[Bards] A taste of my poetry

Marie Adams marie.adams at visionoflove.net
Thu Jul 24 09:39:53 PDT 2003


At the end of your message, you stated, "Sometime ask me about the brick."
I'm very curious as to what you mean by that, as I didn't see a brick
mentioned anywhere else in the message. (Of course, it could have been
something that was in there, but went over my head. :-) Would you be so
kind as to explain about that to me?
	Thanks, Serena

On Mon, 7 Jul 2003, Jay Rudin wrote:

> Lady Serena asked:
>
> > Just
> > wondering, though, I've mostly heard bards perform much longer pieces at
> > competitions; does anyone think very short pieces are just as acceptable?
>
> There are two issues here, and I will address them separately.
>
> First, a piece should not be made longer, or shorter, than it needs to be.
> My poem "The Baron" is 8 1/2 minutes long, roughly, and couldn't be
> shortened.  A sonnet of sixteen lines is too long.
>
> A poem that is its proper length will get its proper due.  Short poems are
> enjoyed, and accepted.  I've performed sonnets, and even triolets (eight
> line fixed form).  Many excellent SCA poets started with short poems, and
> got enough joy and audience appreciation to start writing longer ones as
> well.
>
> The second issue is simple tactics of a competition.  A short poem, in my
> experience, is very unlikely to win.  Even if it says everything it needs to
> say, a sonnet or triolet doesn't hold the audience long enough to have the
> emotional impact necessary to be remembered over and above many other
> excellent pieces.
>
> Yes, they are acceptable, just as a well-made button is acceptable.  But a
> well-made button will not out-perform a well-made costume in an A&S
> competition.
>
> (Sometime ask me about the brick.)
>
> Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin
>
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