Today’s poem is taken from The Penguin Book of Women’s Poets. Back in the 1980s, I worked at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library & I used to borrow this book all the time – it was a major influence on my poetry at the time. A few years ago, I found it at a used book store & immediately scooped it up. It remains one of my favorite collection of poetry.
This sonnet is by Louise Labé. She is one of the greatest poets of the French Renaissance.
References.
Labé, Louise. “XX”. The Penguin Book of Women Poets. Edited by Carol Cosman, Joan Keefe & Kathleen Weaver. NY: Penguin Books, 1979. poem found on page 110.
Although talent in the arts most often shows itself early, because it takes so many years to develop their talent and become highly proficient in the arts, people who will become expert musicians, painters, performers, and writers can expect to be late bloomers. Artists who perform at a high level do not demonstrate remarkable talent in short order. They are not usually in their twenties or thirties, but in their forties, fifties, and sixties. All spend many years developing the knowledge, attitudes, and skills that will eventually enable them to be recognized for their mastery. All arts involve learning form and the art’s devices, and the need for control, craft, revisions, and structure–time consuming efforts. All begin by imitating existing techniques they have studied.
