Is It Time For a Modern day Dennis?

Recurring debates on important poetry topics.
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Terry
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Is It Time For a Modern day Dennis?

Post by Terry » Wed Jan 04, 2017 12:10 am

Is it Time for a modern Day Dennis? (if you can find someone good enough)

Have you ever thought of the possibility of someone writing (with skill),
Modern day poetry using all the new slang we have these days.
There’s Hip Hop of course and John Hayes over here has written and recited a rhyming poem in the Hip Hop style. He tried it out in a performance Comp. but it was a step too far for the judges. (I thought it was excellent)
I know there have been numerous poems written using a mixture of old and new slang, but so far as I’ve seen, none jut sticking to modern slang in the Dennis style.
Just wondering.

The fact is that few if any of our recent generations would understand a word of the wonderful Sentimental Bloke or Ginger Mick these days.

Stephen and David are a lot more versed with what’s going on in this regard than I am?

Terry

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Shelley Hansen
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Re: Is It Time For a Modern day Dennis?

Post by Shelley Hansen » Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:28 pm

Hi Terry

Well, I'm not "Stephen or David" but I'll throw my hat in the ring anyway! ;)

The challenge I see with modern vernacular is this - just how "Aussie" is it? There's been a lot of wonderful lingo in the past - not just the stuff from CJ's days, but also what we had growing up as kids. I know I was exposed to a plethora of delightfully descriptive expressions - most of which seem to have passed into obscurity with the modern generation.

So if you are talking about the lingo from our generation, then yes, I think there is a huge scope for poetic inclusion. But if you are talking about the techno-speak of today's generation - I'm not so sure.

Fully sick, awesome, LOL, OMG, Duh? ... definitely an "imported" flavour, and it just doesn't have that poetic ring, somehow!! :o

Mind you, Greg North has a tongue-in-cheek poem called Fully Sick Mate which makes the most of the lingo of today's youth. Here's the blurb about it from his website:

Fully Sick Mate (My Ute) – The youth of today, like the generations before them, seem to have their own vocabulary. Maybe you’ve heard them use terms like 'filthy', 'wicked', 'mad', 'sick', 'fully sick' and 'hectic' when just plain "good" would suffice. They call their mates 'homeboys' or 'homies' and drive their little rice-burner cars with their 'doof-doof' music blaring. How would someone like this from the suburbs cope with relocation to the outback? How would they adapt?

And here's the link to the poem itself: http://www.gregorynorth.com.au/FullySick.html

Cheers
Shelley :D
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com

"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")

Terry
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Re: Is It Time For a Modern day Dennis?

Post by Terry » Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:58 pm

You're probably right Shelley.

It would need to be someone fairly young, and young poets are pretty thin on the ground over our,

Terry

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David Campbell
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Re: Is It Time For a Modern day Dennis?

Post by David Campbell » Wed Jan 04, 2017 6:40 pm

I agree with Shelley, Terry. Dennis captured a uniquely Australian vernacular, but there's nothing particularly Australian about much of modern slang. It's imported and, with the speed of global communication these days, it changes so quickly it's hard to keep up.

Even if there was an Australian flavour, where's the audience for rhyming verse written in that style? The older generation probably wouldn't understand it, and the youngsters wouldn't be interested unless it was free verse/rap or something similar. If it happened at all, that's where you'd find it.

Cheers
David

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