Hey guys, I was sitting around here, tired of surfing the net (whoa, amazing!), so decided that maybe I should put an update out there for y'all! So... nothing much has happened, now you're up to date!
Ok, sorry, I won't be an ass anymore...
I sent out a big e-mail the other night to people who don't regularly read my blog (some don't want to, some don't have time, some just didn't know about it!). I let them all know that the book was out, and that they should buy LOTS of copies. :) That story is boring, but I told you that so I can tell you this: I actually got some replies that surprised me! One, from one of my college teachers, really bothered me. She asked if there was a way to get the poems without reading the blog, as it made her blush, and was above PG-13. I'm assuming she didn't even GET this far, had she read about my copyrights she would have fainted! What is funnier (to me) is that my GRANDMOTHER reads my poetry blog and has said that she didn't have an issue with the language. Thankfully, she's not very computer literate, so she hasn't found THIS blog yet!
I use some rather gruff language on here. I'm the first to admit it, and I'll tell you why too: it works! People know what I mean. I'm not talking at a level "above" you, being pretentious and self-righteous, I'm using the same language that people "out there" are using. In this instance, I'm assuming that out there is on a boat full of sailors, but still. :)
I like to swear in my poetry. Why? Because! There are many things that, in my mind, make something a poem. It has "qualifications" if you will. It's always written using high-speech, no profanity, and half the words I have to look up in a dictionary. That, in my mind, is why so many people hate poetry. I admit that what I write breaks a lot of the rules of poetry, and een had a period of second-guessing how many rules it was ok to break, but if I have to break every single poetry "rule" ever written to make it accessible to everyone, I will.
Another reason I swear so much in my poems is that it fits. The emotion and mood I was trying to set are complimented by the swearing, and you have a much better handle on HOW I felt about something. I don't believe in subtle poetry, it just isn't my style, I believe in shoving my message as far down your throat as I possibly can. Mmmm, sexy!
Let me give you an example comparison. This is from "You Knew", one I put up a while back:
"You knew I was fucked up"
Originally it said:
"You knew that I had issues"
See how different those lines are? Just that extra push takes me from having "issues" (aww, look at the sweet little issues) to being "fucked up" (whoa, don't mess with THAT!). It drives my point home so much stronger...
But why do I swear on HERE? There isn't any need to, I just do it because I can, and it's funny (usually). I can still use it to drive my point home, or to distract you from something, or whatever I need at the time, but to be honest sometimes I just do it because I can! :)
Now, go back and re-read this whole entry. You'll notice that I used the word "ass" once, and "fuck" twice. That's all I swore. Now, ass isn't really even a swear word anymore, it's just a statement (You ass), a body part (Nice ass!), and a goal (I want a piece of ass). Both times I said "fuck" were in the example, so they shouldn't count...
Since I have a swear quota, I'd better get this out of the way before calling it a night:
Fuckfuckshitfuckbitchdammitmotherfuckingshite!
So, quick poll, for those who comment. Aside from hate speech (racial slurs, homophobic, etc), what swear words really BOTHER you? What is your FAVORITE?
For me, there aren't any swear words that I take offense to. No, really. If I had to name one, I'd say boobs, but only because it makes the person saying it sound stupid, and it isn't even fun to type (like tits is!). My favorite: fuck. Seriously, I use the word fuck so much that I should have to pay royalties! Some days (when it's busy at work), I can be heard saying:
Fuck fuck motherfucking fuckie fucks!
Yes, I know, it's dumb, but so much fun to say! Go ahead boys and girls, try it at home! :)
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4 comments:
I can't say any one certain word bothers me. PLEASE forgive me, for I shocked some peeps in chat one night with this, but I love the word Cunt...just because it is so shocking and even more so when a girl says it. I don't use it often. I save it for those, um, special occasions ;) Oh yeah, this is Kim/Carmen by the way.
Okay I'm putting down the "Ma" role here for a minute to answer this. ;-)
I guess no sweary words really offend me other than the "C" word Klim just talked about, hee hee. And I don't know why it bothers me, I just really find it nasty.
If I am with people I'm close to or know very well it's no biggie, I even say the eff word a lot then. But if it's someone I don't know and I'm hearing nothing but swearies coming out of their mouths it bothers me. Why? Believe me I ask myself that.... because it sounds so hypocritical doesn't it? I think for me it seems like the person has no respect if they are letting loose with "eff" and "C" (the other one) etc. etc. around strangers. But if you know those around you it's okay. Unless of course you talk like Eddy Murphy doing stand-up where every other word is a sweary. Then it's not offensive so much as just downright annoying.
I'm not being fair to want to have it both ways, I know. I can't understand why I feel that way. But if a friend is amongst friends and swears normally (not every other word) it's a nothing thing..... and yet if a person in a room full of strangers is continually swearing just to shock everyone, that bugs me. It's like they show no respect for people. (I don't swear around people who don't know me) Yup I'm such a hypocrite I guess...
Whatever swearing you've done in your poetry that I've read Adam, has done nothing but punctuate the feelings you're getting across and hasn't bothered me in the least.
Don't find anything bothers me really, but it is a matter of context. And swearing every other word is just unimaginative and dilutes the value of the swearing.
That last post was by me, Colin but the computer stole it whilst I was dealing with a dog-related event...
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