Thinking and Singing: Poetry and the Practice of Philosophy

by Brian Bartlett (Editor/Contributor), Robert Bringhurst, Dennis Lee

Investigations into the role and importance of poetry in the culture of the mind and consciousness by some of our foremost practitioners of the art. Tim Lilburn and his interlocutors have been carrying on their five-pointed conversation about the relationship between poetry and philosophy for over a decade. The results of the moveable discussion have been delivered in a collection of impecably written essays, each one stamped with the artistic personality of the author.

Genres: Philosophy, Poetry

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Brian Bartlett’s books of poetry include Granite Erratics, The Afterlife of Trees, Travels of the Watch, and Wanting the Day: Selected Poems, which was published in both Britain and Canada and won the 2004 Atlantic Poetry Prize. He also edited Don McKay: Essays on His Works and is working on a collection of prose, Living with Poetry. He teaches at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

Reviews

[Magdelanye · Rating 5 out of 5]

...this is what I've been pressing to articulate. How technique reaches out to desire, to recreate the poly-rhythms of being. from Notes on Rhythm in Poetry by Dennis Lee

Thinking differs from singing mainly in the way each are best articulated. We can think out loud (not without some peril) and we can sing sub vocally ( for our own pleasure if no else) but mainly our thoughts are free and private and our songs meant to be shared.

This was just what I came up with when mulling over the seductive title of this remarkable collection of essays. It doesn't really have much to do with this book which takes a far more academic approach. That this turned out to be so visceral was only one of the surprises the book offers.

Poetry is not man made-not something hybridized on the farm of human language. Poetry is a quality or aspect of existence. Robert Bringhurst p155
Poems are the tips of the icebergs afloat on the ocean of poetry. The obnoxious and contrary beings called poets have been around for quite some time....Poetry itself has been here a lot longer.... p156

The boundaries of the mundane and the prosaic are not eternally fixed. And the boundaries of poetry? he wonders on p88. These kind of statements and the questions they introduce may seem extravagant and only careful rereading allowed me to admit their logic.

Make no mistake, this is not all lyrical nor light reading and often I was peeved beyond measure at the difficulty I had maintaining my flow of comprehension. How enriching the struggle!

TL's essay entitled Philosophical Apokatastasis: on Writing and Return was almost as difficult to get into as Dennis Lee's Body Music and even more rewarding to get to the insight that:

The only way to do philosophy is through erotic love....p113

Furthermore, he acknowledges, Being seduced by a thing is not the same as honouring it; such immolation is a form of wilful self-absorption, not devotion. p115

Well, I have been seduced by this book and will gladly show my devotion by buying a copy as soon as I can find one. In the meantime, I have put out requests for quite a few of the books I discovered from my reading of this one. In fact, I am just about finished Bringhursts The Tree Of Meaning: Thirteen Talks which is another rich source of references. And I also have been surprised to see references to many of these authors in all kinds of places. A book I picked up yesterday on an African adventure positively glows about Tim Lilburn

I think I'm connected, and I feel like singing about it!

[Leif · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent collection of essays including a standout by Dennis Lee, oddly enough, and a bit of a flop from Bringhurst and Lilburn. Not the first place I'd go for an introduction to any of the authors included.