Profession: Poet is a new monthly blog feature exploring craft and identity in poetry by Hanoch Guy, who writes poems in both English and Hebrew.
The “Law and Order” brain
In this blog post, I examine the neocortex/new brain, which is the new kid on the block.
The origin of the neocortex is surprisingly recent, evolutionarily speaking. It dates back to reptiles of the Carboniferous Period, about 359 million years ago. It emerged then as “a uniform, six-layered sheet consisting of radially deployed neurons” in the first small mammals who appeared during the transition of the Triassic and Jurassic periods. (Mental Floss: November 17, 2016. Read this article here.)
The cortex comprises two-thirds of the brain. It sits over and around most of the brain. It is highly developed and responsible for thinking, perceiving, producing and understanding language. The new brain has six thin layers of gray matter, folded like a wig. Familiar with Hercules Poirot and his little gray cells?
The two hemispheres of the neocortex work in concert, so for clarity, I will write about the left hemisphere first.
It should be emphasized that the capacities should be viewed as metaphors, as many actions and capacities are present in the different parts of the brain.
For now, let’s talk about the left hemisphere.
From a long list of attributes of the left hemisphere’s functions and capabilities, here are a few:
Linear
Rational
Objective
Precise
Concrete
Exact
Punctual
Sequential
Mother language
Rules
Judge
Order
Cause and effect
Counting
This is quite a list and it is incomplete!
So the main question we can think about is, what do any of the traits on the list have to do with poetry?
Inspiration and spontaneous ideas are part of the writing process, and it can also be beneficial to be aware of how the previously mentioned capacities strengthen planning, organizing, and mapping while editing a poem.
Take a look at the list and pick some of the left-brain skills you can use more consciously to enhance your poetry.
Sonnets, sestinas, and ghazals require application of a specific order, counting, and sequencing.
Putting together a manuscript is not a haphazard process. You need to evaluate, arrange in order, choose which poems to include according to a theme.
All of this is a call to action using many left-brain capacities.
Can you come up with more examples of the use of left-brain capacities in poetry?
Next month, we will talk about utilizing the magnificent and expansive right hemisphere to enhance our poetry.
Hanoch Guy Ph.D, Ed.D spent his childhood and youth in Israel. He is a bilingual poet in Hebrew and English. Hanoch has taught Jewish Hebrew literature at Temple University and poetry and mentoring at the Muse House Center. He won awards in the Mad Poets Society, Phila Poets, Poetry Super Highway and first prize in the Better than Starbucks haiku contest. His book, Terra Treblinka, is a finalist in the North Book Contest. Hanoch published poems in England, Wales, Israel, the U.S., and Greece. He is the author of nine poetry collections in English and one Hebrew book.