Friday, October 16, 2009

Female Poetry

Hey everyone, thanks so much for your comments on my "Female Brain" post. I almost didn't post it--after all it was just a book report--but I'm so glad I did. In this time of harvest, I really appreciate the bounty of your thoughts!

I've always found the idea of a writer's salon romantic, but as portrayed in The New Yorker anyway, the present-day version seems more of a party club where all the cool people drink cocktails together and talk about how much they love each other with a few side whispers about how lesser types don't belong. But I'm coming to realize the type of writer's salon I fantasized about is much simpler. You don't need the cocktails or the swanky pad, nice as they are. All you need to do is share ideas with sympatico creative souls and inspire each other to insights you couldn't reach all by yourself. I've found that with you all and I thank you for it!

Speaking of that, Isabel Kerr has posted a wonderful poem on a related theme at her blog called "At 55." I recommend you pop on over to Italy and maybe you'll get some homemade yogurt gelato to cool off afterward, too!

And speaking of poetry, although I don't really feel part of that club, I came across an idea I liked in a book on American holidays. The author cites anthropologist Mary Douglas who said that "a meal is a poem that is created within certain rules and that expresses much about the family as a group. In this regard, the woman is a poet who cooks the meals." It could be a man cooking as well of course, but this sentiment went a long way toward making me feel more comfortable with poetry as part of my life rather than something a committee of literary magazine editors deigns to recognize as worthy. In fact, today I'm making two different batches of cookies for a school story-telling festival tomorrow, and I will approach the task more self-consciously as poetry (I think on some level I always was doing that!)

So, off to "write" my poems. Happy weekend to you all!

6 comments:

Isabel Kerr said...

Cooking is indeed poetry Donna!

and you have certainly inspired us in all of these ways!

We're reaping the bounty of your reading and ideas.

Thank you. (wish I could have some of those cookies too : ) )

Danielle said...

ah..cooking is everything..:-)

i love the idea of a salon or book club...but please..dont miss out on the cocktails..:-)

Craig Sorensen said...

Cooking as poetry. Most definitely true!

Regarding poetry, this comment, but this sentiment went a long way toward making me feel more comfortable with poetry as part of my life rather than something a committee of literary magazine editors deigns to recognize as worthy.

I hope you'll take this to heart. I, for one, think you'd be a fine poet.

Herr Dr DGS said...

I, for one, am delighted that you spend your poetic energy on cookies!

Verification word is sonsign. Should I enter Libra or Leo?

Donna said...

Thank you all! The cookies received a great reception, probably better than any wordly poem I could have written, lol!

I hope you don't mind if I have some good red wine rather than a cocktail, Danielle. With the exception of a tiki bar drink once a year or so, I'm really a wine girl :-).

Erobintica said...

How interesting, especially after coming off an entire weekend of poetry writing group meetings - and one thing we do it eat - doing the cooking beforehand - as well as the writing of poems - we share food and edit our poems together. Tis a special time.