Do we really need poetry?

(From ‘English for technicians’)

Poetry suffers from more misunderstanding than possibly any other topic. The average Englishman considers that poetry is nice for children; becoming for girls; appropriate for women teachers; and a necessary evil for students of literature. Few people read poetry and fewer still pay for it.

The reason for the common man’s dislike of poetry is the notion that poetry should deal only with certain specific “nice’ themes and topics such as birds bees flowers trees and love.

But the fact is that life in all its forms can provide inspiration for poetry. The so-called ugly ordinary are as remarkable in their way as the beautiful and superb. Modern ports have discovered this and given us many fine poems on unpoetical subjects.

Do we really need poetry or for that matter any of the arts? They may be desirable or even excellent but are they of any practical use? The answer seems to be that man is an artistic animal and as long as man exists so some forms of art will exist. The human being must express his ideas and desires in some form. The arts satisfy man’s emotional needs and his love for beauty. If we doubt this let us examine some of the abundant evidence that everywhere surrounds us.

Children are brought up on stories and nursery rhymes. Every country in the world has its myths and fairy tales. Note the tremendous appeal of music in all its forms. Before the television era many people never saw a play or a ballet; now these same people are glued to their television screens.

To return to poetry we have to admit that when we wish to express some precious tender emotions we turn to poetry. We may not normally like poetry; we may know very little about it; but we recognize that it is the only way to express the best that is within us.

The purpose of this discussion has not been to convert anyone to poetry. We cannot do it. Half the trouble in the old days was that we tried to ‘teach’ poetry. We cannot ‘teach’ appreciation of any of the arts. All we can do is ‘to expose’ children to the Arts under the direction of an enthusiastic and clever teacher. If a child can get something out of any branch of art he will get more later.

The review of the novel “Heat and Dust” is spoilt by a number of weaknesses. Below there are 4 pieces of advice use them and underline the examples of where the writer fails to follow each of the numbered pieces of advice.

1. Write for the reader.

Always bear in mind who you are writing for. If you are writing for a magazine think of the kind of people who read the particular magazine. A book review is intended for people who have not read the book so don’t assume that your readers already know the story.

2. Don’t talk about yourself.

When giving your opinion whether in a review or elsewhere be careful not to fall into the trap of talking about yourself. Try to be objective. One way of testing for objectivity is to check your writing for the words I me my myself. Similarly phrases such as in my opinion to my mind I think should be used as little as possible; any more than once in the first paragraph and once in the last and your review seems to focus on yourself not your subject.

3. Write in an impersonal way.

Many students spoil their articles and reviews by writing in a chatty informal style as if they were talking to a friend. On the contrary essays articles and reviews should be relatively impersonal. Your readers are not particularly interested in you: need information description and narrative more than they need in your opinion. Finally you don’t know your reader so be careful about using the word you.

4. Use precise descriptive vocabulary.

Generalizations such as This book is boring communicate very little to the reader. Specific observations and concrete facts on the other hand help the reader to share your experience. If you have strong feelings about your subject this should make your writing more interesting – but be careful! Strong feelings must be given form and coldly translated into precise words.

Heat and Dust

By Ruth Prawder Jhabvala

‘A writer of genius … a writer of world class – a master storyteller …’ it says on the dust jacket. Can they really be talking about the same writer the same book? Personally I can’t see what distinguishes Heat And Dust from any of those cheap romantic novels that you get at railway stations.

What on earth is so remarkable about the society of bored expatriate who leaves a dull husband for someone richer more intelligent and totally exotic? In my opinion if Jhabvala was really a good writer she should have written instead about a much more interesting phenomenon the typical colonial who clings absurdly to the behavior traditions and even dress of his mother country. Alternatively Olivia could have really ‘gone native’ instead of just being seduced by a Nawab with a Rolls-Royce an Alfa Romeo and an intimate knowledge of the best hotels of Paris and London.

The plot too is corny: the idea if someone retracing someone else’s life and then (surprise, surprise!) finding parallel events happening in their own lives. Thousands of writers have used this device and to much better effect. So what makes Jhabvala such a great writer? It can’t be her prose surely which is quite boring. The words ‘heat’ and ‘dust’ appear frequently but I for one certainly never get any impression of heat or dust. I don’t know about you but the impression I get is of a very literary upper-class woman sitting at her typewriter drinking tea.

Finally what really annoys me personally about this book is the writer’s morality. You can’t see she a romantic and a moralist: she looks down on her narrator with a patronizing attitude and paints a degrading picture of modern live by giving a kind abject promiscuity in the place of love life. And incredibly the message of the book seems to be the best thing that can happen to a woman – even an unmarried woman without a boyfriend traveling abroad – is to get pregnant. I’m sorry but if you think that you’re living in another world.