Apr 17, 2023·edited Apr 17, 2023Liked by Jason McBride
Looking forward to reading the zines Jason!
I feel attracted to poetry and the arts in general because... there's so much about the human experience that's hard to communicate through conventional language. Poetry isn't an ordinary communication. It comes from somewhere where we all belong, and through a person, and so we can all see a bit of ourselves in the poet.
This is why I don’t think AI will kill the arts. AI may write serviceable poems, but they can’t come from the soul. That human connection is what art is about. I think you do a great job of capturing that in the way you curate your newsletter. Each act of curation is its own act of art. It’s you sharing with us what lights you up.
Totally agree about AI! Photography never killed portrait painting... the iPhone never killed photography... typewriters never killed writing. The fear around AI is less about AI, and more about our collective struggle to trust in ourselves and in our humanity. We're fallible, like there's something wrong with that.
And thank you - that's such a kind thing to say 🖤.
Being a contrarian helps with appreciating poetry. Conformity seems antithetical.
I also love the rhythm, how language can be played with, not just sentence structure and grammar and punctuation but the power of individual words. They can
Punch
If placed right. And rhythm can be the sound as read, meter and rhyme, structured, or the visual rhythm of free verse. Like painting with letters, drawing your eye to the focal points. A poem can have meaning or none, or none intended but the reader might discover it.
PS I just wrote a prose poem as a comment because there are no rules (it was actually an accident).
The rhythm is such a wonderful part of poetry. If I had more guts, I’d share more recordings of me reading my poems. I sometimes fall in love with poems I do not understand in the least because the words and the rhythm are so beautiful I want to read and hear them again and again
Poetry was introduced to me when I was very young. I guess I believed it was humanity's natural language, and at that time, I thought everyone wrote poetry. Well, back in the "dark ages" of when I was in elementary school, everyone did...teacher taught it and we littles wrote it.
You hit on one of my motivations for my poetry comics. When we’re young everyone draws, everyone writes poetry. It’s fun and there’s no pressure or judgement. Then, at some point almost everyone stops these activities because they’re “not talented” enough or they’re a waste of time. But almost nobody quits them because they don’t drawing or writing any more. There’s something wrong way we teach poetry and creativity in general in our education system. I want to encourage and inspire people to write more poetry and draw more pictures. These things make life better!
Hey! I used to think I 'hated' poetry - which is weird, because I love words, I love communication, and I love doing things a little differently. And then somehow, a couple of weeks ago, I got inspired to start playing around with poetry and it turns out I kinda love it. I also started drawing cartoons/illustrations recently, to add to my writing. I found you via a comment on Jill's 'Noted' Substack and I'm so glad I did!
Looking forward to reading the zines Jason!
I feel attracted to poetry and the arts in general because... there's so much about the human experience that's hard to communicate through conventional language. Poetry isn't an ordinary communication. It comes from somewhere where we all belong, and through a person, and so we can all see a bit of ourselves in the poet.
This is why I don’t think AI will kill the arts. AI may write serviceable poems, but they can’t come from the soul. That human connection is what art is about. I think you do a great job of capturing that in the way you curate your newsletter. Each act of curation is its own act of art. It’s you sharing with us what lights you up.
Totally agree about AI! Photography never killed portrait painting... the iPhone never killed photography... typewriters never killed writing. The fear around AI is less about AI, and more about our collective struggle to trust in ourselves and in our humanity. We're fallible, like there's something wrong with that.
And thank you - that's such a kind thing to say 🖤.
Being a contrarian helps with appreciating poetry. Conformity seems antithetical.
I also love the rhythm, how language can be played with, not just sentence structure and grammar and punctuation but the power of individual words. They can
Punch
If placed right. And rhythm can be the sound as read, meter and rhyme, structured, or the visual rhythm of free verse. Like painting with letters, drawing your eye to the focal points. A poem can have meaning or none, or none intended but the reader might discover it.
PS I just wrote a prose poem as a comment because there are no rules (it was actually an accident).
The rhythm is such a wonderful part of poetry. If I had more guts, I’d share more recordings of me reading my poems. I sometimes fall in love with poems I do not understand in the least because the words and the rhythm are so beautiful I want to read and hear them again and again
Poetry was introduced to me when I was very young. I guess I believed it was humanity's natural language, and at that time, I thought everyone wrote poetry. Well, back in the "dark ages" of when I was in elementary school, everyone did...teacher taught it and we littles wrote it.
Fun times!
Love your zines offer; will take a look.
You hit on one of my motivations for my poetry comics. When we’re young everyone draws, everyone writes poetry. It’s fun and there’s no pressure or judgement. Then, at some point almost everyone stops these activities because they’re “not talented” enough or they’re a waste of time. But almost nobody quits them because they don’t drawing or writing any more. There’s something wrong way we teach poetry and creativity in general in our education system. I want to encourage and inspire people to write more poetry and draw more pictures. These things make life better!
Hey! I used to think I 'hated' poetry - which is weird, because I love words, I love communication, and I love doing things a little differently. And then somehow, a couple of weeks ago, I got inspired to start playing around with poetry and it turns out I kinda love it. I also started drawing cartoons/illustrations recently, to add to my writing. I found you via a comment on Jill's 'Noted' Substack and I'm so glad I did!
Thanks! I’m glad you found me too! Noted is such a cool newsletter. Poetry is so much fun to write and it makes the world a better place