https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/category-1582-sep.-2008 en 2005-2012 shakespearesmonekys@gmail.com 42.65593 -71.33391 Sun, 21 Jun 2026 12:49:03 GMT yacs http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 70 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-6565-coffee-machine https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-6565-coffee-machine Take a break, and discuss important things anstey Chat Rooms Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:58:31 GMT /section-493-chat-rooms#comments 79 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/6565 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/6565 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A6565 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-6567-interactive-support https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-6567-interactive-support To seek for help from other members of the community anstey Chat Rooms Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:18:58 GMT /section-493-chat-rooms#comments 6 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/6567 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/6567 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A6567 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-4139-what-are-you-reading https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-4139-what-are-you-reading What's everyone reading right now? anstey Novel Ideas, Short Inspiration & Spew Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:36:59 GMT /section-273-novel-ideas-short-inspiration-spew#comments 102 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/4139 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/4139 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A4139 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-4672-shakespeare-s-monkey-revue https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-4672-shakespeare-s-monkey-revue Coming soon! Order now! anstey Hawking our wares Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:16:03 GMT /section-367-hawking-our-wares#comments 3 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/4672 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/4672 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A4672 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-7376-some-thoughts-on-the-fertility-of-turtles https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-7376-some-thoughts-on-the-fertility-of-turtles Not being conversant in 'critique', I accept the notes below may constitute utter bollocks - but they may also reflect the extent to which poetry can capture the imagination of the reader. I've recently read a host of comments in the discussion thread regarding 'bad poetry'. For me, bad poetry is stuff written and published for the exclusive benefit of the writer, to fulfill a personal need, with no regard for the reader. How do you identify a writer's motives? Well, I have no idea - that's as far as I got :> Perhaps it's a gut feeling, although the comment process usually proves to be a solid indicator of attitude. So, anyway - a personal appreciation/exploration of... The Futility of Turtles - Austin Gorsuch  Title - two aspects...does it make me want to read the poem? The Futility of Turtles? Why? I have no idea, but I care because it's a statement, and I'm a sceptic - so that's a 'yes'. Does it say something meaningful about the poem? How should I know? Revisit... The car did not stop. Wheels continued to spin as my father and I looked to the curb - the struggling turtle attempting to work its way back onto its feet. "The car did not stop." Classic first line delivery - monosyllabic, abrupt. Impact - the importance of first impressions/primacy. A line with consequences, preceded by caesura/endash. "The struggling turtle" - (intention behind the use of) definite article (i.e. not a/any old struggling turtle, but the/this one) - implying that the turtle in question has been noted/noticed prior to the reader's attendance, an integral part of this story. So, was it struggling before the (assumed) incident with the car? Or is the car incidental, yet also relevant in metaphoric terms? Does this epitomise the futility of turtles? Did it merely fall off the pavement and tip over into the road, onto its back? If the result of an RTA, wouldn't this have been 'the turtle, struggling, attempting to...'? So perhaps - turtle struggling, car doesn't stop = life goes on, wheels continue to spin, and the reader constructs a drama to accommodate meaningful interpretation? Its legs, splayed to the sunlight, flailed in the crisp breeze of a day just beginning. Observation - no intervention, no interpretation, attitudes or feelings expressed, purely (superficially) descriptive (detached?), with no indication as to where this is going, beyond 'a day just beginning' (there's more to come..) Suggestion of assonance (splayed, flailed) and onomatopoeia (crisp breeze) Contrast (re. 'Later') - sunlight, crisp breeze = a fresh, new day Later, I went out with Mother. She told me stories about how she had been dreaming of being raped, of shooting her husband, and as I tuned the voice of convolution into a studded white noise, Mother capitalized, no 'possessive' pronoun. Formal/impersonal? Alien? Contrast between 'my father and I', + two stanzas of shared experience - and 'Later, I went out with Mother.' - stark, unembellished one-line event. Stories - fantasies/self-indulgence, emphasised by combining 'stories' with 'dreaming' (intentional redundancy). Contrast 'dreaming' with violence of rape and shooting. Joined-up writing ...tuned/voice/white noise. Convolution (compare revolution/evolution - progress/outcome) Studded? Sardonic allusions to...? Ornamental? Hard (rivetted, but not rivetting?). Star-studded? (many connotations e.g. poetic aesthetics & media) Also, interesting (re. discussion thread on use of commas) to see end-of-line comma combined with double line break - says 'this is connected, but' (?) (hesitation - example of the art of manipulation?) And finally (yeah - right)...'being raped, shooting her husband'. The relationship, or not (and the relationship) - repression/distortion > inverse displacement & aggression - fantasy/futility. I began to imagine her, on her back, her arms reaching in futility for the sky from the dark recesses of her verdant shell. The turtle metaphor doesn't appear out of nowhere, we've already 'seen' the 'real' turtle, so this readily paints a picture and forms a strong impression. "I began to imagine" - where/how far would this have gone? Sentiments of (unknown) depth. The 'Mother'/turtle pose - portrays helplessness/hopelessness, but also consistent with a 'rape' scenario and even suggestive of someone having been shot? (irony/poetic justice? - hmm) But the BIG one - 'verdant'. Verdant?! That's a flag - ambush ahead :] Too clichéd to be anything else? Perhaps, but also marked as lush, fertile . Considering implications of 'lush', but probably too far removed. Verdant qualifying shell - no, too involved for my limited resources. I laughed (foolishly). Why foolishly? Shame? Embarrassment? Indifference towards the plight of the turtle? Applying the turtle metaphor to Mother? The mocking of Mother's dreams? Painting the shell green? Or was it foolish to laugh - Mother is looking at me like I'm weird/stupid/disrespectful. Pay attention! More misdirection? Ha! How stupid is that - making such an elementary error. (which one?) After all, her shell has no color. "After all" - seemingly innocuous, but replete with overhanging meaning here. Conclusion, whether explicit or implicit - as important as first lines even when misunderstood, or a complete mystery, as long as it looks/sounds/feels like a conclusion. So, even metaphorical turtles have shells & shells have colour - which leaves a further metaphor... shell = no life = no colour? And the title...The Futility of Turtles...that's a 'yes'. Final note: If you're still awake - really, you should get out of your shell more often :> Final, final note: I always attempt to approach every poem as being entirely fictional, irrespective of what I may or may not know (if anything) about the writer. Assumptions lure, attribution theory rules... ... more aphasic Aphasic's athenaeum of illiteration Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:57:40 GMT /section-519-aphasic-s-athenaeum-of-illiteration#comments 10 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/7376 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/7376 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A7376 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-2762-regarding-pictures https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-2762-regarding-pictures Just a small favor request anstey Site Issues & Questions Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:23:30 GMT /section-368-site-issues-questions#comments 7 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/2762 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/2762 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A2762 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-6005-about-this-site https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-6005-about-this-site Interestingly, there isn't a lot of information on this site about Shakespeare or Monkeys. Why is that? I'm sure you're wondering. The answer is simple really, it's all about the writing here anstey Resources Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:44:16 GMT /section-503-resources#comments 0 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/6005 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/6005 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A6005 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-1-devolve-with-us-. https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-1-devolve-with-us-. Bill & RexWelcome to Shakespeare's Monkeys! anstey Covers Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:28:17 GMT /section-1-covers#comments 0 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/1 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/1 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A1 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-79-criticism-guidelines https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-79-criticism-guidelines We all want to receive -- and give -- good criticism, but what exactly makes it good? Here are just a few points as a guide. (See also: Standards & Rules, Rule 3, "Give & Take Criticism with Grace") 1. Remember that this is not your writing. Ask yourself what the author wants to achieve and how best that goal can be met within the existing framework of the piece. Do not attempt to impose your own style on another writer; a good reviewer will in fact impose the writer’s style on him/herself for the duration of the critique. ... more anstey Guide to Comments and Critique Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:54:36 GMT /section-507-guide-to-comments-and-critique#comments 6 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/79 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/79 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A79 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-8177-added-a-personal-space-request-form https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-8177-added-a-personal-space-request-form Members can now request a personal space without sending a nasty email. Fill out the form found on the Member Pages-- and your new space will be set up very quickly anstey Site News Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:10:03 GMT /section-11-site-news#comments 3 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/8177 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/8177 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A8177 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-3189-synapse-updated-and-edited-12-11-09-pages-1-47 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-3189-synapse-updated-and-edited-12-11-09-pages-1-47 Follow up work to Ryan Hoarty's Novella Suicide Before Death. It's madness and that's all I can promise. Everyone should read this and tear it apart, I'll take any criticism/analysis offered. This is just the beginning anstey Synapse: Michael Mission Harris Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:35:41 GMT /section-159-synapse-michael-mission-harris#comments 