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Prose????
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Prose???? |
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StarrGazer Senior Member
since 2000-03-05
Posts 679Texas 
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ok at the risk of sounding totally stupid ...what exactly is prose? I've never really been to the prose forum before but the um err wrong click? of the mouse took me there and I figured while I was there I'd check it out and now I'm confused LOL there were what I'd consider short stories there and then there were letters??? HELPPPPP!!!! |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Hey there! (Let's see a show of hands for those not surprised to see me answering this!) Ok, first this - The American Heritage Dictionary defines "Prose" (as is applicable to your question) as - Ordinary speech or writing, without metrical structure. So basically that leaves out all manners of "form" poetry. But what about free verse? Well, some (be quiet K.) might argue that free verse has meter. I agree that it may have meter, but by the very nature of the word "free" it's not required. Does that help? No, I didn't think it would. So we've eliminated formed poetry... so let's take it one step farther and eliminate free verse as well. One of the most (usual) distinction of free verse is how it's broken up into relatively small lines. These small lines are formed into... Stanzas! That's it! Prose has stanzas... well... kind of... Actually, prose is (hopefully) broken into Paragraphs! Longer lines, (again hopefully) properly punctuated, which while possibly poetic are more likely to be written in such a way as to match the way we would speak. Odds are you wouldn't hear something along these lines in a normal conversation... Will said - quote: (Can you tell me what that's from??? No, Kamla, Jim and Kess are prohibited from answering!) Instead, in prose, you might say something more along the lines of... Chris said - quote: And then a paragraph break (preferably by hitting "enter" or "return" twice!) followed by another paragraph. That is prose. Now needless to say, you're not that limited. Prose can cover anything froma written "letter" to a "story" (fiction or non-fiction), to an essay, to a plain old' rant. Prose can be about the weather, your mood, aliens, dinosaurs, the old west, a different country, your first love... well, like poetry, prose can be about anything! (Though I ask you keep all the "adult" material where it belongs!!!  ) The only difference: The presentation! Better?  Hope I've been helpful! If you have anymore questions, please don't hesitate to ask... and keep looking in here too. I'm quite sure several people will show up shortly to either argue with me or add to what I've said! It's always interesting and often informative to hear other's opinions!(Ok, now another show of hands for those not surprised that I wandered all over the place with this "simple" explanation... ) |
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Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
Christopher said - It's any writing that's not poetry... |
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RainbowGirl Member Elite
since 1999-07-31
Posts 3023United Kingdom |
Burp ! "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
...as long as it's not a novel...  Sunny ~~~Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. Helen Keller ~~~ When you want to be loved, look within...KRJ |
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StarrGazer Senior Member
since 2000-03-05
Posts 679Texas |
Thanks for the clarification you guys hmmm maybe I'll have to try thr prose thing out sometime... I know I will surely go to read some of it now that I know what it is |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Yeah, see Nan, I learned brevity from Ron. |
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Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
um... Christopher.... That's REALLY funny... |
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wordancer Senior Member
since 2000-07-30
Posts 809VA |
Well now, this brings up the question I was going to ask. Where would I post "Prose Poetry" at. I realize that a lot of people don't know the form. I was just exposed to it at a writers' retreat this past March and was intrigued with it enough to try my hand at it. So do I post it in the regular poetry forum and have people say that is not poetry . . . or post it in the prose forum, knowing that it is a poetic form and shouldn't be posted there. Ah decisions, decisions |
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Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
One of our best prose/poetry writers is a wonderful guy named jbowie.... James posts both in the poetry and prose forums... You'll find him well represented in either place... I think he posts each work on its own merit - where ever it seems to fit best... |
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wordancer Senior Member
since 2000-07-30
Posts 809VA |
Nan, thanks for the prompt answer, I do appreciate it. Sounds like a good idea, either/or depending. |
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