Whose Line is it Anyway?

Writing up some ideas for the writing group I came across the concept of honkadori, “an allusion within a poem to an older poem which would be generally recognised by its potential readers,” a perfect segue into finishing Whose Line Is It Anyway?*

Back in March, as I was walking to the writing group, I thought to myself what if no one has thought of a task for today? Maybe I should think of something as a reserve idea – which was: 

• Take a stack of poetry books

• Pick one

• Pick a poem that appeals to you

• Pick a line from the poem (ignore the rest if you want)

• With that line as your starting point, start writing

Indeed, that line may wither away completely over the course of the hour. Or it may remain as an ancient, reverent Japanese trope. Conversely, you could pick a line from a poem you absolutely hate, and start there – the point is, you start somewhere. 

For myself, I chose High Windows by Philip Larkin (very nice Faber 90th Anniversary edition), turned to page 27 and picked Sad Steps** and from the first stanza:

“The rapid clouds, the moon’s cleanliness”

and in this case I looked at the poem and tried to break down the first three stanzas, but I didn’t actually read it. 

After some fiddling about making notes on my phone, this fell into place:

The rapid clouds, the moon’s cleanliness

Tonight’s business dumb and silent witness

Or knowing, and shunning the static sinner

Which I quite like – what’s going on here? I can imagine but I’m not sure it ought be spoken out loud.

* en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honkadori 

** poetryfoundation.org/poems/48418/sad-steps

© Bryn Roberts 2023

Published 11 July 2023