Monday 4 March 2013

Dinggedicht is a Hard Word to Say

Dinggedicht was way harder than I thought it would be.  Even after reading the wikipedia article, I didn't quite understand.  I had a hard time finding legitimate dinggedichte in English to research, and though a narrowly defined form, there is a very wide stylistic spectrum to contend with.  I hope I have a handle on this.

So, dinggedicht translates to "thing poem".  As you can probably tell, it's German.  It is dedicated to... hard to describe.  Read the wikipedia article. lol

Original Source Unknown


The Book I Keep Meaning to Read


Rectangular and smooth
with a puce dust jacket
it sits upright on a broad, cream windowsill.
Its spine is in perfect shape.





In this poem, I tried to capture the neglected aspect of a book in my house.  I hope to have conveyed that literature, unread, is unknown.  The unknown aspect of the book is told partially in the brevity of this piece, androgyny in reference to the object, and the general apathetic description; a book like any other. 

Dinggedicht is a form in which the poet strives to make the object speak for itself in tone.  The poem which really clarified this concept for me is Paradise Adrift by Judi Van Gorder.  I encourage you to follow the link and read it.

Despite the shortness of this poem, it was very difficult to write.  I was going to write two, but it would take me a while to do that again.  It's hard for me to write as plainly as this form requires.  The effect is quite pretty though.

See you tomorrow with another form.




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