Why do you read/write poetry?

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Richard Eberhardt said "Because that is easier for me." Also, "One reads prose for knowledge, poetry for power. Power in the sense of insight, not in the sense of practical good. Prose is better for explanation, poetry is supreme for suggestiveness." Is poetry really "easier" to read/write than prose?

― pepektheassassin (pepektheassassin), Friday, 7 May 2004 23:15 (twenty-one years ago)

To answer the question "Why do you read poetry", I would have to treat "poetry" as an adverb. I read poetry because it shows me new ways of reading the rest of life as poetry.

This is by and large why I write poetry, as well: to discover new ways of reading the rest of life as poetry. But a more pragmatic answer might be that I write poetry because people ask me to, and otherwise I generally don't specifically write poetry. (Though I might write or do other things and use the skills I discovered in writing poetry.)

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 8 May 2004 01:17 (twenty-one years ago)

(Which is very different from why I listen to music, or make music: I do those because I have to. Or, perhaps, I do those because I do those. Which is one reason why I generally feel awkward thinking of myself as a poet.)

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 8 May 2004 01:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm in love with words. Poetry is a form that appeals to me for its rhythms, its imagery, its lyrical and sometimes shocking brevity... I write it because, well, it's just what I do. Sort of like breathing.

― yesabibliophile (yesabibliophile), Saturday, 8 May 2004 14:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I would say language is a large part off the draw. The effect, at it's best, is something approaching meditation. (Now I feel horribly pretentious.)

― bnw (bnw), Saturday, 8 May 2004 16:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Everything I was going to say sounded pretentious--because I see things and feel things I am unable to see or feel any other way. Of course, the way words work off each other, or simply the words by themselves--create a kind of 'knowing'-- that is very hard share outside of the poem itself. Sort of like looking at a new picture from the Hubble and taking a deep breath and thinking, "Of Course! That's how it IS!"

Or something like that. (Now I feel horribly pretentious.) A real high minus drugs. No adverse physical reactions. Overdoses won't kill you.

― pepektheassassin (pepektheassassin), Saturday, 8 May 2004 19:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, you know. It's a pretentious question. But it's somewhat interesting to think about.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 9 May 2004 02:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Because I have to.

― aimurchie, Sunday, 9 May 2004 03:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Is poetry really "easier" to read/write than prose?

no, it is not. there is a reason why prose outsells poetry by at least 100 to 1.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Sunday, 9 May 2004 09:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't understand how the question or our answers would be considered pretentious? We're not doing it to be kitschy or ostentatious about our talents...

So often I run into "Why do you do that?" as in "You know you can't make money at that" or "You know, no one reads poetry these days" type attitude. It's nice to fall into this community/thread and have people understand.

I don't think anyone being any more pretentious about writing poetry than I would someone who breathes... it's just the way we are...

― yesabibliophile (yesabibliophile), Monday, 10 May 2004 12:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I read poetry because it shows me new ways of reading the rest of life as poetry.

I like that answer enough to steal it. As for why I *write* it: "because there is a voice inside me that will not be still". Because words are all I am good at and occasionally they reward me for loving them by making the world completely new for me.

Oh and to win the respect and adoration of my peers of course.

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 10 May 2004 14:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, it makes chicks think you are "sensitive". Suckers.

― bnw (bnw), Monday, 10 May 2004 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Because we're all going to die? That's the intersection of successful seduction techniques and a love of po-ems:

"Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, Lady, were no crime...

("...The grave's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.")

― Donald, Monday, 10 May 2004 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

A high school English teacher once told/warned our class never to try to use poetry to seduce someone b/c it will never work. We were reading "To His Coy Mistress" at the time.

― bnw (bnw), Monday, 10 May 2004 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

some poems can make me feel sick, physically sick. (I can think of one, which I read semi-regularly just to place myself within inches of that feeling again. it's horrible, scary.)

― cozen (Cozen), Monday, 10 May 2004 17:32 (twenty-one years ago)

"To His Coy Mistress" doesn't work? It never worked for me, but I thought it was just me

― Donald, Monday, 10 May 2004 18:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Don't think girls fall for it anymore, even it was the "bump n' grind" of it's day.

― bnw (bnw), Monday, 10 May 2004 18:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Huh? I thought lit of any quality type was supposed to convince chicks you're smart.

Then again, I have a generalized intelligence fetish, not a specific sensitivity one, so I would think that.

― Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Monday, 10 May 2004 23:36 (twenty-one years ago)

"My echoing song: then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity..."

That gives chicks the creeps!

― aimurchie, Tuesday, 11 May 2004 02:53 (twenty-one years ago)

"Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball:"

gives the creeps the chicks! Oh OK, maybe not... (I agree, that poem is a bit creepy, and Marvell sounds like Humbert Humbert.) I therefore clarify: I read poetry to BE seduced, and write poetry TO seduce. AC/DC, see?

― Donald, Tuesday, 11 May 2004 13:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Possible additional answer: I think many poems are written because the poet has something to say, or something they want to address.

Why they should say it in *that* way, though - that question maybe abides.

I suppose it is to do with a sense that poetry is the place you send intense feeling, or the medium in which you deliver intense feeling. Those metaphors are both damagingly bad - no matter, it is late. I am sticking by my idea that a poem might be about something: an attempt to say something that you haven't quite formulated yet.

― the pomefox, Tuesday, 11 May 2004 20:09 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm not sure poets get ideas for poems ('your dad gets ideas for poems') so much as words for poems. Is that (getting an idea for a poem) the same as trying to say something? I'm, again, not sure.

― cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 11 May 2004 20:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I usually start with an idea. (An idea being more so something that doesn't sit right. Something I can't easily answer or set aside in my head is usually good fodder to explore in a poem.) Most poets I know start with imagery or emotion.

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 11 May 2004 21:30 (twenty-one years ago)

If you have an idea, write an essay.
If you have a joke, write a story.
If you have a hangover and can't tell your toothbrush from your sock
-- you go write your poem.

(Sheezp, sorry in advance if that sounds like it's denigrating poetry -- if I'm bitter against any form right now it's the essay but that's a looooong story)

― Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Tuesday, 11 May 2004 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

(sorry, I shouldn't be so sweeping in my statements. over-confidence mixed with ignorance.)

― cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 11 May 2004 22:50 (twenty-one years ago)

"I read poetry to be seduced, I write poetry to be seduced"

Donald! You've done it again! That's terrific! That's true! (But not in any literal way, necessarily. More a figure of speech! But then, I am a little old lady, so....

― pepektheassassin (pepektheassassin), Wednesday, 12 May 2004 13:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I cannot especially agree with Cozen: he tells, say, half the truth. (Which is half more than many would.) I am gonnae stick wi' what I said above (there).

― the bluefox, Wednesday, 12 May 2004 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm sticking to what I said above, for me. for others? hm.

― cozen (Cozen), Wednesday, 12 May 2004 15:36 (twenty-one years ago)

It's fascinating to ponder where poems come from, and how. Sometimes you get a foothold with a good line, phrase or image; other times it's just an idea or general stance. As for that seduction stuff: Roland Barthes said it better (and it probably sounds better in French, but how would I know?)

― donald, Wednesday, 12 May 2004 15:58 (twenty-one years ago)

'There's a poem in my first collection which came to me fully formed on a tennis court in Brighton.'

― cozen (Cozen), Wednesday, 12 May 2004 16:43 (twenty-one years ago)

More poems with jokes & ideas, plz.

― bnw (bnw), Wednesday, 12 May 2004 16:49 (twenty-one years ago)

More poems with jokes, less with ideas. Thx.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 12 May 2004 18:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Though if you can't tell yr toothbrush from yr sock, that's going to be pretty funny -- Ann might be OTM.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 12 May 2004 18:17 (twenty-one years ago)

More socks with ideas please.

― cozen (Cozen), Thursday, 13 May 2004 11:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Anyways. Because words are pretty and prettier when they're together. And prose takes too long. I'm impatient and lazy.

