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paul harris


Member

Posted Thu Jan 17th, 2008 11:04pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
perhaps you could encourage a bit of posey sharing
amongst those sharing the journey along the ode

sharing a few exercises could be fun....

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spiralthreads


Member

Posted Fri Jan 18th, 2008 4:09pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
Maybe I should send everyone off to see my pre-Fry poetry before delighting them with my new skills - or would that be too cruel ?

The exercises have been very stimulating. Learning to write blank verse has been the biggest challenge - rhyming is so utterly a part of my psyche. Just so I could get through blankly, I had to dart off into a corner from time to time to rhyme.

Maybe I'll just pop over to your ballad thread now - even though I haven't got that far in the book ->

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tangojulietdelta


Member

Posted Sun Jan 20th, 2008 4:14pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
I received the audio book as a gift, and as much as I love it, I think I'm a more visual learner. I keep trying to write down all the example lines so I can see what the heck I'm supposed to be doing. Slow going. I haven't yet made it out of Meter Land. I guess I'll need to buy the hardcopy to follow along.

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spiralthreads


Member

Posted Sun Jan 20th, 2008 6:09pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
The hard copy version is definitely worth the money - actually I didn't know there was an audio version. As I read the book, I can hear Stephen Fry's voice in my head, so it's kind of "virtual audio" X-D

I've just got to rhyme, but had a bash at the ballad anyway, just for fun.

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paul harris


Member

Posted Wed Jan 23rd, 2008 2:41pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
I'm going to start a sonnets thread for anyone who wants to share responses to exercise 19

I was hoping some of you ode owners might start threads on some of the other exercise seeing as they're SO MUCH FUN and all!!!

happy days

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spiralthreads


Member

Posted Wed Jan 23rd, 2008 10:32pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
Yes they are fun - but some are tough to get to grips with. I'm on exercise 11 and the going is sloooooooooooooow. It will be worth the effort, though, because I will have a very good aide memoire at the end of it.

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paul harris


Member

Posted Thu Jan 24th, 2008 9:20am Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
I think the world needs slow
it may eventually be ready for more
slowing down

witness the snail's long line
left by the slow food society
leaving Rome in 1990

it has now become international
and spawned the whole slow movement
slow creep

the ode road is a slow road
embrace slowness
but slowly

:o)

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spiralthreads


Member

Posted Thu Jan 24th, 2008 3:30pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
Don't rush me now X-D

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paul harris


Member

Posted Thu Jan 24th, 2008 4:00pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
its taken me about 4 months . . . . . I've just finished the book

feeling a sense of loss ...but liberated too

I'm a bit surprised that more people haven't wanted to share the exercises
I've had an absolute ball

and I can't stop writing, much of it 'arse-gravy' no doubt

think I'll leave postings relating to the exercises or someone else to start .

my typing re-typing drafting cutting pasting all at once sort of brain is a bit crap for these kind of fora things


..

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spiralthreads


Member

Posted Thu Jan 24th, 2008 4:31pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
Yes it's strange, but I suspect people are afraid of looking either silly or show offish. I am silly, and already have my writings out there, so don't have a problem with sharing my mush. You're enthusiastic and getting to grips with your new skills and it's nice to share your take on it all. Some of it is even good

I've been on a number of courses on varied themes, and even taught some. When even the simplest question is asked, nobody seems willing to volunteer the answer. Grown ups are really very much worse than children at this and large groups worse than small.

I was doing a type of counselling course with a bunch of psychologists last year and was the only one willing to interact with the lecturer most of the time - got sick of the sound of my own voice. This made no sense as they all knew a lot more about the subject than I did. Most were also very guarded about their body language and wore outstandingly anonymous clothing. Oddly enough, when we broke up into pairs for one on one stuff, the hubbub was deafening.


Note to those who read but do not post:

Show us your worst! After that whatever you put up will be an improvement and you'll feel better. If you wait until you think what you've written is good enough, it will stay under the bed for years.

Or perhaps there's just nobody out there

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paul harris


Member

Posted Thu Jan 24th, 2008 4:45pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
maybe there being silly and showing off elsewhere......

oh and i did or instead of to in that last reply .... and i was trying to be careful

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paul harris


Member

Posted Thu Jan 24th, 2008 4:46pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
maybe there being silly and showing off elsewhere......

oh and i did or instead of to in that last reply .... and i was trying to be careful

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spiralthreads


Member

Posted Thu Jan 24th, 2008 7:30pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
There's a little edit button. Click on it when you want to change something. V easy.

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paul harris


Member

Posted Thu Jan 24th, 2008 7:44pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
yeah - ive been editing ... it's just the strange surprise when what appears doesn't look like what i thought I wrote . . . .

i've re-presented my ballad at the top of the thread with the re-worked version

thanks tho

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spiralthreads


Member

Posted Sun Jan 27th, 2008 5:47pm Post subject: The Ode Less Travelled
Now that's what I call a ballad. Nice balance between romantic imagery and gruesomeness (is that a word?).

It occurred to me that people who have been working their way through the exercises might just be interested in reviewing some poetry. There is a magazine style website called Whispers of Wickedness http://www.ookami.co.uk that has a good review section and I noticed that they are currently looking for poetry reviewers. As the name suggests, the subject matter tends to be a little dark, occasionally bloodthirsty, but generally the standard is quite reasonable.

To see how to write a review, I suggest you read a few of the ones already posted, although there are no hard and fast rules, other than that you be fair, honest and not offensive. Anyone who wants more advice can contact me (through the private message facility if you wish) and I'll do my best to help. With 20-odd years' experience I think I can probably answer most questions.

I just clicked on the site and learned that they'd exceeded their bandwidth or something and are temporarily off air, but that should only last a short while.

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