Stephen Fry's comments on free verse, UK Observer Newspaper article link Options

[Guest_Toumai_*]

Well known writer, actor, media personality and intellectual Stephen Fry has a new book out about poety.

This link is to an article in the Observer Sunday newspaper last weekend where he says what he thinks about free verse.

WARNING: Mr Fry does not mince his words: some of his language is a little coarse (however, if a highly respectable and popular Sunday broadsheet can carry it nationally I assume MM can)

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/sto...1593317,00.html

I'd be very interested in hearing what everyone thinks of his comments.

My own first response is - if free verse is emotional self-gratification, then form is merely the intellectual counterpart of the same thing.

Growling  :dragon:

Fran

[Guest_Don_*]

Thanks for the background and link regarding Mr. Fry.

Being an intelligent fellow he can take any position of a debate a publisher may request.  Profit is made pandering to the masses.

I know a few poets who believe freeverse is a corruption and is downgrading the art.  They are a credit to their opinion. I believe the art of poetry is less popular because story telling is fading.  Literature is waning; therefore,  poetry should be expected to wane.  

Surely humanity has been blessed with crappy writers since stylus was put to clay.  

Enough of swishing my toes in the sand.


Don