What is poetry? You might be thinking April Fools! Let me assure you my question is quite serious. First of all, April is National Poetry Month, and I figured I may as well incorporate a few poetry-related blog posts throughout the month. Second of all, I love poetry. Yet, it’s not that I write much poetry, and I typically only read it on a whim. So let me re-phrase that: I love teaching poetry.
As with all writing, poetry can range from simple to complex in its message and forms taken. To me, the best poems are those that reveal new insight with each repeated reading. Poetry challenges us to be economical with language, and it also brings back that sense of play we often lose with language as we grow older. A couple of poems I’ve posted on this website include an extended metaphor titled All for Show and a poem inspired by Munch’s famous painting titled Screaming.
Please take a second to think of how your notions of reading and writing poetry formed. Now read the poem below.
Some Like Poetry by Wisalaw Szymborska
Some –
thus not all. Not even the majority of all but the minority.
Not counting schools, where one has to,
and the poets themselves,
there might be two people per thousand.
Like –
but one also likes chicken soup with noodles,
one likes compliments and the color blue,
one likes an old scarf,
one likes having the upper hand,
one likes stroking a dog.
Poetry –
but what is poetry.
Many shaky answers
have been given to this question.
But I don’t know and don’t know and hold on to it
like to a sustaining railing.
Translated by Regina Grol
I always shared the poem above when introducing a unit on poetry to high school sophomores. I now ask for a hypothetical raise of hands: Do you read poetry on a regular basis. Just like my former students, you might be making a funny face. We often have lofty images in our minds of the sort of people who read and write poetry. Now let me ask for another hypothetical raise of hands: How often do you listen to music with lyrics?
Ahhh, see you do like poetry! Poetry conveys emotion, but it is so much more than that. The reason why I enjoy teaching poetic forms so much is because it’s the one time we seem to give ourselves permission to just simply play with language.
Perhaps one of the most famous moments in cinema for defining poetry occurs in the movie Dead Poets’ Society.
http://youtu.be/tmayC2AdkNw
How do you personally define poetry? What sorts of encounters have you had, either past or present, with poetry in your daily life? If you don’t consider yourself a poetry lover, what musician/poet do you love?
Please share responsibly. Jeri Walker, 2013.
I always thought of music as the poor man’s poetry. I can listen to it, as long as someone else wrote it. I have never been able to read it with any satisfaction or staying power. Oh well….
Cheryl, I can relate somewhat to what you write. For me, I am never drawn to poetry on computer screens. It just seems to lose all of its magic that way for me.
Music is a huge part of my everyday. I usually have music going when I am working. Occasionally I can write a little, but it isn’t my focus.
Some greats include: The Jabberwocky (Lewis Carroll), Do not go Gentle into that Good Night (Dylan Thomas), Englishman in New York (Sting, Nothing Like the Sun), and Fish Heads (Barnes and Barnes, Soak it Up)
Jon, “Do Not Go Gentle into that Goodnight” is one of my favorite villanelles. Okay, so it might be the only one I can name off the top of my head… 😉
In my previous response, the article comment love is giving me credit for is not one of mine. I found the problem and have corrected it now. Disregard that previous article (I don’t want to take credit for something I didn’t do).
Jon, no problem 😉 Thanks for being so honest.
I would define poetry as words linked together that invoke emotion. I published a poetry eBook, but I couldn’t stand poetry for years. It’s probably because we dissected it in college instead enjoying it for its worth–emotion.
I love all kinds of music so I can’t really narrow it down. Music has always marked moments in my life. My memories dance to the trigger of music.
Denise, that’s such a great line: “My memories dance to the trigger of music.” I guess I’m probably one of those odd types who actually likes dissecting poetry and all forms of literature, but first it must be made fun! Otherwise, it can definitely fell painful to have to analyze something the reader doesn’t feel much of a connection to.
I do read poetry, but not as often as I would like. I do love music of all kinds so in a sense I am, just not in a formal way. I love your idea of creating a simple guide/tutorial on how to write poetry I know I would use it. I dabble at it, so having a guide would be very helpful. 🙂
Susan, I do love how you dabble with poetry from time to time on your blog. Once I get moved, I plan to give the poetry tutorials some serious thought.
I’m not sure that’s a fair question Jeri. I seldom read poetry, but when I do, and when I find something I like, one thing I like about is not needing to define it…just sayin’. 🙂
Lawrence, your opinion is indeed a fair one. Perhaps that is what I most love about poetry. The definition can be as simple or as complex as we care to make it, but either way it can bring much much and joy in the process of experimenting with it.
