Poetry

» mistertom - Poetry today

Present day poetry suffers from the dumbing down of nearly every human endevour that requires work. At current recitals one has to listen to monologues of people emptying their emotional intestines in chopped prose; most couldn't tell you why a line starts and ends. Poetry is an art form, and in the forms that keep in touch with ordinary human beings, has a wide and appreciative audience. Art requires work; poetry requires form. Poetry need not rhyme; it must sing in the heart and head, therefore, as the human spirit craves for order in this crazy universe, it must have form. One can borrow successful patterns, as an examle my best prize winning poem was built on the skeleton of Dylan Thomases 'Fern Hill'. I thought it was good when I submitted it, but to hear it read by a trained actress and drama teacher at the prize giving was an experience I shall never forget. Let us not write poetry for an emotional laxative, but entertain, and send the spirit of quite a large portion of the thinking world soaring in the Heavens.

-- posted by mistertom

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» Linda Sue Grimes - Poetry today

In response to Poetry today posted by mistertom:

Dear Tom,

Certainly every art form has its "poetaster" equivalents. The masters are always few and far between.

Thanks for posting. I enjoyed your "portrait of a gasbag."

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» genXpoet - I agree that poetry isn't 'dead'.

Dear Linda Sue Grimes,
I liked how you started off your article with quotes from the critics of poetry, in essence, saying that poetry is dead. You then lead on to eventually talking about how if you google poetry, you get thousands or millions of hits. Obviously pointing out that poetry is definitely not 'dead'.

I think the thing is about those critics who may have once loved poetry just don't help themselves from being drammatic with their comments. I think there is a flourishing of poetry in our country, probably also around the world, and because of this, there's bound to be much poetry which isn't well-crafted. So the critics might be thinking that poetry's dead because of all the so-called 'bad' poetry out there.

I think that this flourishing of poetry is great though. Because even with all that the 'bad' poetry making some people cringe, my theory of literary evolution is that the survival of the fittest poets and their poems in our culture and memory will make our current century look like a golden one.

-- posted by genXpoet

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» Linda Sue Grimes - I agree that poetry isn't 'dead'.

In response to I agree that poetry isn't 'dead'. posted by genXpoet:

Dear genXpoet,
I think you are correct. Time has a way of winnowing out the mediocre. And to mix metaphors: the old adage "the cream rises to the top" comes to mind.

Thanks for posting and best of luck with your poetry.

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