This is likely an old tired question that has already been asked, but I am not the latter (or even the former) yet, so would like to ask it again: What is the best type of poem, and why? Or for those of you who don't believe in objective beauty, or think it applies here: What is your favourite type of poem, and why? I like poetry. I've read a lot, and written quite a few over the years, but I feel like I'm only just getting my feet wet. I feel I'm still looking for a door, and perhaps it lies behind a satisfactory answer to that question.
But no one can answer that question, at least not in a way it's guaranteed to apply to you. For what it's worth I can tell you what makes a good poem for me. It has to have a simple message, or no message at all, even - just a scene painted in words. I have no inclination or desire to look for the hidden meaning behind a poem, and will even reject it immediately after reading if I think there is one. I want a poem to put me in a place and/or moment, vividly and with words that are poetic in both structure and use. I'm not very good at writing poetry but I know when I've read one that's worked for me. I suppose an example or two would be useful. The Great Sea The great sea Has sent me adrift, It moves me as the weed in a great river, Earth and the great weather Move me, Have carried me away And move my inward parts with joy. ~ Uvavnuk -------- Untitled When the pale fierce futile sun grows stronger, And the budding leaves are on the branches-- Then I will put on my jacket And go out and walk along the road, Along the swelling stream And look at the brown fields, Shimmering with green. ~ @Friedrich Kugelschreiber
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/sestina I like the idea that the ending words are outright repeated, as opposed to rhyming. The example I read was like a series of dejavus... Do you have an example of a specific one you like?
Check out a poem titled "Sestina" by Elizabeth Bishop. Also, I think trying to write a few is quite the trip.
Since I think poetry comes to life when read aloud, here is my favorite reading of the Bishop poem that I have come across. Would love to know what you think.
Well, that's a little haunting. The monotony of the form slowly drains the life out of the scene. I wonder if this is inevitable. I reckon I'll try a negation. My next poetry challenge will be a non-horror sestina.
@Francis Booker -- I think it's truly beautiful. You might want to check out Ezra Pound as well. Also, for a contemporary take on the sestina, McSweeney's used to publish them on a regular basis. You can probably find some through google. There were some funny ones but no less true to form. I can talk sestinas all day. LOL. Feel free to message me for poetry and writing chat or if you try a sestina and want someone to read it. I think there is so much that can be learned about writing in general from this form. When done correctly the repetition becomes almost invisible. And if not invisible then necessary. So, we learn about the effects of words both blending in and standing out and what does this other than the actual word itself. Content and flow are equally important and really need to be finessed in this form while playing this sort of word puzzle at the same time. Flaws really stand out in sestinas. It's not an easy form to follow or master. I believe probably many drafts are needed, but when is that not the case? That is a rhetorical questions. Many drafts are always needed for work to reach its true potential. But that's beside the point. I think sestinas leave basically no room for mistakes. It's hard to do, but it's good to practice.
Thank-you for posting this. This has been exactly what I've been needing for myself. I have dyslexia and I tried to write short stories and hated it because I love brevity. I thought that if I didn't have some deep meaning than I haven't written any poetry, etc. I write enjambment verse. I also like to play with form and shape, not all of the time but some. I used to be an abstract expressionist painter. May I ask your opinion of this: (and I'm not looking for att-a-boys, if you don't like it that is fine.) *** you would be surprised at the large amount of a i r that surrounds you. the revelation becomes apparent when you are naked
It's more a quote than a poem to my ears, but that's not to say it's not poetic. I certainly have more time for this than I do a lot of other stuff, the stuff that leaves me baffled. I like what you've said here - profound, if not deeply so. The spacing between the word 'air' works. But it's important to say here that my dislike of poems with (hidden) meanings could be more about my shortcomings than the poetry itself. When all's said and done there are plenty of poems by long established, respected and commercially published poets that I don't like, so you'd be justified in asking what do I know about it? There's a Jim Jarmusch film called Paterson and I urge you to check it out. Your poem here reminds me of the poetry in the film.
It's very inspiring. I've played around at writing poetry since my mid-teens, but it was this film that really encouraged me to study it... not to mention put me on to William Carlos Williams who quickly became my favourite poet.
For me, a poem works when it: -- draws me in and catches my interest -- engages me the way a good conversation would engage me, giving me the feeling that there is something I could contribute -- leave me with something after the poem is over ... a resonance, a reflection, or simply the feeling of disappointment that there is no more to hear or read. These are the same criteria I apply to any story, fiction or not, or any song. A short poem that may illustrate the points above is Gerard Manley Hopkins's "Heaven—Haven (A nun takes the veil)" I have about a dozen favorite poems I could recite from memory. But then, I could probably sing three solid hours of John Prine's songs. (I consider it scandalous that he hasn't won a Pulitzer Prize for poetry.)
There is no best. That's like asking "What the best type of music?" It is subjective beyond approach. - Dramatic Monologues written in Blank Verse, Because working with fictional characters while using Paradox, subtext, and Rhetorical wit is a lot of fun to both read and write.
I've always been partial to the abstract. Rigid adherence to rules bores me. If I never read another sonnet, I'll be better for it. If it weren't for poets like E.E. Cummings, I don't think I ever would have gotten into poetry as a teen.
I think the best type of poem would be sestina's like what deadrats said. I am a fan of those. And because it has a lot of rhyme in it, the subject matter is always beautiful and provokes good emotions for the reader.
