Ramnath Subramanian: Common: When is a poet not a true poet?

"What is poetry; and what poetry is appropriate for presentation at a venerable venue?" These are weighty questions, and they were at the forefront of American media discussions last week when Michelle Obama invited rapper Common to appear at a poetry event at the White House.

[Mister Chuco]

What a string of prosaic thoughts poorly strung together.

[PoetAndIKnowIt]

Man, this is such a narrow definition of poetry. While your references are obviously valid and important, the fact that you did/could not name a poet from the last, say 25 years, is an indication of your own limited invitations for verse.

Terrance Hayes. Sherwin Bitsui. Aimee Nezhukumatathil. Lorna Dee Cervantes. Rigoberto Gonzalez.... Any of these contemporary voices will blow your mind. Check out www.fishouse.org . Or, hell, go to the Percolator in downtown ELP and hear the spoken voices in y(our) own town. Rhymers/Schemers/Believers.

My point: Poetry has more in Common with Rap than with (mere) Journalism.

[Jose Luis]

I commend the author. This article was a "poetic" and diplomatic way of saying that Common's work is crap that is beneath the dignity of the White House.

[1000 pushups and counting]

ur farts smell like dust
as u shine w/ ego.
thinketh u know the best???
No.
U r like the others held up to their throats,
sinking while clouded in old ways,
old man.
Old men a many see light more so than thou.
Put a cap in yo as is
Punk as is, female dog.
Yeah.
Yup.
That s u.
Turner comes to mind even after u scoop out d poo.
Boooooooooooo to you
Boooooooooooooooooooo.
Beauty s n d eye of d boulder.
Art s complete w/ d viewer
and u make me sick
and bad,
but not bad meaning good but bad meaning bad.
not sick meaning catching wreck but sick as in eye
would like to vomit all over your close-minded mentality,
banality,
insufficient funds
(eye am ranting now)
c what u cause cuz of ur insanity???
Pig

[Liked It]

1000 pushups and counting wrote:

ur farts smell like dust
as u shine w/ ego.
thinketh u know the best???
No.
U r like the others held up to their throats,
sinking while clouded in old ways,
old man.
Old men a many see light more so than thou.
Put a cap in yo as is
Punk as is, female dog.
Yeah.
Yup.
That s u.
Turner comes to mind even after u scoop out d poo.
Boooooooooooo to you
Boooooooooooooooooooo.
Beauty s n d eye of d boulder.
Art s complete w/ d viewer
and u make me sick
and bad,
but not bad meaning good but bad meaning bad.
not sick meaning catching wreck but sick as in eye
would like to vomit all over your close-minded mentality,
banality,
insufficient funds
(eye am ranting now)
c what u cause cuz of ur insanity???
Pig

I liked your poem Dude, but why did you sign yourself off as Pig?

[Willard Schmekel]

When I think of bombastic blowhards, I think of Ramnath Subthesaurian.

[Explanator]

Liked It wrote:

<quoted text>
I liked your poem Dude, but why did you sign yourself off as Pig?

Pushups should have written "c what u cause cuz of ur insanity, Pig?" A comma would have made things clear. This is what happens when people don't get an education. People like Pushup confuse the world into a chaos.

[No-Spin Zone]

1000 pushups and counting wrote:

ur farts smell like dust
as u shine w/ ego.
thinketh u know the best???
No.
U r like the others held up to their throats,
sinking while clouded in old ways,
old man.
Old men a many see light more so than thou.
Put a cap in yo as is
Punk as is, female dog.
Yeah.
Yup.
That s u.
Turner comes to mind even after u scoop out d poo.
Boooooooooooo to you
Boooooooooooooooooooo.
Beauty s n d eye of d boulder.
Art s complete w/ d viewer
and u make me sick
and bad,
but not bad meaning good but bad meaning bad.
not sick meaning catching wreck but sick as in eye
would like to vomit all over your close-minded mentality,
banality,
insufficient funds
(eye am ranting now)
c what u cause cuz of ur insanity???
Pig

Yo, Undeducated Dipstick, you took the bait.
You can't hide behind your racist hate.
You got not taste, you got no taste.
Anybody can rhyme two words in haste.
You jealous, you jealous man,
and that ain't hip.
Now let me give you a little tip.
A diarrhea of words
coming out yo' hole,
and you think you got a poem with soul.
But you just a little fish in a little sea.
Your 'poem' is lacking quality.
Quality and Excellence...
It's the difference between:
The Ghetto and Paris
Glass and a Diamond
Water and Champagne
A hut and a Mansion
Spam and Filet Mignon
Now do you see the difference, son?
You are a Hundai and Ramnath's a Lexus
He's as bright as the stars in Texas!

[What the___]

Willard Schmekel wrote:

When I think of bombastic blowhards, I think of Ramnath Subthesaurian.

What's the matter? Threatened? Insecure? Uninformed? Struck with aspersion? Haughty? Bathetic? Lack comity?

