I'd like to introduce myself with a poem

[tadpole]

Howdy. I'm new to the forum . . . have made several posts already, but I thought I'd share a poem as a way to introduce myself. Please feel free to comment/criticize.

Lover

is in back
of my '62 Volkswagen Bug
plucking the seat from its hinges,
ripping at the cream-colored vinyl cover.

Then the bumpers came off,
stripped the chrome and bolts too,
and then he drove it like mad.

Taught me how to speed stick
from 1st to 4th
in ten seconds flat;
grinding gears and stalling,
I couldn't shift fast enough
for his anger.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised
when the clutch gave,
when the tow-truck driver
put a slick hand on my thigh and
he just walked away,
the smile spreading on his face
like honey.

And the mechanics laughed at me
because I was a silly little Maybeline-made girl,
knew nothing about cars
and shook as I signed the check.
I paid one hundred eighty-three dollars
and odd change
to get an alignment
and wipe myself clean.

[Shea]

Wow! This poem is to introduce yourself? I hope your not still with that guy. Great poem!

[Koa]

aaah i love poems with references to 'modernity'...i mean cars and such, not only abstract time.

[american_bad_angel1407]

wow! I'm sooo into cars that its not even funny! i definately like your poem, and as far as i'm conserned, you did a fine job introducing yourself! 8)

[b]

This is really a nice poem! You really draw the reader in your poem by writing very imaging, modern, lightly, refreshing, etc.

Should I look at this as postmodernism, or what?

[tadpole]

Should I look at this as postmodernism, or what?

Good question, and thanks to everyone for the very kind comments.

I don't know if I can answer your question because I've never quite decided if I am or am not lamenting my fragmented self (the poem is slightly autobiographial, so I'll just refer to the speaker as me). In some ways, I think the poem (or the process of the poem) is Utilitarian and allows me to consume the experience and be more knowledgeable as a result. Other times I think the poem, my voice and tone, is far too self-conscious, in which case I see the experience as being tragic. And, really, I want to learn from the experience and be tragic for it at the same time.

I think I've just confused myself.

Of course, I wrote the poem for a course assignment, the idea being that I would represent myself or some event or events as an inanimate object.

[Koa]

Of course, I wrote the poem for a course assignment, the idea being that I would represent myself or some event or events as an inanimate object.

Why 'of course'???
I've never manage to write anything for assignments (which was rare and aaaages ago, before secondary school). I once wrote something (i think the subect was war) and REFUSED to read it out loud in the class as everybody else had to do. I just kept saying 'No' until the teacher gave up and asked someone else.

[tadpole]

I took numerous poetry writing workshops when I was in college. We had to write one poem a week and then submit it to each member of the class for discussion the following week. I'm used to sharing, and I'm also used to getting torn apart by other writers. I've come to believe that if any would-be writer hopes to publish, he or she better develop a thick skin.

[firestarter]

wow, tadpole i have to agree with shea, what a great way to introduce yourself. also, not too bad on the imagery and tone words. great job.
firestarter

[b]

For a poet, it is often hard to decide to which direction of artistical expression your work is to be reconed. To self-analyse and self-criticize your poetry is very controversial when you are writing purely romatical, so usually I don't involve such questions in my 'comments' on someone's poetry.

But your style is self-conscious, self-criticizing and nearly ironic enough to say something about postmodernism. I don't like the idea of poetry lessons, but in some cases and with some styles and with some poetical directions those things might come to use: with Utilitarism - for instance.

[tadpole]

But your style is self-conscious, self-criticizing and nearly ironic enough to say something about postmodernism. I don't like the idea of poetry lessons, but in some cases and with some styles and with some poetical directions those things might come to use: with Utilitarism - for instance.

I think your comments about the poem provide an excellent insight into the culture that has shaped me and how I view my world and my experiences. The truth of the matter is that I didn't write that poem with any intentions to comment on modernism or postmodernism. I simply wanted to write about how painful it can be to lose one's innocence--because at the time I wrote the poem, some 13 years ago, I was making the transition to adulthood and finding it difficult. But no matter what I write about, I always ask myself what I hope to achieve, what point I want to make--that propensity, I believe, is less a result of any specific poetry lesson and more a product of my entire education and upbrining. While I'm self-conscious and very critical of myself by nature, I've also been taught to be self-conscious, to criticze my actions and to criticize my consciousness of my actions. Isn't this post a good example?

I recently read a non-fiction work titled Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. For the most part, it's a collection of psychological case studies about adolescent girls. The psychologist attempts to explain why so many girls lose their identity in the transition to adolescence and participate in dangerous activities--drugs, sex, violence--that are counter to the values they demonstrated as children, and she believes that the personalities we manifest during childhood are our "true selves." One particular point she makes is that teenage girls become framented during adolescence; as adults, most women struggle to piece back together that fragmented identity in an effort to achieve a "whole" sense of self, and for many women that process lasts a lifetime. It's a fascinating read, and it really allowed me to understand better the direction much of my writing has taken.

[b]

This post is starting to get really interesting, for these kinds of replies are describing the realionship between the poet and her / his world, which is - on a more deeper level - also the relationship between the individual and the culture in which she / he participates.

People who begin to write poems are usually not thinking about a certain style or direction in literature, since poetry is always about self expression: choosing a style before writing will obviously limit the poetry itself!

But when analysing it - especially when you use abstract communication like this - one is instantly forced to use previous experences in literature and to refer to a certain direction in art - if that is obviously present.

When I read your poem, I instantly thought about postmodernism, so I naturally explained that association in my reply.

[tadpole]

My approach to studying literature and poetry is to understand the cultural context in which it was written--that's one reason why I find a novel like, say Mody Dick (since it came up in another thread as a "boring" read) so fascinating. It also explains why I find war literature so interesting--because the psychology of military culture is so different from anything I know.

People who begin to write poems are usually not thinking about a certain style or direction in literature, since poetry is always about self expression: choosing a style before writing will obviously limit the poetry itself!

I have to disagree, though. Historically speaking, many artists (poets, painters, writers) have spefically limited themselves to particular styles in an effort to express a specific message. Otherwise, I don't believe our definitions of art would change.

[b]

Of course you're right when you say that it happened a lot with artists who lived before us: with "People who begin to write poems" I meant - quite inabstractly - poets of 'our time' and people who are posting their poetry on this very forum. Most people in 'modern' culture don't start to write in order to reach a certain - already existing - style, but just to utter their thoughts on a way they feel comfortable with.

To find the way of thought-expression that you feel most comfortable with is a process that will - in our time - most often take place without a conscious intention to reach a certain direction in art. I remember though, that, when I began to write poetry for the first time, I always used rhyme and the classical sonnet to guide me, but soon afterwards I realised that in most cases those rules limited my expressions.

[tadpole]

I agree with you completely.