Comments on: Eggs

By: James Hendrick

James Hendrick — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:33:02 +0000

I definitely agree about the importance of syntax and rhythm in those last lines, but wrote only of what's happening conceptually because that's where I find the parallelism with photographs, and also because, though Hanzlicek's poetic rhythm is as necessary as Weston's lighting to its expression, it's the concept that I finally love. I'd agree a photograph doesn't sound like a poem, as such, but then the egg-effect parallelism surprised me precisely because poetry and photography are dissimilar media.

Essentially, I think that Weston's photograph and the ending of this poem achieve a similar conceptual feat through (necessarily) different aesthetic means.

By: James Hendrick

James Hendrick — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:33:02 +0000

I definitely agree about the importance of syntax and rhythm in those last lines, but wrote only of what's happening conceptually because that's where I find the parallelism with photographs, and because, though Hanzlicek's poetic rhythm is as necessary as Weston's lighting to its expression, it's the concept that I finally love. I'd agree a photograph doesn't sound like a poem, as such, but then the egg effect parallelism surprised me precisely because poetry and photography are dissimilar media.

Essentially, I think that Weston's photograph and the ending of this poem achieve a similar conceptual feat through (necessarily) different aesthetic means.

By: Hin Chua

Hin Chua — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:20:45 +0000

Wandering off on a slight tangent here, while also temporarily avoiding answering James' question, I've always found that the very best sequences of photographs (as opposed to individual images) have always made some kind of buzzing noise inside my head.

Whether this is merely a side-effect of visual and emotional stimulation I cannot say and as I'm currently in India and away from my library of books, I don't have the ability to properly examine this sensation. But there are definitely specific bodies of work that invoke this kind of reaction from me (Alex Webb's Under a Grudging Sun is an example).

By: mdm

mdm — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:30:25 +0000

Good question, James. I won't answer it (yet) but feel that the device of collapse or simplification at the end of the poem is also one of syntax & rhythm. The repetition of "clamor of questions" perks-up the ear that something important is about to happen, and it's a damn good thing (for the poem) that egg is a single-syllable word that ends in a hardish consonant. Sonically, the whole poem comes to rest on those two "gg"s. It's a door shut instead of a door slammed, or a broken door that won't close, or a squeaking door. Egg, shut.

When poets marry their subject and content with sound like this, the impact is doubled. Just wanted to raise the flag and notice how the impact you're drawn to is from the power of sound (in your inner ear) as it is the words on the page.

Photographs don't sound like this, or do they?