5 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/3189 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/3189 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A3189 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9810-absorption https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9810-absorption For failings, fallings, a lifetime's welling sorrows - your guilty pools gathered in my hollows; I sponged your tears with endless sympathy; you seeped beneath my limestone breast where calciferous bone has ossified the pain. All that timeless rain and moonlit leaching dissolved a cavernous gloom inside. On moonless nights, I hear the darkness dripping; and like some reckless caver drawn to murk, I enter down the echoes carved by hurt to feel your stalactites pierce my chambers. u668857 The Personal Space of U668857 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:09:39 GMT /section-449-the-personal-space-of-u668857#comments 2 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/9810 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/9810 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A9810 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-7912-the-real-reason-for-poetry-. https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-7912-the-real-reason-for-poetry-. I knew it...this comic proves it. The real reason to make money at poetry is to feed the monkeys.      ellenans Open Forum For Discussion Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:18:36 GMT /section-546-open-forum-for-discussion#comments 8 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/7912 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/7912 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A7912 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9797-libby https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9797-libby Libby stands, fag in hand, outside the door. She is braced against the world, contemplative, inhaling thoughts of cursors, date functions; how best to format fields as out parameters; how to optimize the queries, substring varchars, not compromise the data's referential integrity. She cuts the wind that's cutting her, ruminating daggers of tortuous code.   Libby is the ice-maiden from Australia, knows her stuff, doesn't suffer fools, ... more u668857 The Personal Space of U668857 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:47:19 GMT /section-449-the-personal-space-of-u668857#comments 0 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/9797 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/9797 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A9797 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9750-calling https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9750-calling   In the wet and sullen leaf-fall my darkness is a violin; the days of far-off melody call my lonely highways deep within.   I see the seagull soar in harmony when all the windswept skies return; I hear again my golden symphony, the sweet refrain of dreams that yearn.   The hills cry out with distant voices and vistas sigh the miles I tread; but I am chained to binding choices, deep ruts of love and daily bread.   ... more u668857 The Personal Space of U668857 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:59:02 GMT /section-449-the-personal-space-of-u668857#comments 4 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/9750 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/9750 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A9750 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-7413-scratch-n-sniff https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-7413-scratch-n-sniff At the risk of repeating myself, allow me to reiterate the above/below gripe of wrath aphasic Limericks Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:48:29 GMT /section-523-limericks#comments 1 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/7413 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/7413 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A7413 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-7412-late-call https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-7412-late-call necrophilia's rise in positionas a funeral parlour traditionreached its climax in criesto decriminalizein the face of some stiff opposition aphasic Limericks Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:00:34 GMT /section-523-limericks#comments 0 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/7412 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/7412 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A7412 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9806-viva-mexico https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9806-viva-mexico Para Sonia: mi amiga, mi hermana, mi curandera. Te quiero mucho mucho Jasmine Mann Jasmine's Poetry Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:47:33 GMT /section-72-jasmine-s-poetry#comments 6 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/9806 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/9806 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A9806 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9787-hi https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9787-hi Jen The personal space of Jen Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:42:42 GMT /section-218-the-personal-space-of-jen#comments 6 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/9787 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/9787 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A9787 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9891-discussing-discussion-with-chris-and-his-mildly-retarded-sock-puppet https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9891-discussing-discussion-with-chris-and-his-mildly-retarded-sock-puppet Doesn't that just sound so delightful?! Animal Forum and Discussion Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:03:01 GMT /section-643-forum-and-discussion#comments 5 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/9891 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/9891 https://www.dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A9891