Feeling Vs Technique

The academic world has gradually come to understand that pragmatics prevail over rules. In arts, this has been acknowledged, as art is widely known for bending, flouting and even breaking the rules; in my opinion, going beyond them for a higher purpose. This is true for literature, as well, given that it is a form of art that uses language to express ideas, feelings, opinions in a creative way. It implies a manipulation of the conventional use of the language to create new arrangements that produce an impact on the audience, but that is yet understandable. Some authors on language teaching, such as Bright and Mc Gregor (1970) as they mention in their chapter on 'Poetry', believe one must be careful in the selection of written material, particularly poems, making sure that the audience understands the content. Feeling is stressed as the most important aspect to take into account, and it is closely connected to the understanding of texts. These authors deal with the use of such material in language teaching, never disregarding what they believe is the purpose of reading poetry: to enjoy it! Hence, poetry seems to be intended for a purpose other than its very valid use in language and literature teaching.
Any use of the language is intended to communicate and it definitely has a particular intention; such is the case of literature. Reception theory acknowledges that the context in which a literary text is decoded accounts for multiple interpretations. The audience is not to be forced to interpret exactly what the author intended to communicate. However, in order for a text to be effective, specially poetry, the author has to get in touch with his or her own feelings and use the language to express them in a way others can understand. Appealing to feelings, which are common to every human being, authors may widen their audience to the point of reaching universality, which could be considered one of the most important aims of literature and a full proof of effectiveness in the conveyance of a message.
Many contemporary poets are use colloquial language in their work, appealing to a wider audience than other former poets. Rules of spelling and punctuation and capitalization are tampered with to accomplish a desired effect. Although the topics they deal with are of a parochial nature, the feelings discussed are universal. Such is the case of the poems discussed this past week in our seminar, Jean Binta Breeze's third world views and Marc Matthews's Language. To get a better understanding of the process these authors have to go through in order to accomplish a condensed expression of feelings in a creative and aesthetic way, an exercise on poetry writing was carried out in our last seminar session and this is what I came up with... after being reminded that it was not a rational exercise, but rather one to get in touch with my feelings! I hope you can enjoy it...

Funnel of Fun?

So many colors
for maybe just once
making uneasy
dry winds of desserts,
wild herds around
no one to guide me
so unfulfilled
flavor is too.

Sounds are just crazy
Who is it?
It’s you…

Know that it’s last time
Feel it’s not true
Ask for a bad one
It’s just for you.