clearly obscure

[billy]

This is an appeal. Not the old chestnut on obscurity again? Please! No, not really. I have just read one of philatone's pieces, Nickname. I perhaps unfairly suggested that he deliberately made the clear unclear, the ordered formless and the simple complicated.
Before a holiday break I watched mark wrestling with his own legs as he tried to get a "story" banging around in the confines of head to run off of its own accord......but the more he prodded it the more it fell over.
Please discuss. Clarity first, obscurity second, complexity third.
Best,
Tectak

i can understand where you're coming from. ( i think) you've read enough poetry and poetry related stuff to maybe know a thing or two about clarity and obscurity in poetry. while we can discuss the three avenues of 'ity here, it won't make that much difference in peoples poetry (not really) but it is a good thing to discuss. like most things i prefer a mixture of all three and i'm not that bothered which order they come in. i think clarity and obscurity work well together, for the former we can get a clue as to the understanding of the latter (sometimes) and when both used together they can create a complexity that isn't overly complex.

with narrative poetry i prefer clarity over complex, (i think i always prefer the complexity least of of all, though i do prefer to see it) i'm good to go with unknown place names etc, and even a few fresh metaphors, most of all i want to do/live or at least feel as though i'm taking part in the poem.

non narrative poetry: i still prefer the clarity first, but also find obscurity makes it less boring, if it gives me just enough to think about with making it illegible, i'm good to go. in this kind of poem i think obscurity plays a larger part but not as large as the first two.
the problem arises when a well read poet and a relatively newb poet read the same piece. they see through different lens, and because of that; what may be a complex or obscure poem for one, may be a less obscure or less complex poem for the other. this often leads to a class system in forums where one poet is thought less of than another.

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