[ued]

No spin zone is the number one fan of the man from India.Glen beck put out a dumb stupid ignorant rant about Al gore getting an Nobel peace prize that a woman that rescued Jewish children from the Nazi's in WW11 should have gotten.Bect did not mention Yasser Arafat,Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres got theirs in 1994.Coedel Hull in got his in 45.Menachem Begin got one in 78.All them crazy as hell and after the lady that saved the kids. Al Gore got his long after all these got theirs.The guy from India repeated what that idiot Beck said.Today he backed up Billo who got his head handed to him by Jon Stewart when he brought Stewart on his show and expressed selective outrage because rapper/poet Common expresed his opinion that Assaka Shakur was innocent of the murder charge she was convicted of.Billo had a problem with Common but NO problem with Bono,Bob Dylan or bruce Springsteen who called convicted murderers not guilty and they went to white house after they said what they said.The guy from India has a problem with Common being allowed in white house cause he don't put out the kind of poetry that RS likes!Times have changed since he left India and kids,young people and adults too listen to rap and hip hop today.Guess he has never herd the owl poem. Chicken,horse,cow,duck...Tell someone that gives a hoot! Fix news says something and this guy jumps on it with all 4 feet.

[No-Spin Zone]

Uneducated Dipstick,
you...the guy from hoosherville, usa...you watch the number one rated O'Reilly Factor. Now you got some good taste goin' on. If you listen to rap, your taste buds are burnt to a crisp. There's only crap in rap. You may quote me, son. Jon the Con Stewart should thank Bill everytime he's on his show...it's the only time he gets any ratings.
Foolio.

[No-Spin Zone]

No-Spin Zone wrote:

<quoted text>
Yo, Undeducated Dipstick, you took the bait.
You can't hide behind your racist hate.
You got not taste, you got no taste.
Anybody can rhyme two words in haste.
You jealous, you jealous man,
and that ain't hip.
Now let me give you a little tip.
A diarrhea of words
coming out yo' hole,
and you think you got a poem with soul.
But you just a little fish in a little sea.
Your 'poem' is lacking quality.
Quality and Excellence...
It's the difference between:
The Ghetto and Paris
Glass and a Diamond
Water and Champagne
A hut and a Mansion
Spam and Filet Mignon
Now do you see the difference, son?
You are a Hundai and Ramnath's a Lexus
He's as bright as the stars in Texas!

Yo, Undeducated Dipstick, you took the bait.
You can't hide behind your racist hate.
You got no taste, you got no taste.
Anybody can rhyme two words in haste.
You jealous, you jealous man,
and that ain't hip.
Now let me give you a little tip.
A diarrhea of words
coming out yo' hole,
and you think you got a poem with soul.
But you just a little fish in a little sea.
Your 'poem' is lacking quality.
Quality and Excellence...
It's the difference between:
The Ghetto and Paris
Glass and a Diamond
Water and Champagne
A hut and a Mansion
Spam and Filet Mignon
Now do you see the difference, son?
You are a Hundai and Ramnath's a Lexus
He's as bright as the stars in Texas!

[ued]

No-Spin Zone wrote:

Uneducated Dipstick,
you...the guy from hoosherville, usa...you watch the number one rated O'Reilly Factor. Now you got some good taste goin' on. If you listen to rap, your taste buds are burnt to a crisp. There's only crap in rap. You may quote me, son. Jon the Con Stewart should thank Bill everytime he's on his show...it's the only time he gets any ratings.
Foolio.

Idiot! we can watch Billo make a fool out of himself by watching comedy central,Letterman,Jimmy Fallon,ABC,CBS,CNN,MSNBC,PBS,H BO.Showtime and anything else but fix news.Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart high light Billo and all his stupid idiotic rantings.Got pictures of Billo,Glen Beck,Karl Rowe,Charles Manson,Mao,McVeigh and the uni-bomber all around that rat whole you call home sweet home? You is smart.You are a poet.You poetry has a certain air about it.

[lbgodines]

These post show the ignorance and hate and why America is being destroyed from the inside.You are lucky we still have freedom of speech.

To understand his writings you must understand where he came from. He comes from a land where children are taught love and respect. They are not taugh hate and violence and the "me me syndrome".

[No-Spin Zone]

Uneducated Dipstick, You democratic hog from hoosherville usa...all your fave shows are in the toilet as far as ratings go. You need to flush a few down the river. Nobody beats O'Reilly in ratings and that's a fact you stupid blowhard. Sit in your flea infested recliner and watch the losers while you scratch yourself and stuff your mouth with cheetos. Foolio.

[Leslie]

You hit the nail squarely on the head yet again, Mr. Subramanian, and you did it with great style, diplomacy, and grace.

[ued]

Leslie wrote:

You hit the nail squarely on the head yet again, Mr. Subramanian, and you did it with great style, diplomacy, and grace.

You are aware of what Glen Beck is and what he stands for? You are aware of Beck"s insane rant about Al Gore's receiving an Nobel peace prize and what the circumstances were? You aware that the guy from India repeated the whole rant in his column and you aware who sponsored the 912 club in El Paso? You do know that Jon Stewart won the public opinion pole as to who won the debate between Billo and Stewart on Fix news,conducted by Billo on fix news? Today rap music poetry reaches way more people than anything written in a book way back when.The guy from India don't like it? So what! Look at what he stands for.I went on line and listened to Commons's take on "W"s Iraq war. His take on the media's obsession with Kobie and Michele Jackson. I liked what I herd enough to go down to the Music store on far Lee Trevino and get some one there to show me his take on the Assata Shakur's conviction of murder and why he thinks she was not guilty.Never bought any rap before or any poetry before either.RS reminds me of that ancient Greek philosopher who said that any children,born any where would naturally wake up speaking Greek.That guy at that time thought he was smart too and he thought he knew it all too.