Tags:
  1. Autumn Rose Broughton

    Autumn Rose Broughton New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2017
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    4
    Location:
    Indiana

    What's your take on poetry?

    Discussion in 'The Craft of Writing Poetry' started by Autumn Rose Broughton, Nov 2, 2017.

    The first time I was published, it was a poetry piece in a compilation with other writers. I've frequently thought about doing a book of my work, but I'm not sure. What's the market for this? Does anyone else feel that poetry is becoming a lost art?
     
  2. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    7,471
    Likes Received:
    10,216
    Location:
    London, UK
    I have heard that it's a really hard sell, whether you go traditional or self-publish.

    Personally, I don't get poetry at all. Much of it sacrifices clarity to fit an arbitrary rhythm, and I value clarity in writing above pretty much everything else.
     
    Iain Sparrow likes this.
  3. pyroglyphian

    pyroglyphian Word Painter

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2015
    Messages:
    337
    Likes Received:
    384
    PiP likes this.
  4. Arcadeus

    Arcadeus Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2016
    Messages:
    335
    Likes Received:
    244
    I agree that sacrificing clarity is one of the biggest problems with poetry nowadays.

    I wouldn't say poetry is dead... it just needs a nice make-over.
     
    PiP likes this.
  5. Spacer

    Spacer Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2011
    Messages:
    286
    Likes Received:
    46
    Location:
    Texas
    Yes. Now kids still do it but call them song lyrics. That makes it cool again.
     
    OurJud likes this.
  6. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    May 21, 2009
    Messages:
    9,502
    Likes Received:
    9,758
    Location:
    England
    Pretty much this. This is where poetry is now, and quite frankly I wish it were presented as poetry rather than song. This kind of links nicely with my recent post about under-singing in the Not Happy thread.
     
  7. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    7,851
    Likes Received:
    3,339
    Location:
    Boston
    There is a small market for poetry, but I don't think it's as popular as it once was. Part of it is a lack of interest from the general public, which in turn dictates funding for magazines and academic posts. But don't let that stop you. Keep writing what you love and submit it.
     
  8. PiP

    PiP Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2013
    Messages:
    761
    Likes Received:
    985
    Location:
    Algarve, Portugal
    Perhaps lack of interest is due to the way poetry has evolved and appeal to the average reader (or the great unwashed) has diminished. Popular poets like Pam Ayres don't seem to have a problem selling their books. Or the other option is collections of poems dedicated to flowers, dealing with bereavement, depression, age, Mother, etc etc. The mass market are more likely to buy those as presents than a general poetry book. (IMHO)

    Does anyone else feel that poetry is becoming a lost art?

    Not so much becoming a lost art more like modern poetry seems to have lost its way.

    You could always self-publish or just focus on getting your work published in literary journals.
     
  9. OJB

    OJB A Mean Old Man Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2016
    Messages:
    1,282
    Likes Received:
    1,264
    Location:
    Chicago, IL.
    I'm going to blunt,

    There is a whole group of people (Teens and younger writers mainly) who think poetry is hormone-fueled Abstract writing that is vomited onto a page that was perfectly happy being blank.

    -

    Poetry should be as clear and as understandable as prose; However, Poetry pays attention to -only to name a few- Meter, sound, Musical devices, imagery, Metaphor, puns, and Rhetoric. Also, Narrative poetry -which I suppose I'd classify myself as a writer in- pays attention to same narrative devices that prose/novel writers use on top of poetics.
     
  10. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2010
    Messages:
    10,742
    Likes Received:
    9,991
    Location:
    Near Sedro Woolley, Washington
    I love poetry provided a) I can understand it and b) the rhythm of the language sings to me. If these criteria are not met, it's worthless to me.

    For some reason, the poets I like all died decades ago. I regularly read the poems in the New Yorker, but they almost never impress me. The only poet I can think of who's still alive and I like is Rodney Jones (alas, Jim Harrison died quite recently). Here's an example of Jones:

    Channel, by Rodney Jones

    It had come up from the night depth of the lake to bend and chatter
    the rod as it lunged
    under the boat, and now it flopped in the net until I had it in a slippery
    scrimmage on the aluminum floor:
    suave as a satyr's haunch, but Appaloosaed with dots, treble-spined,
    and whiskered like Confucius.
    And now, as I pliered open the jaws and took the hook it had taken,
    it made something like a bee-buzz.
    From deep in its mouth that was white as a Ping-Pong ball, it made
    something like absolution;
    and then it curled in the icebox, whacking the beers with its tail;
    and still, there it was.
    I do not like to hurt a thing alive, even a catfish, so slow to perish
    not even Saint Thomas Aquinas
    or W. C. Fields could raise the eloquence to free its killer of guilt.
    In Florida, catfish walk.
    Nailed to an oak, skin peeled like wallpaper, catfish won't stop
    talking with twitches.
    But what they say improves on guilt. You have to have waited many
    nights, with your face
    blackening from the smoke of burning tires, and shined your light
    on a belled rod ringing
    over stones and going fast into the river, to know that their lives
    mean as much as your life.
    And what is your life? The bottom of a shallow place?
    Magnificences?You hold them carefully.
    You listen, and they say your name in ancient Catfish.
     
    Alex R. Encomienda and OJB like this.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice