Discussion: Why write poetry?

WS,

One of the things that I've had trouble getting those around me to understand is my belief that being a better poet makes a person a better writer overall. It's not simply the ability to couch ideas in poetic verse, its the way poetry changes the way you look at everything around you. I like that I've begun to ask myself "how would I show somebody what I just saw here?" I'm also hearing the prose in songs I listened to with a lazy ear for many years. Strange how some of my favorite songs are actually quite good pieces of poetry.

Mark

Poetry can be a mental exercise or a lifelong focus of study. Either way, any time spent thinking (producing) as opposed to staring (consuming) is a positive thing in the end.

There are so many flavors and styles of poetry, and so many so-called reasons for its being, that you end up choosing what it means to you. Some people write poetry to show the world how clever they are ... that drives me nuts. To me, it's about raw communication, pure channeling of brain stuff from one person to another, and no other medium can do it quite the way poetry can.

Whether a poem has great meaning or not, I'm not interested -- when images form, the mind is at work. Whether meaning can be dodged entirely, I doubt it.

Your own mileage may vary. ;-)

Poets make the best prose writers. Poems ar excellent practice for finding the very best words and developing a sense of cadence.

Hi Wordsheff,

This is a very good topic and you raised a VERY good point in saying that you couldn't believe how much could be expressed in a Poem, because that DEPTH and COMPLEXITY is what separates Verse from Poetry (no matter how well either might be written).

Both are essentially "Communication" of Meaning, (regardless of the source or form such might take), but the ONLY limits that can be placed on what can be communicated lie in the Poet's intent and his/her mastery of craftsmanship).

Those who are content to settle for a moment's insight, (particularly if it's based on personal rather than universal experience), are limiting themselves and the influence they might have. Those who strive for more have the potential to influence far more people on far deeper levels.

The choice is up to the writer but it's an important one based on the goals that the individual has set for themselves. Those who set limited goals will be content with less and there is nothing wrong with that as long as they recognize and accept those limitations. Those who set there goals higher will face greater challenges and have the potential (although NO guarantee) of much greater rewards.

Think on it, and Write On,

JRH

Because words are like little Lego blocks lying there begging to be stuck to each other and twisted around in fun shapes. A poem is a sand bag holding ground against the flood. An epitaph scrawled on the blank wall of time.

I initially wrote poetry in High School as a release. I could convey things in a sort of code -- a duality of meaning -- that was more compact and effective than other writing I did. I also was so offended by what showed up in our school literary magazine that I had to respond with something better.

I wrote a good deal until I was around 25 (lyrics and poetry for they are quite different) and then, just after my daughter was born I believe something in my lack of sleep kept me out of touch with my muse.

Fast forward to 2006. I'm composing and need to own the words I use for "Art" songs and want to submit. Mr. Bright-guy thinks, Hell, I used to write poetry why not.

Floodgates opened and words came pouring out in an unbelievable stream. If they were water I could have become a hydromining operation.

I now write poetry because my mind is bent in that direction. I derive incredible satisfaction from forcing the most effective amount of words in the right order, in the right form, to create moments that show you more than what is happening (at least that's my goal).

I still script and write prose, but I never realized how much my heart belonged to poetry until this year.

Now I write it mostly because I have to -- my soul isn't giving me a choice in the matter and I turn to poetry immediately and only relent when I need a larger canvas.

I don't know how many people love poetry anymore (and I'm not talking Helen Steiner Rice -- not, as they say, that there's anything wrong with that). I don't know how many can look through that dark or bright glass and catch the turn of color or the play of light -- but it is one of the most breathtaking things I can experience. I love it especially when I feel I've managed to contribute to that canvas.

Or, as my cousin once observed, I do it becuase it isn't there and something in me wants to make it be.

I don't anymore, too discouraged.

