love set you going like a fat gold watch (open)

[higginbottom]

Esther is being entrepreneurial. In fact, she has set up a small booth in the Mansion foyer with a sign that reads:

Let Me Write You a Poem (Or Equivalent Prose)

Of course, she hasn't had any takers yet, so she's feeling a little discouraged. But no matter! The point is, she's there, sitting and looking very prim and proper.




Looks can be deceiving, though she herself may not realize that yet.

Comments

[ghostmaster]

Wei Wuxian reads it over and starts cackling, delighted. "Ahhhh, young mistress!" he says. He doesn't actually know her name. "It's very good. Can you imagine Lan Zhan singing?" Of course he knows it's a metaphor, but the mental image has captivated him. "I should really make him try it next time he's drunk."

[higginbottom]

"I think you should," she says, a smile of relief spreading on her face. "And thank you."

[ghostmaster]

"What kind of poem is it? What tradition are you following?"

[higginbottom]

"It's free verse with a little bit of rhyme thrown in for flavor, I suppose," she says with a shrug.

[ghostmaster]

Wei Wuxian shakes his head, tsking his tongue. "That's not a complete answer to my question, is it, young mistress? Tell me the history of the format!"

[higginbottom]

Esther kind of wants to fall over and die right now, thanks.

"It's relatively modern," she begins. "For me, I mean. I'm from the 1950's, so." Another shrug. "You really want a history lesson?"

[ghostmaster]

"No, I want a poetry lesson," brightly. "Plus, I don't think it counts as history. Not for me."

[higginbottom]

"Well, free verse came about in the early 20th century - T.S. Eliot was a huge force in getting it started, though some might argue it was already beginning with Emily Dickinson or Walt Whitman," she says, a touch wearily. Esther was not expecting this.

[ghostmaster]

"Never heard of them," says Wei Wuxian, cheerful in the face of her weariness. "Where did they learn? What were their primary themes?"

[higginbottom]

This is starting to feel like college all over again.

"Eliot was a modernist - he wrote of the alienation of modern man," she explains. "Dickinson and Whitman were earlier, in the 19th century. Dickinson is possibly the mother of modern lyric free verse, while Whitman wrote of the common people."

[ghostmaster]

"I don't know half of those words, either." His delight is mounting. There's really nothing better than learning new information from someone only grudgingly interested in sharing it.