So much has been written on Modern art and Contemporary
poetry over the years and in that sense, it’s rather surprising that the
literary critics are unaware of a new, evolving form of poetry. For the lack of
a better word, let’s call it the
Ultramodern
poetry. To quench my curiosity, I decided to explore this domain in more detail
and the findings were astonishing and ground-breaking.
Dr Oscar Wilde – an expert literary critic, famous for his doctoral
thesis on The Influence of Zombies on Contemporary Feminist Poetry, offers a fresh perspective on the Ultramodern
poetry. He says, “Unlike conventional forms of literature, this form explores
different themes and varied spectra of life while still retaining its loyalty
to the human-centered nature and yet literally as well as metaphorically seeks
to address the moral dilemma that a human being frequently encounters on the crossroads
of life...” He further goes on to claim that the Ultramodern poets are not expected to be literate in traditional forms of language. For more clarity, consider below-written piece of
poetry for example-
U r mah luv – me luv u & u luv me….
Dunno y bt u broke ma heart & left me…
U wer ma dream and u wer awsm..
whn I lukd at u & u lukd at me…
Here the poet’s total disregard towards punctuation and
grammar is a symbolic representation of his pursuit of freedom and liberation. Rather it can be viewed as a revolt against the established regressive structure of language that restricts one’s creativity and originality. Further poet's tendency
to make huge grammatical errors, intentionally or unintentionally, adds a
humane touch to the literary piece of art that has been sorely missing in the
traditional form. So in that sense, the Ultramodern poetry, according to Dr
Wilde, is superior to the Modernist poetry.
Tears rollin’ out of mah eyes
& mah heart is burnin’ fr u lyk fire
Nuthin i cud do abt it baby,
just temme da reason y u left me…
As observed through the keen eyes of an elite critic, Dr
Wilds seeks to draw our focus on the level of detailing. For example, the usage
of phrase such as burning like fire
instead of burning like air or water or
chocolate is an excellent example of poet’s observational power and his
insistence on detailing.
One of the recurring themes in the Ultramodern poetry is
arguably the most important aspect of human life – Love and break-up. Clearly
this issue is of the utmost importance since it digs in depth of human mind
(and anatomy too… e.g. breaking heart, etc.) and supersedes irrelevant and
trivial themes frequently found in traditional as well as modern literature such
as sacrifice, humanism, eternal love, social or political dilemma, racism,
impersonality, objectivity, etc. For his brave and ballsy confessions, the poet
definitely deserves an instant acknowledgement from the reader.
Wid u, i felt i was on da moon…
widout u Baby, its feel lyk hell..
Plz cm bck to me, u r mah everything
u changd mah lyf, widout u its Nuthin !!!
In the epilogue of the poem, the poet demands for closure. By making use of words such as moon
or hell metaphorically our poet not
only attempts to describe the internal conflict but at the same time offers the
reader a sneak into his mind. Dr Wilde says that the mention
of words such as Baby or Nuthin (Note that N is capital) heightens
the impact of the poem exponentially and undoubtedly leaves a lasting impression on the
reader’s mind.
I really believe that for the Ultramodern poetry to survive,
evolve, prosper and stand the test of time, it deserves an active support from
all of those, who are concerned for the future of literary arts. I beg all of
you to contribute to this very cause, that inevitably affects our life in literal
sense.
P.S.- Other perks of Ultramodern poetry include singing it as a song on guitar and an exceptional number of facebook likes.
