In the Moment

4 Comments

  1. Joseph Hutchison
    Joseph Hutchison January 6, 2009 at 4:10 pm .

    There’s a terrific example, Hermagoras. Here’s a <A HREF="http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bsunday/kinsella.htm&quot; REL="nofollow">link</A> to Kinsella’s poem for anyone who’s interested. And you’re right—it holds up well…

  2. Hermagoras
    Hermagoras January 6, 2009 at 12:36 am .

    A possible example would be Thomas Kinsella’s "Butcher’s Dozen," which was written, printed, and distributed eight days after the publication of the Widgery Report exonerating the British forces for the Bloody Sunday massacre. Sold for 10 pence Irish and widely available throughout Dublin — you could get the pamphlet on newsstands, I believe — it certainly captured the moment. It may have

  3. Joseph Hutchison
    Joseph Hutchison January 5, 2009 at 8:01 pm .

    And it may well be that a poet may capture the moment, only to have that moment interpreted in historical terms that undercut the poet’s view of it. Can’t think of a good example, but in film, take <I>Birth of a Nation</I>. Only a few skinheads can see that film the way large numbers of people saw it when it was released….

  4. jejacobson
    jejacobson January 5, 2009 at 7:41 pm .

    I think it <I>can</I>, as is evident in Whitman’s civil war poems. But how many of Whitman’s contemporaries tried to capture the moment in the moments and have faded into nobodies? I wonder if it’s the universality of that moment or the poet’s place in the "canon" that affects a poem’s longevity. I also wonder if the polarized view of politics and issues across the globe minimizes the chance of a

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