Poetry: Gaining New Ground
Let it not be said that poetry is a dying art. To the contrary, poetry is alive and well and a growing cultural phenomenon.
With perhaps a biased viewpoint being an author of poetry myself, I have irregardless spent a lot of time on the internet and otherwise researching the current status of poetic verse amoung the various writing genres of the day and find that there is a gradual yet persistent increase in the popularity of poetry today.
As a literature enthusiast as far back as my early secondary school days, oh so long ago, there was something about poetry that struck me in a way that seemed quite profound. It wasn't until much later in life (my mid-forties) that I actually began to pursue writing poetry for personal as well as commercial benefit.
Poetry spans the globe in popularity because, as with a great novel, there is commonality, personal or human life experiences related to in each piece that most people, regardless of age, can easily relate to. Above all else poetry offers an abreviated window, a miniature picture of a much lengthier story as told in, for example, a novel.
For those literature enthusiasts who prefer short, highly descriptive excerpts for their reading pleasure poetry fits the bill quite nicely. The striking thing about poetry is that it can offer the reader a host of reading pleasures by quickly and often intensely touching on deep innermost feelings or senses that with a novel-length script can take much longer to develop and effectively portray.
Why does poetry affect readers in such a profound way? Unlike a fiction novel, poetry is most often relaying actual personal experience or observations of the writer themself and therefore, if skilfully written, will have strength in credibility and hence be more readily relatable to the reader.
To bear one's soul to a potentially countless number of readers is not everone's cup of tea yet the credibility of a piece is so greatly enhanced that a personal accounting is the preferred method or composing poetry if establishing an increasing readership is desired. Lovers of poetry, as with readers of any form of writing, discover a writer that they enjoy and so often become devoted readers of that author's works and keep coming back for more.
The chemistry of putting together the right combination of thoughts, images, descriptive words or phrases is a skill that must be developed and exercised with each composition. That in itself takes time and dedication to the craft but the end results for the author and the reader are priceless.
Poetry is an art form. It is passion, emotions, exhilerating, saddening, joyful, inspiring, simply put every conceivable emotion or expression of thought that one can imagine. There is also a fictional side to poetry. Fantasy is also a popular form of poetry, an escape, a dream, a mysterious encounter, an exciting journey to a faraway, secret place that no-one else can go...hence a highly personal experience. How powerful and profound is that?
Contempory poetry has certainly evolved and always will. Poetry touches very much on the present, the past, and indeed the future. It has no boundaries, no rigid rules by which the author must conform. That is the beauty of poetry for the author. Tradional forms of poetry remain a focal point for many writers today while others have shifted focus to new beginnings, freesytle forms of poetic expression.
If you have thoughts of writing poetry, whether strictly for personal reasons or for commercial purposes, pick up a pen or get to the keyboard and start writing. Never mind whether it's good or not. Put your thoughts down on a page, digest it, edit as you wish, see how it affects you to read each piece. Maybe there's a poet in you after all!
How did it all start for me? Well, I wrote a poem, printed it, cut it to fit into a greeting card (a Valentines Day wish for my better half) and the response I received was overwhelming. Once I saw how greatly my writing affected a handful of people I knew that writing poetry was something special that I had to pursue.
Write your poem today...and often.
For samples of my poetry please visit my website, A Poet's View, at http://www.apoetsivew.org .
Copyright 2005 by Don MacIver
Victoria, BC
With perhaps a biased viewpoint being an author of poetry myself, I have irregardless spent a lot of time on the internet and otherwise researching the current status of poetic verse amoung the various writing genres of the day and find that there is a gradual yet persistent increase in the popularity of poetry today.
As a literature enthusiast as far back as my early secondary school days, oh so long ago, there was something about poetry that struck me in a way that seemed quite profound. It wasn't until much later in life (my mid-forties) that I actually began to pursue writing poetry for personal as well as commercial benefit.
Poetry spans the globe in popularity because, as with a great novel, there is commonality, personal or human life experiences related to in each piece that most people, regardless of age, can easily relate to. Above all else poetry offers an abreviated window, a miniature picture of a much lengthier story as told in, for example, a novel.
For those literature enthusiasts who prefer short, highly descriptive excerpts for their reading pleasure poetry fits the bill quite nicely. The striking thing about poetry is that it can offer the reader a host of reading pleasures by quickly and often intensely touching on deep innermost feelings or senses that with a novel-length script can take much longer to develop and effectively portray.
Why does poetry affect readers in such a profound way? Unlike a fiction novel, poetry is most often relaying actual personal experience or observations of the writer themself and therefore, if skilfully written, will have strength in credibility and hence be more readily relatable to the reader.
To bear one's soul to a potentially countless number of readers is not everone's cup of tea yet the credibility of a piece is so greatly enhanced that a personal accounting is the preferred method or composing poetry if establishing an increasing readership is desired. Lovers of poetry, as with readers of any form of writing, discover a writer that they enjoy and so often become devoted readers of that author's works and keep coming back for more.
The chemistry of putting together the right combination of thoughts, images, descriptive words or phrases is a skill that must be developed and exercised with each composition. That in itself takes time and dedication to the craft but the end results for the author and the reader are priceless.
Poetry is an art form. It is passion, emotions, exhilerating, saddening, joyful, inspiring, simply put every conceivable emotion or expression of thought that one can imagine. There is also a fictional side to poetry. Fantasy is also a popular form of poetry, an escape, a dream, a mysterious encounter, an exciting journey to a faraway, secret place that no-one else can go...hence a highly personal experience. How powerful and profound is that?
Contempory poetry has certainly evolved and always will. Poetry touches very much on the present, the past, and indeed the future. It has no boundaries, no rigid rules by which the author must conform. That is the beauty of poetry for the author. Tradional forms of poetry remain a focal point for many writers today while others have shifted focus to new beginnings, freesytle forms of poetic expression.
If you have thoughts of writing poetry, whether strictly for personal reasons or for commercial purposes, pick up a pen or get to the keyboard and start writing. Never mind whether it's good or not. Put your thoughts down on a page, digest it, edit as you wish, see how it affects you to read each piece. Maybe there's a poet in you after all!
How did it all start for me? Well, I wrote a poem, printed it, cut it to fit into a greeting card (a Valentines Day wish for my better half) and the response I received was overwhelming. Once I saw how greatly my writing affected a handful of people I knew that writing poetry was something special that I had to pursue.
Write your poem today...and often.
For samples of my poetry please visit my website, A Poet's View, at http://www.apoetsivew.org .
Copyright 2005 by Don MacIver
Victoria, BC
posted by Don MacIver at
1:18 p.m.
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