 Poetry: June 17, 2015 Issue [#7052] |
  Poetry
This week: What Makes a Poet? Edited by: Fyn-elf  
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"Which rightly should possess a poet's brain" ~~Michael Drayton To Henry Reynolds, of Poets and Poesy
"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal" ~~T.S. Eliot The Sacred Wood
"The poet is always indebted to the universe, paying interest and fines on sorrow" ~~ Vladimir Mayakovsky Conversation with an Inspector of Taxes about Poetry |
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A poet may be, depending upon where you look:A writer of poems or one who is especially 'gifted in the perception and expression of the beautiful or lyrical or one who displays imagination and sensitivity along with eloquent expression. *
Which one are you? And... does it matter? If so, when? And why?
I've been thinking about this of late. As a publisher, I am given poetry manuscripts to peruse. As a judge here at WdC, I am called upon to pull winners from a banquet table of offerings. Each person, each reader brings with him an array of experiences, a culture, a background of reading and a set of expectations to the reading of a poem. Each person's set of criteria will be unique to themselves. We then read the poem, placing it into our stew of expectations and proceed to make a personal judgment.
A disparate group may bring a plethora of ideas to what, in their minds, constitutes a 'great' piece. You might read a poem and shrug where I might rave about it. Some folks look to find more than surface images and ideas, seeking a depth. Others want metaphors or multiple meanings. Then again, still others seek a surface read, easily understood, requiring little to no thought. There is a place for all of these on the shelves of our mental library.
Personally, I prefer the poems I need to think about, those with multiple levels of nuance, the ones that make me think. A good friend of mine thinks a poem should have it all right on the surface. I studied it in school. Accessibility. Depending upon experience, knowledge or past reading habits, some poetry is far more accessible than other poetry is. Some poetry may reference places, people, things or vocabulary that are unfamiliar to a reader. Me? Google is my friend and I have no issue with looking up a word or a place that seems as if it will add something or perchance, help me understand something I'm just not getting.
On the writer side of things, some folks just write their thoughts, possibly adding rhyme and/or meter. Others write one poem on the surface, another down a level and possibly, yet another the deeper you look into nuance, connotative meanings and metaphor. Is one 'better' than the other? That is up to the reader. Some forms of poetry are difficult to write. Sestinas, pantoums and sonnets to name a few. Each has their own set of difficulties. I consider myself a fairly good poet. I cannot write a decent sonnet to save my life, yet I love to write pantoums and sestinas. 🌖 HuntersMoon  has the knack of sonnet writing down pat. He constructs brilliant sonnets. Where I am a fan of non-rhyming free style poetry, he is not. Two writers; two very different viewpoints. And we tend to like the other's poetry.
This brings up another point. I might write one type but I can enjoy other styles. Some I like to read, others, not so much. Same goes for the writing. I've tried many many different forms of poetry. Personally, I get so entangled in the number of lines/syllables per line, beats per stanza requirements that the words get lost. But that's just me. Our talents can grow in various directions. Because I do not choose to write in a particular style, does not mean that I cannot enjoy, appreciate or envy the talents of others. What we as writers write may or may not be what we like to read.
When I read something and think, "Now THAT (!) is a poem," I've encountered fresh images or ideas, a different viewpoint, or an eloquent combination of words that paints me a picture I can sink my teeth into. As a judge, encountering typos will turn me off because I expect contest entries to be proof read, played with, revised and checked again. As a reader, I can offer constructive criticism and as a poet, I always find myself wanting to push people to stretch their vocabularies, viewpoints and expressions. Simple, complex, rhymed or rambling, there is room for all.
What makes a poet? What makes a poem poetry? What do you thinK
*http://www.thefreedictionary.com/poet
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Some really good poetry!
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Teerich - 2019  says: This newsletter resonates strongly, especially when you state that people 'tend' to believe that poetry is fact.
I often write to a prompt. If every poem thus produced was part of the reality of my life, I would be an unfortunate soul, rather than the joyous one that I am.
We poets are not always the 'tortured souls' that are portrayed in our work. However, we do have the capacity to empathise with the true tortured souls of humanity.
YUP YUP!
Joto-Kai  writes: Absolutely! To put something to words is to change it, however subtly. Perhaps it becomes more like something you read about. (As a NLPer, I would recommend changing POV to see if that enhances the effect.)
I can't believe that people think poetry is nonfiction. Anybody ever read "The Raven?" Don't think I ever wrote anything nonfiction in my poetry. How would you change things to make them more intense? You couldn't. Does not make sense.
Ah, every day you learn something new about how the 99%, the group with no "common sense", live. (That's why the term "common sense" belongs in quotation. They have plenty of sense, but it's not common it's alienesque.)
LOL!
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