Introduction Post: On reading and enjoying poetry aka Why am I a poetry enthusiast?

[alee_grrl]

Poetry is one of the oldest literary forms and one of the most widely used literary forms. There are so many great examples from across the world, going back millennia. What has kept this literary form going strong for so long? What gets us interested in poetry? What keeps us interested in poetry? These are some of the questions I would like to explore this week, not as an amateur poet, but as a reader and lover of poetry.

We are often introduced to poetry very young in life. Rhyming is a great learning tool, or mnemonic, and it has long been used to teach children. From nursery rhymes to the fun, nonsensical hand-clap chants (or jump rope chants), to Dr. Suess’s tongue twisters and other children’s stories, poetry is often one of the first literary forms we encounter. Dr. Suess and nursery rhymes were great joys of mine as a child, and some days I will still happily sit down and read them outloud. They serve as a lovely reminder of the importance of whimsy and play, especially in the adult world.

As we grow older we leave these childish poems behind, and in my experience many forgo poetry after, unless they are required to read it for a class. I was fortunate that I discovered other poets as I grew. I moved from Suess, to Lewis Carroll, and eventually discovered Robert Frost, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Christina Rossetti. It wasn’t far from there to Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, Shakespeare, and Emily Dickinson. I didn’t equate all poems with the childish rhymes I so loved. I was also raised with a lot of music in my house, and was fascinated by the similarities between song lyrics and poems. As a result my love of poetry grew up with me.

What is it that continues to draw me to poetry? There are so many levels to this answer. As a busy adult, I love that many poems can be read and enjoyed in a smaller amount of time, than say a novel. But it is more than that, as there are short versions of other literary forms that I enjoy as well. Poetry fits into a special place in my heart though. There is something soulful about poetry, something magical in many ways. Poetry to me is thought and emotion distilled. Like a shot of liqueur poetry carries a powerful punch in its concise forms. The lyrical nature of poetry, tied as it is to the rhythm of words, reconnects me with the heartbeat of the universe. It can be a poem about riding a bike up a hill, a silly poem about nothing much at all, a brief capture of a moment in time, or the tale of an epic journey. All of them bring to me a sense of wonder and amazement. They all spark a reaction of some kind in my soul. That is why I still love poetry. That is why I am a poetry enthusiast.

The rest of this week I will be exploring topics of reading poetry. The joys of easter egg hunting (with and without annotated editions of poetry), enjoying the many layers that can be found in a poem (aka symbolism and poetry), and what makes a favorite poem a favorite. I cannot promise a post a day this week, but I will do three additional posts to this one. :)

Discussion: What drew you to poetry? What keeps you interested? What are good ways to share of love with non-poetry enthusiasts?

Comments

some thoughts

[jjhunter]

I am not one of those people who writes or reads poetry compulsively. I have to be creative, else I am half myself, but the media in which I am creative vary widely at any particular time. Still, there is something about poetry that keeps drawing me back. It helps that writing poetry can be so low tech - pen and a mini notebook is enough to keep me going for weeks at least - but there's more to it than that.

Expressing a concept, an experience, an emotion, or a particular perspective through the medium of poetry clarifies and condenses it. It can make what would otherwise be obscure accessible; it turns the private public and the public personal; it offers an alternative to prose that draws on linguistic effects to bring out the full power of individual words. Poetry is communication using as many channels as possible; it is love and mastery of language both.

In others' work, I am drawn to poets who surprise or delight me with their patterns of diction, the way they unlock their 'word-hoard'. I am in the odd position of writing more poems than I read (I feel like my work would likely improve if I reversed that ratio), so POETREE has been an introduction and a siren song both to a broader world that I am really still just beginning to explore.

Good ways to share love with non-poetry enthusiasts would include introducing them to the delight of memorizing poems and hearing them recited skillfully from memory. So often I feel like what gets in the way is a matter of technical reading comprehension; hearing poetry aloud bypasses any lingering literacy hesitations and emphasizes any inherent musicality in the lines. The reader/listener is aided in their comprehension by the extra channels of emotion and tone added by the reciter and can thus relax into the experience of the poem without worrying so much about whether they fully 'understand' it.

I also like broadening people's definitions of what poetry is. (Is it words on a page? on a bathroom wall? on a screen? in the air? Or perhaps a certain combination of autumn leaves glowing red and orange and yellow against a painfully blue sky, or the arresting song of nightingale, or the way a dancer moves down the grocery aisle at 4pm on a Thursday evening when you did not think there was grace to be found anywhere anymore.)

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On a side note: I like how you challenge the distinction I've been making here at POETREE between being a poetry enthusiast and being a poet, amateur or otherwise. Is it possible to be a poet and not be a poetry enthusiast? What does it mean to be a poet besides being one who writes poetry? Is it an occupation, a hobby, a way of looking at the world, some combination thereof or something entirely different? Food for thought.

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Wow - this turned into a mini essay. Good questions, alee_grrl!
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Re: some thoughts

[alee_grrl]

Some great food for thought. Thank you for this lovely response.

I imagine that it is possible to be a poet but not a poetry enthusiast, though I have trouble sometimes imagining how that would work since I am very much both. However I have known those who write poetry as a form of journaling, a private expression of creativity and processing their daily thoughts and experiences. They did not have books of poetry, nor did they regularly read the poetic works of others. But this then leads to the question of what makes a poetry enthusiast and what makes a poet? Are they two separate things? A very tough question to answer for me.

I wanted to separate out the two as a way of inviting those who are more readers than writers into community discussion. I have found that at times the label of poet vs. poetry enthusiast is a bit more intimidating. For me poetry (both reading it and writing it) is a hobby and a way of looking at the world. It is a hobby in that I am not always actively reading or writing poetry, nor do I make any sort of living at it. Yet it is also a way of looking at the world, of noting things that might have slipped by unnoticed, of connecting words and lyricism to everyday living. Like my spiritual/religious views and practices I find poetry can be a reminder to live mindfully, to enjoy and see the world around you in different ways, to notice the magic still in the world, and to connect with the experiences of others.

I do not always get to read or write as much poetry as I would like. Until recently my creativity and artistic bents were subsumed by illness and fatigue. It's nice to feel this part of me reigniting again. Of course, I have to balance reading and writing time with law school coursework and treatment for said illness. So I still don't have as much time as I would like. But the fact that this part of my life, of my heart is returning, fills me with a quiet joy. Being able to share this part of my life with others of like mind just broadens that joy.