On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 10:14:13 PM UTC-4, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 7:14:32 PM UTC-4, Peter J Ross wrote:
> > In alt.arts.poetry.comments on Tue, 22 Mar 2016 05:59:47 -0700 (PDT),
> > Michael Pendragon wrote:
> >
> > > DOWN AROUND THE RIVER
> > >
> > >
> > > When I was young, I'd walk the railroad tracks
> > > Past backwoods trails and murky, drainage streams
> > > Lay down my schoolbooks, sit back and relax
> > > And wander like a hobo through my dreams
> >
> > If you ever decided to take a remedial course in reading and writing,
> > you might be particularly surprised by the lesson on punctuation.
> > Believe it or not, punctuation isn't merely something you insert where
> > you think it looks decorative! It has a function, too!
> It performs a necessary function in prose. However, as a good deal of modern poetry doesn't even use complete sentences, its poetic utility has become obsolete.
> >

An interesting point that might be further explored in conjunction with other writers here.

I agree with my previous assertion that punctuation in poetry has become, to-all-intents-and-purposed obsolete; and should be employed primarily to assist the poem's meter (assuming it has a meter), and for purposes of clarity.

Establishing meter is extremely important, as I found out when attempting to record my poetry for videos. The inclusion of a well-placed comma/semicolon/colon/em dash can mean the difference between reading a poem in a metrically correct form, and repeatedly tripping over one's tongue.

As an editor, I employ certain (very loose) guidelines regarding punctuation:

When a poem is submitted without any end punctuation, I publish it without imposing any.
When a poem is submitted wherein some sentences have end punctuation, but others do not, I'll add end punctuation where needed.
Em dashes will be set in house style (a space followed by two hyphens).
Incorrect, or unnecessary, punctuation will be removed.
Necessary punctuation will be added when missing from the submitted text.
The Oxford comma is used when listing several items.
Commas are placed within quotation marks (with one or two exceptions)
Line breaks double as commas; therefore end commas are only added where a semicolon would normally be used.

On Friday, March 17, 2023 at 1:53:49 PM UTC-4, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 10:14:13 PM UTC-4, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> > On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 7:14:32 PM UTC-4, Peter J Ross wrote:
> > > In alt.arts.poetry.comments on Tue, 22 Mar 2016 05:59:47 -0700 (PDT),
> > > Michael Pendragon wrote:
> > >
> > > > DOWN AROUND THE RIVER
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > When I was young, I'd walk the railroad tracks
> > > > Past backwoods trails and murky, drainage streams
> > > > Lay down my schoolbooks, sit back and relax
> > > > And wander like a hobo through my dreams
> > >
> > > If you ever decided to take a remedial course in reading and writing,
> > > you might be particularly surprised by the lesson on punctuation.
> > > Believe it or not, punctuation isn't merely something you insert where
> > > you think it looks decorative! It has a function, too!
> > It performs a necessary function in prose. However, as a good deal of modern poetry doesn't even use complete sentences, its poetic utility has become obsolete.
> > >
> An interesting point that might be further explored in conjunction with other writers here.
>
> I agree with my previous assertion that punctuation in poetry has become, to-all-intents-and-purposed obsolete; and should be employed primarily to assist the poem's meter (assuming it has a meter), and for purposes of clarity.
>
> Establishing meter is extremely important, as I found out when attempting to record my poetry for videos. The inclusion of a well-placed comma/semicolon/colon/em dash can mean the difference between reading a poem in a metrically correct form, and repeatedly tripping over one's tongue.
>
> As an editor, I employ certain (very loose) guidelines regarding punctuation:
>
> When a poem is submitted without any end punctuation, I publish it without imposing any.
> When a poem is submitted wherein some sentences have end punctuation, but others do not, I'll add end punctuation where needed.
> Em dashes will be set in house style (a space followed by two hyphens).
> Incorrect, or unnecessary, punctuation will be removed.
> Necessary punctuation will be added when missing from the submitted text.
> The Oxford comma is used when listing several items.
> Commas are placed within quotation marks (with one or two exceptions)
> Line breaks double as commas; therefore end commas are only added where a semicolon would normally be used.

That's something I often have to toy with-- end punctuation. I usually go one of two ways-- use it (and have to worry about line start capitalization to make the punctuation look right) or drop it altogether and rely on lie breaks.

On Friday, March 17, 2023 at 6:43:32 PM UTC, Ash Wurthing wrote:
> On Friday, March 17, 2023 at 1:53:49 PM UTC-4, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> > On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 10:14:13 PM UTC-4, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> > > On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 7:14:32 PM UTC-4, Peter J Ross wrote:
> > > > In alt.arts.poetry.comments on Tue, 22 Mar 2016 05:59:47 -0700 (PDT),
> > > > Michael Pendragon wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > DOWN AROUND THE RIVER
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > When I was young, I'd walk the railroad tracks
> > > > > Past backwoods trails and murky, drainage streams
> > > > > Lay down my schoolbooks, sit back and relax
> > > > > And wander like a hobo through my dreams
> > > >
> > > > If you ever decided to take a remedial course in reading and writing,
> > > > you might be particularly surprised by the lesson on punctuation.
> > > > Believe it or not, punctuation isn't merely something you insert where
> > > > you think it looks decorative! It has a function, too!
> > > It performs a necessary function in prose. However, as a good deal of modern poetry doesn't even use complete sentences, its poetic utility has become obsolete.
> > > >
> > An interesting point that might be further explored in conjunction with other writers here.
> >
> > I agree with my previous assertion that punctuation in poetry has become, to-all-intents-and-purposed obsolete; and should be employed primarily to assist the poem's meter (assuming it has a meter), and for purposes of clarity.
> >
> > Establishing meter is extremely important, as I found out when attempting to record my poetry for videos. The inclusion of a well-placed comma/semicolon/colon/em dash can mean the difference between reading a poem in a metrically correct form, and repeatedly tripping over one's tongue.
> >
> > As an editor, I employ certain (very loose) guidelines regarding punctuation:
> >
> > When a poem is submitted without any end punctuation, I publish it without imposing any.
> > When a poem is submitted wherein some sentences have end punctuation, but others do not, I'll add end punctuation where needed.
> > Em dashes will be set in house style (a space followed by two hyphens).
> > Incorrect, or unnecessary, punctuation will be removed.
> > Necessary punctuation will be added when missing from the submitted text.
> > The Oxford comma is used when listing several items.
> > Commas are placed within quotation marks (with one or two exceptions)
> > Line breaks double as commas; therefore end commas are only added where a semicolon would normally be used.
> That's something I often have to toy with-- end punctuation. I usually go one of two ways-- use it (and have to worry about line start capitalization to make the punctuation look right) or drop it altogether and rely on lie breaks.

We will save you, Ash!