are placed where they naturally fall.) In it, Palin blends the energy of free verse with the austerity of a classic 14-line sonnet.
It reads: “And the relevance to me /With that issue, /As we spoke /About Africa and some /Of the countries /There that were /Kind of the people succumbing /To the dictators /And the corruption /Of some collapsed governments /On the /Continent, /The relevance /Was Alaska’s.”A great poet needs to leave open the door between the conscious and unconscious; Sarah Palin has removed her door from its hinges. A great poet does not self-censor; Sarah Palin seems authentically innocent of what she is saying. She could be the most natural, visionary poet since William Blake.
More here.
Posted by Azra Raza at 06:05 AM | Permalink
Comments
Delicious! She is a river to her people (read, literary critics) and the rest of us who just think she is just barking mad and hugely entertaining.
Posted by: barbara Carlson | Nov 26, 2008 8:43:30 AM
"Vaah!/ Vaah!/ dubara irshaad"
(Bravo!/ Bravo!/ encore!)
Posted by: Yasser Haider | Nov 26, 2008 9:09:37 AM
'What the philistine media take for incoherence is, in fact, the fruitful ambiguity of verse'
This reminds me of Moliere's M. Jourdain who, on being told that "everything which is not verse is prose", is delighted to discover that he's been speaking prose his whole life.
As for generating ambiguous verse from incoherent/randome text, I'm sure there are software applications that can do this much, much more cheaply.
Posted by: aguy109 | Nov 26, 2008 10:06:12 AM
Slate made this joke almost two months ago.
http://www.slate.com/id/2201342/
Do these magazine writers ever google their topics before deciding to write about them?
Posted by: Picador | Nov 26, 2008 10:27:44 AM
Woo aw! Many of us did not know this side of the Mrs.Palin's talent. I must go back and reread
her campaign speeches to discover her poetic genius , poetic power , modira , the intoxicating juices and nectar that flow through her poetry that could excite millions. Now we know why the followers went, "... kill him, kill him ..." I vividly remember about this , the evening it was broad casted.
I was chipping beer at a bar in Springfield.
Oficer Wiggum remarked, "how about that? We got our Messiah now"
Moe Szyslak just grumbled and muttered, as he cleaned Homer's vomits.
Kirk Van Houten said " I wish I married her. Milhouse would have been so happy"
CM Burns asked , " Smithers who is this brave and dashing young lady"
Waylon answered, "That is Sarah Palin sir."
"Sarah Palin , eh ! Exellent", Mr. Burns acknowledged.
Burney Gumble , stumbled out through the door way proclaiming , " I am going to kill somebody today and I am going to vote Republican. Enough with the them Democrats .."
Homer was too drunk to say anything , he just slammed his head on the bar counter and happily snored.
Posted by: Anil C Thakuria, MD | Nov 26, 2008 1:19:38 PM
Yes! Prospect Magazine found the key to her mysterious appeal. Dig these couplets:
"Victory in Iraq is finally in sight … he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay … he wants to meet them without preconditions.
Al-Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America … he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights.
Government is too big … he wants to grow it.
Congress spends too much … he promises more. Taxes are too high … he wants to raise them."
http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2008/09/sarah-palin-quotes-twenty-five-memorable-quotes-from-her-rnc-speech/
Posted by: Marilyn Terrell | Nov 27, 2008 8:26:46 AM
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