Why bother? It's not going to make you rich. It's not going to get you world fame (let's be realistic). It might get you laid occasionally but not frequently enough to be worth the eye-rolls. So what drives you to it?
Why poetry?
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HA! You know when people say that there are some things you'd do regardless if it made money? Well, this is one of those things for me. It's fun, but it's never gotten me laid. (Unless its in the verse itself.) Never gotten me money. Never gotten me more than laughs, tears, or rotten vegetables, but that's the reason I share them.
What drives me to it? INSANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What drives me to it? INSANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was never good at painting, and I had to share the pictures in my head somehow. :shrug: words work.
Perhaps if you don't ask "why" you shouldn't be doing it - there's a lot of terrible poetry out there
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Perhaps if you don't ask "why" you shouldn't be doing it - there's a lot of terrible poetry out there
YUO-and it aint half bad either!!
Perhaps if you don't ask "why" you shouldn't be doing it - there's a lot of terrible poetry out there
I write terrible poetry
It makes me feel good. I'd never attempt to publish it..I do it just because I want to splash out feelings onto a piece of paper. I shove the finished work into a drawer and look at it a year later. It's kinda cool to see how we change over the years.
if you do it because you love it, it doesnt matter if its good or bad IMO
Even if there's awful poetry out there, so what? Doesn't mean yours or mine or davids' or anyone else's needs to be bad.
I mean, look at the dreck that's published these days when it comes to novels. Doesn't stop me trying to write something better.
I mean, look at the dreck that's published these days when it comes to novels. Doesn't stop me trying to write something better.
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I know the question is at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Still, what a sad, dull world it would be if we only ever did things because of the material rewards.
With respect, this question reminds me of the age-old grumbling student's lament: "Why should I learn this? I'll never use it in the real world." (ETA: And, well, you never know until you're *in* the real world, do you?)
There's a lot of discussion here about why people write. Certainly, lots do it for the money, but others claim they have to -- it's a compulsion -- or they love to do it. There might be some overlap between these groups, but they're not the same.
Some thoughts about why I write poems:
- Because I enjoy it.
- To see whether I can.
- Because it expresses things in ways that prose doesn't.
- Because, sometimes, it helps me learn about myself in ways I can't foresee.
- Because it gives me something to share and discuss with some very, very interesting people.
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I like the "to see whether I can" option.
To illustrate, a few days ago I had a chat with someone about speaking in public. I told the other person that it scares the hell out of me, so I do it. He frowned and asked why you would want to do something that scares you, and I said, "You've answered your own question. I like to do things that scare me so I'm not scared any more." It's like ticking something off a list. "Yup, set myself that challenge, nailed it, thank you and goodnight."
Okay, poetry's not scary (unless it's your own work you're reading in public!) but it's the same principle. I do lots of things to see if I can. It's about getting over a fear, or challenging myself, or setting a goal, or in some cases reaching out to people. It's great to let someone read a poem and hear the reaction, "Yeah, I feel that way too!"
Sure you could do it with prose, but I'm a fan of rhyme and meter and form. The pre-ordained structure sets me a challenge along the lines of, "Let's see if I can describe this feeling or relate that incident in a form set down by someone else many years ago."
Like a puzzle - a puzzle that when completed, will hopefully also entertain.
To illustrate, a few days ago I had a chat with someone about speaking in public. I told the other person that it scares the hell out of me, so I do it. He frowned and asked why you would want to do something that scares you, and I said, "You've answered your own question. I like to do things that scare me so I'm not scared any more." It's like ticking something off a list. "Yup, set myself that challenge, nailed it, thank you and goodnight."
Okay, poetry's not scary (unless it's your own work you're reading in public!) but it's the same principle. I do lots of things to see if I can. It's about getting over a fear, or challenging myself, or setting a goal, or in some cases reaching out to people. It's great to let someone read a poem and hear the reaction, "Yeah, I feel that way too!"
Sure you could do it with prose, but I'm a fan of rhyme and meter and form. The pre-ordained structure sets me a challenge along the lines of, "Let's see if I can describe this feeling or relate that incident in a form set down by someone else many years ago."
Like a puzzle - a puzzle that when completed, will hopefully also entertain.
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I'm with PIAH on most of his reasons. And I'll add one; because sometimes it's the only way to express something.
And wasn't there a discussion somewhere that poetry taps into a different part of our brain than straight prose? If that's so, then that explains the satisfaction,even without acclaim or monetary gain.
And wasn't there a discussion somewhere that poetry taps into a different part of our brain than straight prose? If that's so, then that explains the satisfaction,even without acclaim or monetary gain.
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That's the main reason I keep coming back to it. The practice of thinking, of expressing myself in metaphors, stretches my ability to understand and what I am able to understand. Plus, I get to hang out with the cool kids
It's intense communication, large experience, large examination, compacted. It's hard. "Challenge" resonates with me.
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Yup, I think that's it.
I use prose to describe characters (I believe that character is plot when it comes to novels) and poetry to describe situations or feelings.
My novels are 300-page lies and my poems are one-page snippets of truth. Interpret them how you will, but I know the truth that lies behind them.
I use prose to describe characters (I believe that character is plot when it comes to novels) and poetry to describe situations or feelings.
My novels are 300-page lies and my poems are one-page snippets of truth. Interpret them how you will, but I know the truth that lies behind them.
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When poets praise my head does swell;
(were I a man, rude parts as well).
Poetic license will not fail -
I will be good, will not derail.
*takes a bow*
To add: there have been very few books that have made me gasp in wonder and many, many poems have. (I'm thinking of the last paragraph of Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True - poetry in novel form IMO and a book that made me say, "I wish I'd written that!")
I think this is because, as I said, novels tend to be about characters whereas poems focus on situations and feelings and everything that situation is, everything that feeling is, is crystallised into one line or phrase or verse. With a character in a novel, you have hundreds of pages to get to know them, so there's no need to get everything about them into one sentence or paragraph, the novelist's equivalent.
I think the fact an entire feeling can be described in one line of a poem makes it more intense.
Whoa.
*head spins after being mature for an entire post*
I think this is because, as I said, novels tend to be about characters whereas poems focus on situations and feelings and everything that situation is, everything that feeling is, is crystallised into one line or phrase or verse. With a character in a novel, you have hundreds of pages to get to know them, so there's no need to get everything about them into one sentence or paragraph, the novelist's equivalent.
I think the fact an entire feeling can be described in one line of a poem makes it more intense.
Whoa.
*head spins after being mature for an entire post*
For me-- and my students right now-- it's all about word choice. Fiding the right word for the right time and the right feeling-- and expressing myself concicely (did I spell that right?)
As a prose writer by nature, I have never *loved* poetry. To this day, I prefer limericks to many types of poetry (although the haikus here are so fun that I bought a haiku t-shirt!) However, poetry makes me choose wisely to express myself completely.
As a prose writer by nature, I have never *loved* poetry. To this day, I prefer limericks to many types of poetry (although the haikus here are so fun that I bought a haiku t-shirt!) However, poetry makes me choose wisely to express myself completely.