Comments on: “Death and Tacos” by Nathaniel Whittemore http://rattle.com/blog/2009/03/death-and-tacos-by-nathaniel-whittemore/ Poetry for everyone. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:18:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Rayne http://rattle.com/blog/2009/03/death-and-tacos-by-nathaniel-whittemore/#comment-17955 Rayne Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:01:06 +0000 http://www.rattle.com/blog/?p=731#comment-17955 I personally loves this poem, and I liked the line "And, for a while, between the two of us, Dying became so very ordinary". Although, I would have left it at that. I think that, like many others that have posted here, the rest of it was a bit of overkill. However, I think that the bluntness of that one line ("Dying became so very ordinary") really helps the poem get across it's meaning. It's beautiful I personally loves this poem, and I liked the line “And, for a while, between the two of us,
Dying became so very ordinary”. Although, I would have left it at that. I think that, like many others that have posted here, the rest of it was a bit of overkill. However, I think that the bluntness of that one line (“Dying became so very ordinary”) really helps the poem get across it’s meaning. It’s beautiful

]]> By: Michael http://rattle.com/blog/2009/03/death-and-tacos-by-nathaniel-whittemore/#comment-7693 Michael Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:57:14 +0000 http://www.rattle.com/blog/?p=731#comment-7693 So, so, terribly good! Maybe if some deeper meaning were installed, maybe if you changed this line or that. Maybe if you dummied it up a little because that one line doesn't make sense and if you can't make every line mean something to me than the whole thing sucks. I mean, really??? Sometimes a thing is beautiful for no real reason and a poor choice of words is ten times better and sometimes something you didn't quite get nags at you forever begging your own damn answers. You can chose to not like this. You can go away untouched. But you won't find anything wrong with it. This is Art. So, so, terribly good!

Maybe if some deeper meaning were installed, maybe if you changed this line or that. Maybe if you dummied it up a little because that one line doesn’t make sense and if you can’t make every line mean something to me than the whole thing sucks. I mean, really???

Sometimes a thing is beautiful for no real reason and a poor choice of words is ten times better and sometimes something you didn’t quite get nags at you forever begging your own damn answers.

You can chose to not like this. You can go away untouched. But you won’t find anything wrong with it. This is Art.

]]> By: Becky http://rattle.com/blog/2009/03/death-and-tacos-by-nathaniel-whittemore/#comment-7648 Becky Sat, 05 Feb 2011 03:34:10 +0000 http://www.rattle.com/blog/?p=731#comment-7648 wow, this made me teary eyed. I wouldn't change a thing- this is vivid and soulful; your style is your style, there can be no improvement on the subjective, only understanding. How poignant, and how so tangible. How real. Which is the premise after all; death is death, nothing more or less. It is just real. Thank you for sharing your poem. wow, this made me teary eyed. I wouldn’t change a thing- this is vivid and soulful; your style is your style, there can be no improvement on the subjective, only understanding.

How poignant, and how so tangible. How real. Which is the premise after all; death is death, nothing more or less. It is just real. Thank you for sharing your poem.

]]> By: plantit1 http://rattle.com/blog/2009/03/death-and-tacos-by-nathaniel-whittemore/#comment-2299 plantit1 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:35:46 +0000 http://www.rattle.com/blog/?p=731#comment-2299 The is the first thing I have read all the way through today. It kept my attention not like most of the writings I find on the internet. Bravo and keep on writing The is the first thing I have read all the way through today. It kept my attention not like most of the writings I find on the internet. Bravo and keep on writing

]]> By: B. Collins http://rattle.com/blog/2009/03/death-and-tacos-by-nathaniel-whittemore/#comment-1670 B. Collins Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:37:06 +0000 http://www.rattle.com/blog/?p=731#comment-1670 ...Perhaps, AG Jenkins, the lack of "emotive information" or "emotional connection" communicated with/to the reader was Mr. Whittemore's intent. Clearly in this poem death and dying is not something the speaker wants the reader to become "emotional" about. No fear, no sadness, no wonder. He renders it a simple word and nothing more. We shouldn't feel or fear for the man dying of cancer just as the little boy doesn't, and just as the "dying man" himself - by the end of the poem - doesn't seem to fear death but rather feels sorry for it having been stripped of its horrors and mysteries and turned into a casual conversation piece. Eat a taco in the sun and let this simple, natural process run its course & resolve itself spending as little emotional energy as possible on it. Stoic acceptance. It's rare but it does happen. …Perhaps, AG Jenkins, the lack of “emotive information” or “emotional connection” communicated with/to the reader was Mr. Whittemore’s intent. Clearly in this poem death and dying is not something the speaker wants the reader to become “emotional” about. No fear, no sadness, no wonder. He renders it a simple word and nothing more. We shouldn’t feel or fear for the man dying of cancer just as the little boy doesn’t, and just as the “dying man” himself – by the end of the poem – doesn’t seem to fear death but rather feels sorry for it having been stripped of its horrors and mysteries and turned into a casual conversation piece. Eat a taco in the sun and let this simple, natural process run its course & resolve itself spending as little emotional energy as possible on it. Stoic acceptance. It’s rare but it does happen.

]]> By: AG Jenkins http://rattle.com/blog/2009/03/death-and-tacos-by-nathaniel-whittemore/#comment-1590 AG Jenkins Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:55:27 +0000 http://www.rattle.com/blog/?p=731#comment-1590 I have to disagree with many of you. While this takes a sensitive subject matter and does offer some commentary on death in society it is a poetic piece of prose at best. The evocation of emotion via poignant and new figures would do well to provide an emotional connection in the reader. That is, my criticism lies mainly in the fact that this "poem" fails to communicate emotive information in its adherence to starkly mediocre view of death - albeit an interesting suggestion as to how we may re-consider death as yet another mediocrity, one more banal feature of existence no more important than a taco and therefore warranting no more thought than the same. I have to disagree with many of you. While this takes a sensitive subject matter and does offer some commentary on death in society it is a poetic piece of prose at best. The evocation of emotion via poignant and new figures would do well to provide an emotional connection in the reader. That is, my criticism lies mainly in the fact that this “poem” fails to communicate emotive information in its adherence to starkly mediocre view of death – albeit an interesting suggestion as to how we may re-consider death as yet another mediocrity, one more banal feature of existence no more important than a taco and therefore warranting no more thought than the same.

]]> By: Top 15 Poems on Rattle.com | Timothy Green http://rattle.com/blog/2009/03/death-and-tacos-by-nathaniel-whittemore/#comment-1252 Top 15 Poems on Rattle.com | Timothy Green Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:46:28 +0000 http://www.rattle.com/blog/?p=731#comment-1252 [...] “Death and Tacos” by Nathaniel Whittemore (47,745) [...] [...] “Death and Tacos” by Nathaniel Whittemore (47,745) [...]

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