Before I started writing poetry, I hated reading it. Half the time I found it boring, and the other half I simply didn’t ‘get.’ It was unexciting and confusing. When I came across it in the middle of a novel (Lord of the Rings is a perfect example) I skipped over it or skimmed it.
What I realized, however, the first time I wrote a poem, was that it’s a way of drawing a mental image on paper. Unlike fiction, in poetry anything goes and no one is going to question whether or not a heart can sing, or a colour can have a scent. Good poetry can connect people on a deep level: through senses.
In my experience with poetry since I started to write it, I’ve never managed to accomplish writing in any of the dozens if not hundreds of forms, other than a couple of haiku. The idea of following a rhyming scheme or a particular metre hurts my brain in ways that cease to make the writing of a poem pleasant. Occasionally I’ll write something that actually rhymes, and I do try to keep to some type of rhythm – mostly I’m scribbling to the beat of my own drummer – but the importance, to me, is getting the mood and the sensation across to my reader.
There are people out there who won’t read free verse poetry; some even believe that it’s hack writing, and turn their nose up at it. There are those who will read it and enjoy it, but never practice writing it.
I’ve learned that poetry, like music, is a universal. Well written, it can convey the human condition in ways that no other art form can. It speaks to our emotions, our senses, and connects our life experiences.
I’d like to know what you think: what is most important to you? What is your criteria for reading poetry, or for writing it? Is it the feeling, or making sure it rhymes? When you come across it in the middle of a novel, do you skip it, or do you read it and re-read it to get the full meaning?
Expound at will, and feel free to illustrate your thoughts in poetry, in the comments! Or just tell it like you see it. I want to hear from you!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Post on your site, and join Just Jot it January. The rules are easy!
1. It’s never too late to join in, since the “Jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post) counts as a “Jot.” If it makes it to WordPress that day, great! If it waits a week to get from the sticky note to your screen, no problem!
2. If you write a JusJoJan post on your blog, you can ping it back to the above link to make sure everyone participating knows where to find it.
3. Write anything!
4. Have fun!
March 10, 2015 at 9:12 am
So true for me as well Linda.
LikeLike
March 11, 2015 at 7:45 pm
😀 Thanks for your comment!
LikeLike
June 20, 2014 at 3:05 pm
rules…hmmm except for haiku, senryu, pantoums and ghazals…eh…who needs em…lol
LikeLike
June 20, 2014 at 3:09 pm
They were meant to be broken, I tell you! Haha. Thanks for the comments 🙂
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 9:06 pm
Thoughts in poetry – this should prove interesting
How inspired am I to challenge verse:
I’m a particular junkie when it comes to verse
As aforementioned you can see
I doubt I could ever explain why
I don’t like sing-song-y, sappy or soft
Subjective to me but to you might not be
A Hallmark card can bring a tear to my eye
But not the way you think
I want it to stop
Its beauty is I don’t have to read anymore
I make it cease and move on
I must think of what I’ll say next
As I scoop more honey nut cheerios
Before they’re too soggy
You guessed I’m eating cereal
Honey-Nut are the best
Anyway, what to say
I know if I’ll like it as I read
If it grabs me and holds me close
If after a few lines I raise my eyes
And start skimming
We’re done it’s a no go
If it’s way too abstract
I sit back and say ‘huh’
A jumble of words
I’ve done it myself this I know
Back I go to revise
More than I can say for some
What good will it do if you scratch your head too
If my picture is sloppy and streaked
Undeterminable images what is this what is that
What good would it do
If Picasso I’m not
Who would hold their chin and study enthralled
My name means nothing at all
Clear as possible I have to be
What was the question at hand
But to share what we see as poetry
As I said to another in a prior response
I never assume I’m writing poetry
Just because I write some words across
And then a string of them down
It can be assumed mathematics
A course I never took
Or some canted architecture
I know nothing about
But if you say it’s true she writes poetry
I humbly bow my head in acknowledgement
Appreciate the encouragement
And thank you
You see, I’m a particular junkie
LikeLike
January 29, 2014 at 9:14 pm
Ha! Love it! That was a wonderful poem, Myas. Kept me reading from beginning to end, glued to the screen.
Thank you for writing this in my comments 😀
LikeLike
January 29, 2014 at 9:26 pm
Thanks to you!! 😀
LikeLike
January 29, 2014 at 9:53 pm
😀
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 4:14 pm
I love reading poetry. I do not love writing it.
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:23 pm
Well, then, I’ll have to write twice as much to make up for your absence of writing it! 😀
Do you have any favourite poets?
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 7:05 pm
Many. My favorite is Ferlinghetti 🙂
You?
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 8:16 pm
Not really. I do enjoy a lot of what I’ve found here on WordPress though. 🙂
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 3:30 pm
Poets so confusing can be
When they speak in rhymes of obscurity.
But flaring with passion and heart,
How can we deny it to be greatest art?
