Ironically, the passion that can neutralize the repulsion for difficulties depends on the effort to overcome these difficulties. The irony resides in the circularity of this principle ? which applies to all areas of activity, including poetry: One must make the effort to overcome difficulties to achieve success and feel capable, and one needs this achievement and feeling to have a passion for making this effort.
How can one enter this circle without this passion? In other words, how does one resolve the quasi-contradiction according to which one cannot passionately start the effort to overcome difficulties before it has ended successfully?
If difficulties are deemed insurmountable, mistakenly or not, the repulsion for them is absolute. In that case, nothing will motivate the effort to succeed, except an outside authority that can dictate this effort, or an outside influence that can generate faith and stimulate courage. In every other case where the seriousness of the difficulties is open to doubt, one may try one's luck with mixed feelings.
Assuming one tries, the result of this effort will constitute additional self-knowledge that will inform one's future choices. A positive outcome will act as a positive reinforcement that emboldens one to try again, with increased confidence and reduced hesitation; a negative outcome will do the opposite.
Should one refuse to try one's luck, this would slow one's progress, but not necessarily stop it. Confidence can be increased and hesitation reduced by degrees, through a series of baby steps that can eventually lead to triumph. All in all, people have more than one trick up their sleeve to succeed in life, though they cannot escape the necessity of achieving success to develop a passion for the difficult task of living.
As regards poetry, success may be achieved in a roundabout and gradual way. Take a young educated man who has a sense of imagery and a desire to express himself. While his education has prepared him for the written expression of his feelings and thoughts, this sense and this desire together drive him to write poetically, though he has no pretensions to composing a poem.
This first step is a manner of kickoff that gets the ball rolling. He becomes aware of his poetic ability within the limits of his poetic writing. What is more, he catches a glimpse of the poetry that is a blur in this writing and could emerge from the prose like a landscape from the fog. His potential as a future poet is thus faintly discernible. It assumes the form of an inkling whose haziness will progressively dissipate as further poetic efforts are made successfully. In the end the young man sees himself as a young poet. He is eager to grapple with the difficulties of writing poetry because he is confident that he will overcome them and delight in this achievement.
Laurent Grenier's writing career spans over twenty years. During this time he has broadened and deepened his worldview, by dint of much reflection and study, and in the end has crafted "A Reason for Living," his best work to date.
Official web site: http://laurentgrenier.com/arfl.html
Chicago limo Skokie ..What can I do to keep this world in its... Read More
Since my wife and I are moving, or preparing to... Read More
Footprints to Mantaro Valley (Peru; in English and Spanish)In what... Read More
Do not be afraid to shine. This world needs what... Read More
How wonderfully sweet to be a dweller dwelling... Read More
(The city by the bay of Northern California, near which... Read More
FIND the MAGICFind the Magic As you release old bondage... Read More
Poems have different cores, or so I believe, and can... Read More
I WANTED TO SAY IT WITH A BUNCH OF FLOWERS... Read More
JOINEDHeart beat of man pounding - yet unheard joined... Read More
Truth is stranger than fiction according to many people who... Read More
How I wonder what he's doing as I sit alone... Read More
[Episode Five]Arizona Blue-GunfighterThe Wolves Nest-in the North[Episode Five]Northern Minnesota Area?Winter... Read More
Robert Burns, a poor man, an educated man, and a... Read More
In this modern age of technology, busy lifestyles, and obsession... Read More
Ocean Heal MeOcean heal my wounds Let your waves curl... Read More
We were exiled from the Garden of Eden. Its... Read More
Mother's Day Poetry,I'm Sorry Mom!I'm sorry for the troubles ... Read More
I will never think twice nor will I roll the... Read More
I get up in the morningAnd want to stay in... Read More
If you are serious about seeing your work published by... Read More
I am among those who know that one never recovers... Read More
When I hear your voice inside my head it makes... Read More
In early fall, in Minnesota, the rain falls, falls, In... Read More
"All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling."--Oscar WildePeople write poetry... Read More
limo O'Hare Bonfield ..I want to get closeI am afraid.Afraid of what... Read More
"All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling."--Oscar WildePeople write poetry... Read More
Delicately, my mind was selecting a muffled tune, out of... Read More
The Goat and the Ropewhere there were devils I saw... Read More
1) Do?a Leonor's Revenge [1627 AD]Rafael Ortiz's fate Was... Read More
I am among those who know that one never recovers... Read More
You can show your poem to your mom, your spouse,... Read More
"To My Dear and Loving Husband" was written by America's... Read More
Part oneI see them in the skies I hear them... Read More
Growing hurts sometimes; saying goodbye to friends, ... Read More
War bombs may explode demolishing man and land. Hurricanes may... Read More
Tale of the Brick Maker, Of San Jer?nimo, Peru... Read More
AFRICA (to africans in diaspora)africa here i come, africa africa... Read More
What's a prisoner to do when justice fails and... Read More
Out of the eight poems provided here [all previously unpublished],... Read More
In Poetry: Meaning of WordsWhen I write poetry, I check... Read More
Learn about love by reading poetry by a long dead... Read More
"I heard what you said, Red. Yet, I have to... Read More
Asha of DarfurCry, cry-oh little Darfur woman For your sister... Read More
The Monster Mash The Graveyard SmashHave you heard of the... Read More
Supernatural PoetryHere are five poems,-what I call-death and supernatural poems.... Read More
When I hear your voice inside my head it makes... Read More
If a happiness poem could bring forth a smile, Then... Read More
Note: written after seeing the little adobe 16th century church... Read More
1.Evil's CreationThou knowith evil clings To tender peace-; Nor does... Read More
Poetry |