I am not a big poetry reader. The one poem that I read in school that has always stuck with me is The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. I’ve always loved that poem, especially the last two lines.
Karen, Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is one of my favorites as well. The last two lines are so open-ended…
Jeri, you really made me aware of the fact that, in some way or another, everyone enjoys and I might even say, loves poetry. I am referring to music.
As far as the actual poetry is concerned, I believe that in some cases, I consider it as being too complicated. In school, I have learnt poetry, but the fact that those poems had so many meanings, made me distance myself from literature. And it was not because they had many meanings, but because my tutor never accepted my opinion about what I thought the author of the poem meant.
Poetry should be subjected to subjectivity. I do not believe that there should be one correct answer. Everyone’s answer is correct.
Andreea, that’s too bad that your tutor didn’t want to accept your opinion. So long as proper support is offered, literature is open to so many interpretations. Poems, first and foremost, are always filtered through the reader’s own perceptions.
I read poetry a lot, and it is very seldom from a book. I think that the best definition of poetry I have come across so far is in Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge. Human emotion seems to be a staple of all poetry, including music lyrics. Some of my favorites are A Certain Slant of Light, and Hope is a Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson, The Tyger by William Blake, The Lady of Shallot by Tennyson, Song of Myself, and Sing the Body Electric by Walt Whitman and so many more.
I love that part in Dead Poet’s Society, it expresses so much.
I can’t wait to see what other blogs you are going to do for poetry month.
Jessica, it’s good to hear you’re becoming such a well-read fan of poetry 😉 which doesn’t surprise me in the least… you always had such varied tastes over the four years I was your teacher.
I didn’t know it was poetry month, awesome! I took a creative writing class in high school and we spent quite a bit of time on poetry- I learned that poetry, like art, can be anything you want it to be. It can be short, long, detailed, simple, rhyme, not rhyme, different rhyme schemes, or it can be a simple expression of your ideas written in any way you like. I really love all kinds of poetry!
Kelly, it sounds like your creative writing class was well worth it since it helped draw you into the world of poetry. I really do want to make poetry tutorials, but it’s always a matter of finding the time to balance everything.
I don’t read poetry as often as I should; I’ve always loved it. I think poetry is an interpretation of life told through the words of it’s poet…though I could never challenge “O’ Captain My Captain”‘s explanation 😉
Mine comes in the form of music. Interestingly, I had not thought of it in that way before, I feel a little more intellectual now 🙂
Becc, music is by far the most accessible form of poetry today. Song lyrics, just like “bonafided” poetry can be simple or complex. I used to have students pick a song they liked and then the needed to identify poetic elements in it such as similes and metaphors.
I consider poetry a way to convey emotions, feelings and thoughts through words. Not just any words though. I believe it is a free form to play with the words you want and allow it to be interpreted any way you want. I’ve always disliked classes where there is suppose to be one meaning and one meaning only of a poem. Even novels don’t always just have one meaning. Words hold certain meanings for everyone and everyone associates words with different experiences for themselves. Poetry is a way to express this both as a reader and writer.
I think poetry is the essence of what you want to say. Prose stripped down to it’s bare bones, then played with in a wonderful way. OK Jeri – I made a stab at a definition. Do I get brownie points? I love poetry but only read it occasionally. I surprised myself a couple of years ago and took a poetry course, as a main protagonist in my novel is a poet. I loved it, despite how little I know about poetry. But it was so much fun to play with words, & reducing the number of them and rearranging them. Excellent for a prose writer to hone editing skills too. Favorite poets are Patti `smith and Frank O’Hara, though I did enjoy Ted Hughes Birthday Letters.
A.K., oh yes, you can indeed collect brownie points for providing a definition to poetry. Even better is how fittingly concise your definition is. I’ve only taken one poetry class as well in college, but once I had to think of ways to teach it to high school students, I ended up lighting a fire under myself.
There’s a file cabinet way at the back of my closet. Deep inside it is a folder that I do not look at and yet, the words come back to me. It’s my poetry from college. There are also a few little notebooks with poetry from even earlier in my life. Maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to read it? Do I want to encounter the 13-year-old me? A dreamer, a poet, a frightened creature…. Not yet. I don’t think I’m old enough — yet.
Maybe then, I’ll be able to write poetry again. For now, just goofy Haikus to pass the time the way other people do crossword puzzles or play Angry Birds.
Candy, I too have some poetry hidden away from my high school days. Oh what a moody thing I was back then! Poetry is such a great outlet for teenage angst 😉
I really don’t know much about poetry, although I do enjoy reading it now and then. I suppose for myself, poetry is just the way something is written, the way it flows and the images it creates in your mind.
