What the Hell is Poetry Anyway? -- Bloggers Basement Muse Mongers Blog

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Subject: What the Hell is Poetry Anyway?

Author:
andy

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Date Posted: 23:04:22 01/15/08 Tue

Today I decided to type "What is poetry" into google. I was curious
to see what type of responses I would find. I quickly found out
that google offers us 9,620,000 answers.

What I would like to do is to quote some of what I read while
visiting the sites I found as a result of my search.
The first site offered this definition in its opening statement,
"What is poetry? A short piece of imaginative writing, of a personal
nature and laid out in lines is the usual answer."
I just laughed and thought about the time my father first told me not to believe
everything I read. First of all, who says poetry has to be short.
I think they forgot to tell Poe and Longfellow what they were
writing many time wasn't poetry at all. It was simply too long
to fit the definition.

Next, I came across this one:
Basic Definition
Poetry is the most compressed form of literature.
Poetry is composed of carefully chosen words expressing great depth of meaning.
Poetry uses specific devices such as connotation, sound, and rhythm to express
the appropriate combination of meaning and emotion.

Now, that's much better but, isn't really correct either. Prose is poetry and it doesn't
quite fit the definition. There are poems that aren't at all compressed and have won
great aclaim. Take Alen Gindsburg's "Howel". You can't tell me he was attempting
to write in a compressed manner. Still, I can't argue with the statement that poetry
is the MOST compressed form of literature. The first poems we know about were
written in an extremely compact manner. The whole idea was to expand the poetry
using a prediscribed amount of sylables or feet, to express something quite profound.
Like everything else poetry has evolved to the point that defining it precisely just
can't be done. When something is evolving all the time any definition is only
temporary at best anyway. Unless you choose to speak in general terms such
as; Poetry is a written and spoken form of word art.

Here's how some famous poets define poetry:
"The best words in the best order." Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"The record of the best and happiest moments of the best and happiest minds." Percy Bysshe Shelley
"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me,
I know that it is poetry." Emily Dickinson
"A poem begins with a lump in the throat, a home-sickness or a love-sickness.
It is a reaching-out toward expression; an effort to find fulfillment.
A complete poem is one where the emotion has found its thought and the thought
has found the words." Robert Frost
"Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings." William Wordsworth

I'm gong with Frost. What the hell, it's winter, I lived in New Hampshire for ten years,
I visited two of his homes, and I love his poetry. In truth, he makes a lot of sense to me.

I wrote this blog for good reason. I love poetry, it's a great passion of mine and has
been since I was very young. I don't spend a day in my life without the thought of
a poem running through my mind. I don't like many styles of poetry and there are
many famous poets that don't do anything for me at all. You see, that's the gold.
It's an art form that is so personal and so broad that it leaves room for personal
taste. Most art follows that path and poetry is no exception. What does bother me
a bit is that many Internet poets don't read much poetry. If they did they would
become much better poets and get out of the boxes they put themselves into.

I'm not much on Hallmard Card style poetry. That said, when it's done well I
have a great admiration for it. I prefer a fearless voice that says something
about life beyond some story that tries too hard to keep a good meter (and
most often fails). I love to read poetry that pulls me into the poem.

Hey, that's just me. I don't see the point in reading something pretty
that falls dead upon a page.

So, if you find some down time and you want to have some fun, just take
a google ride and you might realize as I did long ago:

"Poetry is Life"

ajs

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Replies:

[> Subject: Re: What the Hell is Poetry Anyway?
Author: Christine [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 19:32:47 01/27/08 Sun

[> Subject: Re: What the Hell is Poetry Anyway?
Author: Christine [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 19:33:08 01/27/08 Sun Can I say it again? AMEN

[> Subject: Re: What the Hell is Poetry Anyway?
Author: andy [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 03:16:41 01/30/08 Wed Oh, so that's where you have been huh? Hanging out in Church; good girl! zooooooooooooooooommmmmmm

[> [> Subject: Re: What the Hell is Poetry Anyway?
Author: Christine [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 22:08:57 01/30/08 Wed ROFLMAO!!! My temple......wicked laughter

[> Subject: Re: What the Hell is Poetry Anyway?

Author:
Sasha
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 17:52:12 01/31/08 Thu

Quote:
____________________________________

You see, that's the gold.
It's an art form that is so personal and so broad that it leaves room for personal
taste. Most art follows that path and poetry is no exception.
____________________________________

~ that truly is the beauty of it!!!

I am ashamed to say I haven't read many famous poets..

but I remember a dear old friend of mine who has since passed,
told me that one of my poems was very much like Dylan Thomas..
at the time I didn't know who he was, but man I'm glad I went
searching online for him that day, I really loved what I read of his stuff

and I plan on searching for more people, too...I've read
tens of thousands of wonderful poets/poetess's online, over the years
but its time for me to step out of my little box and learn from the famous
just to enrich my knowledge and help me grow...

you're a treasure...thank you for this blog..

*love from the kiwi*

Sash xxx