I hate to read or write the form
As it’s awkward as blowing a horn,
But I respect the quality of pen
When someone, to us, their heart does lend.
Boom. (I find it difficult because I’m not real good at reading or writing it, but it’s like a literary puzzle, which can be fun. However, I really enjoy form, because it’s that much more of a puzzle when people break form or use it in unique ways.)
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:19 pm
That’s brilliant, Paul. 🙂 You sell yourself short.
So let me get this straight: you like rules, especially if they’re broken? You’re such a rebel my dear. 😉
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:28 pm
When teaching poetry, and the kids were looking for things, I often learned as much as they did. And they always looked at me funny. It was like finding Disney tickets every time.
And rules are best for being broken. Why else have them? 😉
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:33 pm
You must have been a good teacher. I detested poetry in school. 😛 Gotta wonder if the rule-breaking thing had anything to do with it.
😉
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 12:45 pm
I just started writing (and reading) poetry. It seems to be a great release of feeling and emotion for me. I struggle more with prompts although it does stretch me and push me. I tend to not like to read long poems (although children’s poetry and books would be the exception due to the meter and rhythm I think). I also don’t like to read poetry that feels forced. I prefer poetry that has emotion oozing out of it. I’ve enjoyed learning some forms (admittedly the easy, a.k.a. short, ones).
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:16 pm
That’s really it, isn’t it? The feeling – the way a poem can touch something inside us – or release it. I think it’s obvious when someone is writing poetry just for the sake of writing. It often comes out hollow.
I’m glad you started writing poetry, Pamela. You’re quite good at it! 🙂
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 7:19 pm
I was just chatting with someone about this very topic. She mentioned that some people approach poetry from an intellectual perspective. I happen to prefer an emotional perspective. The poetry I prefer comes from that too.
Thank you for the kind words about my poetry. I’ve really been enjoying it.
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 8:16 pm
It shows 🙂
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 12:22 pm
This will sound arrogant and I apologize but I don’t choose how to write in advance. Something will tweak my brain and words pour out. Someone made a comment about a Troll and out popped a poem within a few minutes. When I am inspired it is like a compulsion: MUST WRITE NOW. Inconvenient sometimes but ultimately pleasurable. I enjoy reading poems the same way. Some just touch a chord and I am lost in the imagery.
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:13 pm
It doesn’t sound arrogant at all – I think many poets write that way. I know I’ve put out some of my best work when I’ve been really feeling it rather than just thinking it.
Thanks for sharing 😀
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 12:18 pm
Interesting. I’m like you in that I go for a rhythm, but rarely rhyme. I play around in poetry, so I test out the forms that catch my attention. The casualness that I take toward it seems to help. I do find it hard to comment on poetry after a while. I feel like I repeat myself because I tend to pay attention to the images more than the emotions.
My question: why do you think some people hate poetry? I’ve run into people like this who never give me a reason as to why.
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:11 pm
I think poetry is, for the most part, something you have to feel in order to enjoy. Maybe those who hate it would simply rather read something they can readily understand, or that makes sense logically. What do you think?
Again, that explains why you have a hard time commenting on it, as do I most of the time. You either feel it, or you don’t. If you do, all you can comment is an agreement.
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:20 pm
That does explain a lot. I was wondering if part of it is also how poetry is kind of foisted upon people during school years. I remember those class discussions being kind of brutal because nobody realized you could have more than one view on a poem.
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Ugh, I think that’s where my initial hatred of poetry came from – and probably why I still don’t like to follow the rules.
Good point, Charles. 🙂
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 6:40 pm
Same here. 🙂
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 11:52 am
I enjoy well written poetry in the right quantity. I do have a leaning towards rhyme and meter, as I think this evaluates the art. I tended towards formal structure, and then evolved towards a less rigid style, myself.
Still, when I was writing poetry during the 2007 – 2009 period, I would still take pains to sculpt and perfect a poem. I could never be a mass producer of poetry. A poem has to be a special creation for me.
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 12:06 pm
I’ve noticed that about you – your poems are special creations.
I understand what you mean about the right quantity, as well. It takes time to absorb a good poem.
Thanks for the comment, Nav. 😀
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 11:42 am
You have a lot of insight! I agree that writing in a “official”, for lack of a better word, “format”, is less satisfying than writing in an original style, or free verse. Poetry is much like music, in that an author can experiment with already known forms, as well as with his or her own. I love writing free verse, but sometimes I write in established forms, it depends on my mood. As for reading poetry, I enjoy reading all sorts of poems, whether long or short, especially the poetry of Edgar A. Poe. I really really enjoy reading your blog!!:) Thank you:)
LikeLike
January 28, 2014 at 11:49 am
Thanks very much, Genevieve. 🙂 It’s true that so much of writing poetry depends on mood – both in style and in content. Experimentation, for me, is the best part.
Thank you for commenting and for sharing. 😀
LikeLike