Cole, thanks for visiting. I’m glad to hear you like reading poetry. I think on some level, all people have a natural inclination to love the way words can be written and spoken. Little kids love to rhyme and be playful with language, and then some of that natural inclination tends to lessen as we grow up. I also like how you point out the way poems can create images in the mind. To be able to do so with few words is quite the feat.
Jeri — I read a lot of poetry as an English major in college. Some of it really touched me — and some poetry still does. But I have to admit I don’t read a lot of poetry. You need to spend time with a poem, in my view, re-reading it and letting it capture your emotions. I guess I’m stuck in the “scanning” mode because of all the email I need to wade through and the newsletters I feel obliged to read. Sad.
Jeannette, so many of us can relate to being stuck in “scanning” mode. That sort of reading tendency always created a struggle for me when trying to get students to read anything in-depth, and yet, it’s just a natural progression of how we are so accustomed to reading information from websites now. Poems definitely need a little time and patience to fully appreciate. I can’t ever read poetry when people post it on their sites. If a poem requires an in-depth reading I’m likely to print it and I always read with a pen in my hand so I can mark-up the text. I’m such a nerd 😉
I’ve often felt about poetry the way I feel about fine art and wine: “oh my God, please don’t ask me to explain what it is that makes it good/bad/ground-breaking!” All I know when I read poetry or look at art or drink wine is whether I like it or not, I often can’t explain it beyond that. I do get a good dose of poetry through song lyrics, but also have to give thanks to Jo VonBargen for moving me with her poetry in a way I hadn’t experienced before. It served to reignite my interest in it and make it feel more accessible.
Laura, I feel the same way, especially when it comes to wine 😉 I just googled Jo VonBargen so I can take a look at her poetry.
Years ago for an English course I wrote a paper that argued that the rock song had replaced the sonnet in popular culture…I cringe a bit when I think about it now. I love music and I don’t read poetry very often, but when I get a chance to listen to poets reciting their work I’m often caught off guard by how captivated I am. If you write a blog teaching people about poetry, I’d read, its an area where my education is sadly lacking.
Debra, one of my secret indulgences is listening to poets read their work. YouTube is great in that capacity…
This is great, and I would love such a tutorial! I’ve never had much luck understanding poetry; so for April, I’ve been trying to memorize a few poems a week since I read somewhere it helps. And so far, it really has.
Jenny, your attempt to memorize some poems for National Poetry Month truly is commendable. I only had to do so once, for one of my college professors. I chose Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” soliloquy. It’s safe to say, in the privacy of that poor woman’s office, I murdered Hamlet’s speech.
I think of poetry as a certain rhythm/rhyme of a story.
Krystle, which brings to mind end rhyme, internal rhyme, and slant rhymes 😉
In the past (20 years ago) I wrote some poetry that was published in some journals, but I have never had the guts to put it online. Whereas writing fact is a different cup, so to speak!
Any tips?
Paul, I’ve yet to be brave enough to put my poetry anywhere online, but whenever I’m able to get my poetry tutorial videos in the works, I will have to take the plunge. Just as with blogging communities or writing critique partners, a supportive community of poetry lovers will matter so much.
I like poetry, but don’t read it until it falls in my lap, like your “Some Like Poetry” and then, I relax and think, “That was beautiful.”
Carol, some of my favorite poems I’ve read have been the accidental ones I stumble across.
This is a really interesting question. I’m not sure I’ve ever thought about it. I used to love poetry. Read it daily, had hundreds of books, and wrote it often! But in my early college years I thought an English degree would be amazing, but a poetry class destroyed my love of literature. I couldn’t believe the arrogance of the teacher (and in fact all of the english teachers that semester). They truly decided their opinion was the only opinion, and when they asked for student opinions it was to regurgitate their words or fail. I’m sad to say I haven’t read any poetry since.
Ariana, that is definitely one of the worst things about encountering literature in a classroom setting. When I taught, I preferred to present the “majority” interpretation, but then open discussion to other possibilities. The FUN of literature always lies in the possibilities since we all bring our own backgrounds to to how we analyze a given piece. Yet even more fun it to try critical lenses, like using a feminist or a Marxist lens to apply different perspectives to what’s being read. It can really stretch a student’s mind. However, the current focus of school is too much on testing rather than teaching real thinking and interpretive skills. I hope you find your way back to poetry someday… perhaps out of spite to those teachers who squashed its wonder a bit for you…