Loose Change

Poem titles and the modern world

Titles on poems
When I review poems or stories, I often comment on the title.  Story authors tend to accept the comments, but some poets object, saying that titles aren't important or part of the poem, and that in books of poetry, poems are often untitled.

I can only say that the world changes.  Back when Edna St. Vincent Millay was writing poetry (early 1900s), she could get away with Sonnet V:

         Sonnet V

         IF I should learn, in some quite casual way,          
            That you were gone, not to return again—          
         Read from the back-page of a paper, say,          
            Held by a neighbor in a subway train,          
         How at the corner of this avenue
            And such a street (so are the papers filled)          
         A hurrying man—who happened to be you—          
            At noon to-day had happened to be killed,          
         I should not cry aloud—I could not cry          
            Aloud, or wring my hands in such a place—
         I should but watch the station lights rush by          
            With a more careful interest on my face,          
         Or raise my eyes and read with greater care          
         Where to store furs and how to treat the hair.

A lovely poem indeed, but it is not the early 1900s anymore.  Many poems are read on-line, and often in quick bites over lunchtime or during the kids' nap.  The title sets the stage, attracts the eye and motivates the reader.  Sonnet V doesn't cut it, and modern poems are seldom referred to by first line, as they once were.  So, poems should have titles, and the titles they have should be considered as part of the impact of the poem.  Some magazines even favor certain types of titles.  In reading a review of Dreams & Nightmares on a separate site, the reviewer commented that the magazine favors long, intriguing and campy titles to their poems.

So, if you want to write poems for your own enjoyment, title them or not as you please.  If you would like to get noticed and read in an increasingly on-line world, give your poems titles, preferably ones with punch and interest.


Current status: 34 items in 49 submissions. 1 new market attempted, Dreams & Nightmares