I really enjoyed when Hall talked about how poetry can be a vehicle to communicate and connect with others. For him, it was his wife Jane who has passed on. He felt as if there was a remaining connection between them while addressing his work to her. The other part I found interesting about this collection was Hall considering their form as letters. When I think of poetry, I don’t think of the sort-of narrative conversation that can be found in letters. Poetry, from my based understanding, is imaginative and creative with complicated technique or imagery. My point in addressing such is that it simplified what I seem to feel has so difficult. Hall strips away technique or poetic ability to simply state that poetry, for him, was like a conversation. That at the core, he was trying to get out things he wanted to say to someone who can no longer physically be present. I imagine this allowed Hall to get words out more freely because the subject matter was so significant. Although only a perspective, because he is still (in the literal sense) trying to write poetry, it shaped my perspective. I feel I can approach writing with this in mind and it will hopefully make the brainstorming easier.
Journal #7
