And not all lawyers who write poetry write about the law (and we're glad
for that!). One of my favorite blawger poets (haiku is his specialty)
is f/k/a, just included in the ABA Blawg 100: "f/k/a, aka "formerly
known as," combines haiku poetry with commentary on lawyers and legal
ethics along with musings about politics and current events."
Links:
f/k/a: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/
His Baseball Haiku page:
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/baseball-haiku-page/
ABA Blawg 100: http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/aba_journal_blawg_100
Laura
P.S. And for a librarian limerick (from my librarian sister :-), see my
blog entry from 9/21/07:
http://oregonlegalresearch.blogspot.com/2007/09/law-librarian-and-fbi-sh
aggy-dog-tale_21.html
Laura J. Orr
Law Librarian
Washington County Law Library
111 NE Lincoln St
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Phone: 503-846-8870
Fax: 503-846-3515
Email: laura_orr@co.washington.or.us
<mailto:laura_orr@co.washington.or.us>
URL: http://www.co.washington.or.us/lawlibrary
<http://www.co.washington.or.us/lawlibrary>
Blog: oregonlegalresearch.blogspot.com
________________________________
From: Charles Dyer [mailto:charlesrdyer@clearwire.net]
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 12:25 PM
To: Jerry_Stephens@ca10.uscourts.gov
Cc: law-lib@ucdavis.edu
Subject: [LAW-LIB:54138] Re: Poetry of the law
Hi, Jerry:
A couple more thoughts:
1. You need to take a look at this classic law student text:
James B. White, The Legal Imagination: Studies in the Nature of Legal
Thought and Expression (Little, Brown & Co. 1973), which includes a
section on the judge as poet. He might have put out later editions, but
that was the one I retained from law school.
2. Several of the leading proponents of the newly developing
field of cognitive linguistics maintain that everyday speech, prose, and
poetry are actually on a continuum and that we all use the same devices
when thinking imaginatively. Several works of Mark Turner, starting
with More Than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor (University
of Chicago Press 1989), which he wrote with George Lakoff, and including
Cognitive Dimensions of Social Science: The Way We Think About Politics,
Economics, Law, and Society (Oxford University Press 2001), explore this
theme. A good introduction to the application of cognitive linguistics
to law, or at least to judicial opinions, is Steven Winter, A Clearing
in the Forest: Law, Life and Mind (University of Chicago Press 2001).
All the best,
Charley
Charles R. Dyer
Charles R. Dyer Consulting
808 East Maple Street
Bellingham, WA 98225-5225
360-738-6439
fax 360-738-6439 (call first)
mobile 360-483-9446
charlesrdyer@clearwire.net
www.charlesrdyer.com
Jerry_Stephens@ca10.uscourts.gov wrote:
Nate Oman posted an entry about poetry on the blog
"Concurring Opinion" yesterday. Oman wrote that lawers and judges
frequently write of the "poetry of the law." He identified one specific
piece written by Edgar Lee Masters in his Spoon River Anthology. Oman
also noted that Masters did practice law in Chicago and did include a
number of legal references in the anthology.
Here's the link:
http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2007/11/the_poetry_of_t.html#
more
I am curious about this notion of the "poetry of the
law." Can you help me identify any other poems with a law-related theme
or subject matter?
I will admit up front that I am much more attracted to
poetry now that I'm older. But I am still somewhat poetry-challenged
when I stray beyond the more widely known and appreciated poetry.
Jerry E. Stephens
U.S.Court of Appeals
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
email: jerry_stephens@ca10.uscourts.gov
personal: jstephens6@cox.net
voice: (405) 609-5460
fax: (405) 609-5461
cell: (405) 834-1408
"A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000 word document
and calls it a brief."
--Franz Kafka
"I may be wrong, but I'm never in doubt."
--Marshall McLuhan
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