Answer me this
If a person (such as myself) provides poetry free of charge on, say, a Web site, do people appreciate it as much as if they'd have to pay for it and, as a trophy, place it upon their bookshelf...hmm?
Is a free poem like a free shirt; once given and worn, its value depreciates simply because it has no originating monetary value, or, perhaps because the shirt would not entirely be something you would have picked out anyway...
Is a free poem like a pesky handbill folks force on you as you leisurely stroll down sidewalks or accost you with as you enter big buildings?
Is it that our ability to choose is slowly morphing from the realized choice to the "advertised" choice, leaving a trail of confusion for us to determine if we even have any choice at all?
Or is a poem just a poem, just a poem. ?
Discuss.
Is a free poem like a free shirt; once given and worn, its value depreciates simply because it has no originating monetary value, or, perhaps because the shirt would not entirely be something you would have picked out anyway...
Is a free poem like a pesky handbill folks force on you as you leisurely stroll down sidewalks or accost you with as you enter big buildings?
Is it that our ability to choose is slowly morphing from the realized choice to the "advertised" choice, leaving a trail of confusion for us to determine if we even have any choice at all?
Or is a poem just a poem, just a poem. ?
Discuss.
posted by MissWanda at 5:14 p.m.
6 Comments:
poetry is love, baby. Just give it away.
when i'd go to parties readings
launches or openings and give out
free hand out poems fliers or mags
or just stray photocopies part of the
tradition was gathering them off
the floor and abandoned tables
at the end or going back next day
in the case of big warehouse parties
and things that ended in chaos.
photograph what became of them
carry them home and sort the best
ones for footprints and beer spills.
no hard feelings, i was glad to have them back in hand. but other people
kept theirs forever and counting,
and some even reached the penultimate
fate: under the fridge magnet on the fridge, or mailed to overseas friends.
buying a book of poems really isn't better if the poems turn out dull.
i think 'free' works out well for poetry
john
the last book of poetry i bought sucks. then again much on the internet sucks too. i guess it all depends. you ALWAYS have a choice where you go on the net for poetry or poetry related news unless somehow you get poems as pop-ups. that would suck but of course somebody's gonna try it thinking they are so very clever and amuse their friends to the annoyance of millions. despite all that it IS better to be in print rather than just on a page - feels more valid somehow.
i wouldn’t expect anything from poetry other than words and letters
some better than others
and it’s free
but one is always paying
for their life in poetry
think of the time you SPEND
love
dfb
i cherish good poems, don't care where they come from.
Pretty much whenever I do a reading, I prepare a free poetry leaflet to give away. I enjoy roaming through the audience and handing them out. There are always a few people who are suprised and delighted to be handed a free poem. And then, just like Mr. Barlow, after the event I find abandoned copies lying around. I used to take offense; now I just gather them up. But I suspect that those who took the poems home appreciate them.
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