I suppose I write poetry because I get ideas that rebell against the short story or even flash fiction format. They want to be a poem, to have a certain flow, a certain rhythm I can only get in poetry. Also, it fascinates me the hundred different meanings that a hundred different people can get out of one single piece of poetry. Especially when I know what I was writing about at the time, and it wasn't that. It's such an incredible interaction, knowing how what you write affects people. Although all forms of writing do that to people, poetry does it the most. Which is why I love it. Also, it makes me a better writer, I think.

i write poetry
because, like prayer,
it's a symbolic battle
against despair.

i write poetry because that is how my brain processes things in its purest form. i feel like i have to write it, mostly. like ktc, my brain would explode if i didn't purge these things.
it's fantastic exercise for the other writing i do as well. being able to write poetry makes writing prose better, at least for me.

It's mental masturbation for me.

(self-gratifying; no one else cares)

It's how I confess things, I think.

I like playing with words.
Also, I like puzzles.
Some poems are difficult.
Some are deceptive in their apparent simplicity.
But this is more about reading than writing poetry.
I'm a fan of William McGonagall, author of The Tay Bridge Disaster.
As for writing poems?
I write poems for my own amusement.
But some day, I hope to dredge the depths of my creativity and become as notorious as McGonagall.

wordsheff said:

but what other artform requires so little of the artist?
You can be inspired anywhere and all you need is a pen and something to write on...no camera, no recording studio or instruments, no paint, etc.

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I find this interesting as one day I remember complaining to myself about how a painter or that kind of artist can get inspired by a clothespin and simply draw or paint a picture of it. I get inspired by a clothespin and need to write a whole epic poem about it.
I think poetry derives a lot out of a person, at least it does for. There is more of my soul in my poetry then there is in my novel. The difference is that the exhaustion doesn't last nearly as long.
But anyways, I write poetry because they tend to come on like a sneeze, and well, nothing good will come of suppresing a sneeze.

trumancoyote said:

It's how I confess things, I think.

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Yes! It forces me to use my words and really think rather than just saying "I hate this" or "I love that." When I write anything, I can visualize the whole scene and then just write about what I see. But when I'm writing poetry, the scenes I see are so much more graphic and intense. I like the things I see when I write poetry when the visual scares the hell out of me.

For me, writing poetry often puts me more in touch with my own humanity. It gives me room to think about philosophical, metaphysical, or spiritual ideas.

I speculate, therefore I am.

I write poetry in the hope that one day I'll write something that will touch even one person. I write because I love words, and find them heartbreakingly beautiful. I write because it's fun. I write to remember. I write to purge the things I don't want to remember from my mind, so they can stop repeating themselves over and over behind my eyes. I write because I sat down when I seven and decided to write a poem, and I've never really stopped.

wordsheff said:

And it is like a sneeze (something you have to release...so mental masturbation isn't such a bad way to put it either), though it is a release with results you want to show people.
-WS

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...which, I'm assuming, marginalizes sneezes and masturbation as metaphors.

I write poetry because I love the way the words can be strung together in so many ways, a strand of Christmas lights flashing on a tree or a necklace of skulls hung about the neck or any other wondrous thing. I love the feel of a certain rhythm dancing on the tongue and onto the screen, so many dances to perform. I love finding the perfect word or turn of phrase that completes an image. So much meaning can be packed into such a small space.

Yeah, that probably covers it.

-Michelle

poetry is power

maestrowork said:

It's mental masturbation for me.

(self-gratifying; no one else cares)

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C'mon. There are wonderful poems out there that are timeless and speak to everyone. Of course, 99.99 percent of poetry has the singulartly pleasing bouquet of our own farts.

Wordsheff, another great topic for discussion. I wrote poetry when writing time was short. It made my prose cleaner and more thoughtful, lyrical. Now, I publish more poetry than prose. I grew up appreciating good writing--essays, novels, etc. Poetry was not really my interest. Hmmmm, good to grow up, just a bit!

I wrote my first poem in high school English class and the teacher loved it. That helped my perception of myself, which wasn't all that great, and the rest is history.