The Splendor of Poetry
I remember the days in my elementary and high school years when an integral part of English class study included an element of poetry. This was a subject matter that very few students could get into. It was like Shakespear - dull, confusing and deemed of little value or use later on in life.
Now in mid-life I find myself seeking new beginnings, alternate ways to entertain myself and those close to me, ways to enrich my life and challenge myself to achieve something that I perhaps never would have imagined pursuing.
I have found lately that the good old standby, the television, just isn't doing much for me any more...so much violence, negativity, vulgarity, much to excess.
I have made a concerted effort over the past year to get back to reading again. Through my early years in the workforce following college and into my mid-forties I found that work consumed almost all of my waking hours and there was precious little time to kick back and relax. My social life was nearly non-existent and the absence of free personal time spent with family and friends began to take its toll.
After a very difficult divorce (when are they not difficult?) I eventually met with the lady who is now my better half, my significant other, my wife and loving partner for life. During our dating period I began to write little poetic verses in greeting cards that I gave to her. The feedback that I started to receive from those who read my early efforts in poetry was most complimentary and bewildering at the same time. People were actually moved by my writing!
And so it was that through the encouragement of loved ones and friends I began to share my writing by joining a large poetry forum on the internet where I remain a regular contributing member and moderator over one year later. The experience of sharing one's writing with fellow writers, and a growing and devoted reading audience, has been a truly amazing journey.
Poetry is a powerful literary medium that advances the reader's senses and emotions to levels that can be very profound indeed. The delivery of a skilfully crafted work of poetry captures a reading audience in ways that cannot be equated to any other form of writing.
True, there are many forms of writing that stir the reader's emotions but with poetry there is something so much more personal about its style, its audience, its subject matters. Poetry is an interaction of some of the most highly personal experiences that one can convey to the reader. The subject matter is often that of real life experiences of the author, genuine heartache, pain, joy, elation, bewilderment, introspect, or a myriad of other emotions that the writer is or has experienced at one time or another.
If the experiences the author conveys are first-hand the poem will have credibility and appeal that is unsurpassed by any other form of writing. The response that a poet receives from his/her reading audience can be as emotional as the written piece itself....truly amazing.
Today, poetry still has its niche audience, not the overwhelming readership that is commanded by novelists and other forms of published writing, yet poetry is growing in popularity. It is an opportunity for the writer and reader to share in something real, something so very identifiable that most people experience at one time or another during the course of their lives, that sets it far apart from any other form of reading enjoyment or entertainment medium.
It is because of this powerful shared emotional experience that I have come to love writing poetry. There are endless opportunities now to publish one's writing, on the internet and in hard copy. The greatest challenge pre and post-publication is the promotion of the published work which really is an ongoing process for any writer.
Despite the challenges of developing the skills to command a reading audience and the promotion of one's work in an effort to be "discovered" writing of poetry, or any other genre of writing, must first and foremost be undertaken for the love of writing. Focus on the art of writing well and the rest will come as it may.
For samples of my writing and links to my websites please visit
http://apoetsview.wsmcafe.com and while there please sign my guestbook!
Read a poem today!
Don MacIver
Author, "Journeys In Verse"
Now in mid-life I find myself seeking new beginnings, alternate ways to entertain myself and those close to me, ways to enrich my life and challenge myself to achieve something that I perhaps never would have imagined pursuing.
I have found lately that the good old standby, the television, just isn't doing much for me any more...so much violence, negativity, vulgarity, much to excess.
I have made a concerted effort over the past year to get back to reading again. Through my early years in the workforce following college and into my mid-forties I found that work consumed almost all of my waking hours and there was precious little time to kick back and relax. My social life was nearly non-existent and the absence of free personal time spent with family and friends began to take its toll.
After a very difficult divorce (when are they not difficult?) I eventually met with the lady who is now my better half, my significant other, my wife and loving partner for life. During our dating period I began to write little poetic verses in greeting cards that I gave to her. The feedback that I started to receive from those who read my early efforts in poetry was most complimentary and bewildering at the same time. People were actually moved by my writing!
And so it was that through the encouragement of loved ones and friends I began to share my writing by joining a large poetry forum on the internet where I remain a regular contributing member and moderator over one year later. The experience of sharing one's writing with fellow writers, and a growing and devoted reading audience, has been a truly amazing journey.
Poetry is a powerful literary medium that advances the reader's senses and emotions to levels that can be very profound indeed. The delivery of a skilfully crafted work of poetry captures a reading audience in ways that cannot be equated to any other form of writing.
True, there are many forms of writing that stir the reader's emotions but with poetry there is something so much more personal about its style, its audience, its subject matters. Poetry is an interaction of some of the most highly personal experiences that one can convey to the reader. The subject matter is often that of real life experiences of the author, genuine heartache, pain, joy, elation, bewilderment, introspect, or a myriad of other emotions that the writer is or has experienced at one time or another.
If the experiences the author conveys are first-hand the poem will have credibility and appeal that is unsurpassed by any other form of writing. The response that a poet receives from his/her reading audience can be as emotional as the written piece itself....truly amazing.
Today, poetry still has its niche audience, not the overwhelming readership that is commanded by novelists and other forms of published writing, yet poetry is growing in popularity. It is an opportunity for the writer and reader to share in something real, something so very identifiable that most people experience at one time or another during the course of their lives, that sets it far apart from any other form of reading enjoyment or entertainment medium.
It is because of this powerful shared emotional experience that I have come to love writing poetry. There are endless opportunities now to publish one's writing, on the internet and in hard copy. The greatest challenge pre and post-publication is the promotion of the published work which really is an ongoing process for any writer.
Despite the challenges of developing the skills to command a reading audience and the promotion of one's work in an effort to be "discovered" writing of poetry, or any other genre of writing, must first and foremost be undertaken for the love of writing. Focus on the art of writing well and the rest will come as it may.
For samples of my writing and links to my websites please visit
http://apoetsview.wsmcafe.com and while there please sign my guestbook!
Read a poem today!
Don MacIver
Author, "Journeys In Verse"
posted by Don MacIver at
5:02 p.m.
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