Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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Page 24 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN Our Album of Graduates ARTS and COMMERCIAL GAIL WHITESIDE (1958-62) Douglas- Gail was with us for her first year of high school but thought she might need a change: of course she realized she could not stay away and came back for her last year, Gail finds swimming and . . . psychology (?) her main interests outside of school. Gail hopes to work as a receptionist at the hospital; that is if marriage does not stand in her way. Good Luck. HEATHER WILSON (1959-62) — Tiny Heather came to us three years ago as a day girl but this year she was put into boarding for just a term; she liked it so much that she decided to stay in for the remaining year! Heather likes class volleyball and basketball, but baseball is her favourite. Whatever your plans are next year. Heather, we know you will do well . . . Best of Luck. PRIZE ESSAY Modern Poetry as a Means of Expression Poetry is the most universal form of literary expression. Good poetry is that which most equally and successfully combines personal and imper- sonal qualities. Without both of these qualities, it cannot exist. Personalism means self-expression, and impersonalism, the expression of a group. Thus, a poem expresses the character or personality of its author, or the character of a group in society. Works in the latter form are considered typically Greek, Roman, Elizabethan, Baroque, or Augustine, and their beauty is found in conformity. In personal poetry, the identity of the Maker is betrayed. The author composes his poem without thinking of a reader, or even without desiring one. Because of this, there is a tendency to limit the appeal to a select group. And accordingly, to many people, the meaning and purpose of the poem become obscure. This is the trend of poetry today. I propose to deal with modern poetry mainly from the angle of ob- scurity because it is thus very often classified by the reader and then put away without any further thought. Poetry becomes obscure when there is a breakdown in the flow of communication between poet and reader. Some readers will never under- stand certain poems. The majority, however, make no effort to understand.

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YEAR BOOK, J 962 Page 23 Our Album of Graduates ARTS and COMMERCIAL LYNNE ROGERS (1960-62) McLeod— Lynne is another girl from the west end of the city. She contributes her skills in class activities but she particularly likes skating and badminton. If you have any problems you can depend on Lynne to lend a sympathetic ear and give some helpful advice. Lynne is going to business school next year and we know she will be a great success. BEVERLY RUSSEL (1958-62) MacAlpine— Bev, our active member of Branksome ' s United Nations Club, is also indis- pensable to the class for her skill on the basketball and baseball teams. Apart from these, she enjoys water-skiing and skating, and is hoping for a trip to Europe in the near future. She is headed for a career as a private secretary. BEVERLY STONE (1960-62) Ross— Bev is B.H.S. ' s red-head from Sault Ste. Marie, who is well accustomed to Toronto ' s cold weather. She plays a good game of basketball for both her clan and class but she is an expert at volleyball. Bev is an active member of the I.S.C.F., as well as a member for Branksome ' s new Drama Club. We wish you the very best of luck working in your home town next year Bev. THE SLOGAN STAFF Front row: Mrs. Dutton, Staff Advisor. Nanci Gelber, Editor-in-Chief. Mrs. Robinson, Sfaff Adviser. Back row: Patty Wilson, Sports Editor. Nancy Johnston, Advertisirig Manager, Liliana Genyk-Berezowsky, Art and Ptiotograpby Editor. Gail Corbett, Literary Editor

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YEAR BOOK, 1962 Page 25 or to sympathize with the passionate conviction with which poets regard the nature of their art. It is impossible to express in prose every shade of meaning and every emotional inflection. If it were not so there would be little point in writing in verse, except to attain certain rhythms and rhymes. However, poets believe that in verse, they can achieve a precision and subtlety beyond their reach in prose. Thus they, especially those of the modern trend, refuse to Hmit themselves to codified rules of syntex governing prose or to logical exposition, which regulates a barrister ' s arguments. At times, these creators experience extreme joy or sorrow of severe emotional stress. The meaning of poems produced under this intense pres- sure is obscure, for the poet does not know what he is going to say until he says it. He is not concerned with (future readers) , but only with finding the right words or, at least, eliminating the wrong ones. He may shift from one metaphor to another, or use two at once. His quick, darting thoughts link apparently opposing emotions and broken orders of experience. At this time he resembles the skier who, having finally descended a treach- erous trail to safety, looks back, and does not realize that he has made so perilous a progress. The poet is now relieved, having brought to the sur- face the burden by which he was once oppressed. Thus, obscurity lies not in the poet, but in the reader. For he, the former, in seeking absolute accuracy, exceeds the limit of customary ex- pression, and invents new uses of words, at times new words, but most frequently, new phrases and figures of speech. He who sooner than falsify his visions, delves into obscurity, should be honoured, not condemned. T. S. Eliot ' s aim was to write poetry ' ' that in reading it, we are intent on what the poem -aims at, and not on the poetry. It is important though, not to confuse obscurity with vagueness that accompanies incompetence. Some of the best modern poets are accused of this because they aimed at a precision too exacting for their readers to understand or endure. Yes, the last word is endure. Many modern poems are sometimes so reahstic that the mind revolts, rebels against them. It does not have the strength to understand or it finds them too disturbing and does not want to understand. Simply, the poems cannot be endured. In such cases, ex- cuses are easily found, for the truth is never admitted. The poetry may be called obscure, pointless or crude. What is it that the poet sees and knows that the reader does not? What is hidden from the ordinary man ? Or, rather, what would the ordin- ary man hide that the poet must reveal? Is there something in our epoch that the ' ' gentle soul finds raw? These questions are left unanswered until each individual has the courage to find the right solutions to the riddles expressed in modern poetry. LILIANA GENYK-BEREZOWSKY