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Forums / 3rd party poetry discussion /
Novels/Short Stories


  • polly filla
    Jun 17 12:00 PM
    Reply
    I buy quite a lot of books from charity shops---I go to St Andrews, (in Scotland, where Prince William went to uni) because the students from the university there are all loaded, so the charity shops are packed with great stuff! Notably, proper literature...

    recently, I've read Oscar Wilde's 'A Woman Of No Importance', a compilation of short stories by Chekov, Muriel Spark's 'The Public Image', and at the moment I'm reading 'Dubliners' by James Joyce

    (I've also had some great bits of glass ect, but that's not really relevant!)

    The point is, I feel I'm soaking up all this literary history, and it's weight is quite significant when it comes to poetry (I think) because some of the lines in these novels/short stories are some of the greatest poetry I've ever experienced!

    edit/ reading Muriel Spark's 'The Public Image' makes me wonder whether John Lydon named his band PiL (Public image Limited) after it...he's always been political, and well-read to boot! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylOCIP54PIQ

  • cvillelisa
    June 22 ↑
    Reply


    I've become quite enamored of short stories lately -- and yes finding lots of inspiration for poems in that genre. I've sort of given up novels -- it seems for the time being -- mostly because of time.


    • polly filla
      June 23 ↑
      Reply
      I need something good to read every night in bed, otherwise I take ages to drop off---regardless of what I've been doing beforehand

      James Joyce is quite hard-going for me; his language takes a while to digest, so his short stories are a good size

      I'm not writing at the moment, but I'm sure Joyce will come back to me throughout the future

      • cvillelisa
        June 23 ↑
        Reply


        Someone once told me, about reading Joyce, "just let the words wash over you, the meaning will come later." I found it to be a very helpful suggestion.

        I recently read "Knockemstiff" a book of short stories by an American hill billy -- brutal stories but very excellent about people living in a rural Ohio town named Knockemstiff.


        • polly filla
          June 24 ↑
          Reply
          that's good advice; yet I find myself putting his book down to clarify words like aspire against conspire---I'm so obviously uneducated!

          "Knockemstiff" now there's a name

          • cvillelisa
            June 25 ↑
            Reply


            It is actually a town name .. !

            • polly filla
              June 25 ↑
              Reply
              ridiculous!

              I'm definitely going to look for 'Knockemstiff'---won't be hard to remember, anyway!


  • 1voice
    June 28 ↑
    Reply
    I love short stories and classic lit. James Joyce rocks!! My fav. -Guy DeMaupassant always gets my brain twirling.. And of course Lovecraft for when I am in a dark mood!!

  • just mercedes
    July 7 ↑
    Reply
    I read all the time - novels, short stories, biographies - and use words and phrases from them in my poetry. I'm like a magpie, grabbing at shiny things. It's not plagiarism, it's being inspired by other's words.

    A good writer will always set off chains of connections for me.

    • polly filla
      July 8 ↑
      Reply
      I think it's a good writer's intention, to "set off chains of connections"

      for me, the whole point of creating is to inspire done right, it's a proper communion
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