― Ally C (Ally C), Thursday, 13 May 2004 20:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Poetry takes far longer than prose, usually.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 13 May 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know about it taking longer (to read or write?) but I find it heavier, like if I were measuring the amount of my very limited brain power that is expended per reading, a few poems would roughly scale to about 50 pages of fiction.

― bnw (bnw), Thursday, 13 May 2004 22:57 (twenty-one years ago)

To read, I meant; it's usually slower going.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 13 May 2004 23:42 (twenty-one years ago)

a prof once told me "fiction is always trying to get you to turn the page, poetry is trying to stop you on the page." I think it has some truth, altho I can't say a completely static poem has much appeal.

I often find reading poems to be exhausting in the same way going to a museum or gallery can be. It gets to a point where you can't effectively process what you are seeing/reading. You can't give the work the attention it requires to open up to you.

― bnw (bnw), Friday, 14 May 2004 01:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Do you find it works like a muscle, and the more you use it, the more endurance you have?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 14 May 2004 04:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Poetry is way more natural to write than prose. Rhythm assists with the production and ordering of meaning.

― m..., Friday, 14 May 2004 07:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Using a muscle and relying on the rhythm method. Dangerous and sexy.

― aimurchie, Friday, 14 May 2004 08:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I constantly come to the muscle analogy on the writing side. (Often when I stop writing for a couple months and then come back to it, I'll find I can't just pick up where I left off. I have to build back up to it.) Hadn't thought of it for reading though.

I tend to favor poetry that has some sort of instant hook to it which I think reinforces/excuse my lazyness sometimes.

― bnw (bnw), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Using a muscle and relying on the rhythm method. Dangerous and sexy.
-- aimurchie (kpcollin...), May 14th, 2004.

* * *
Oh my yes -- nicely put, dear!

― yesabibliophile (yesabibliophile), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:46 (twenty-one years ago)

This is a fascinating thread; makes me really think about why I DO do what I do. (Although, trying to work on a new poem yesterday I'm not sure I CAN do it).

Anyway, wish me luck. I'm doing a reading in a library tonight and have started drinking already.

― Archel (Archel), Friday, 14 May 2004 14:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I love this thread.

Fiction is about Time; Poetry is about Eternity—and/or the Moment.

And that's why erotica is always better as prose-- except for the limericks

Break a Line, Archel

― donald, Friday, 14 May 2004 15:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Fewer poems abt eternity k thx!

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 14 May 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

fewer prescriptions for poems pls hello!

; )

― cozen (Cozen), Friday, 14 May 2004 16:52 (twenty-one years ago)

it would be cool if we could order them up though. sonnet about a mallard duck and cold fusion, pls, okthnxbye.

― bnw (bnw), Friday, 14 May 2004 17:34 (twenty-one years ago)

CANARD
for Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann
(and for bnw)

Behavior varies seasonally; new wings
replace the old; that which once was hot
becomes cold. Well, it could. I could not
make this up. Proven things
remain proven, and plumage gleams
under scientific glare, as men transform
into distinctly different animals, and form
white rings around their necks. It seems
that we should be able to tap the power
from this widely available fuel source,
cheaply and easily, and of course,
leave behind very little waste. But our
results have been widely accused of being
irreproduceable, and all kinds
of rotten eggs were compared to our minds
or thrown in our nests. There's no guaranteeing
you'll recreate this "head-up tail-up" display
and if you do, they'll make you pay.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 14 May 2004 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

OK, it's an extra-long sonnet, what do you want?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 14 May 2004 20:22 (twenty-one years ago)

wow i am pretty drunk and emotional right now, but thats impressive.

― bnw (bnw), Saturday, 15 May 2004 02:27 (twenty-one years ago)

At least last time I didn't miscount the lines. I blame this little box. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 15 May 2004 03:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I wonder how did Archel's reading go.

― the pomefox, Saturday, 15 May 2004 13:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Hello. It went extremely well, I think. The thing I hate most about readings is that you're expected to do 'patter' in between, and I always used to resent it, in that 'I've already said what I have to say in the poem, haven't I??' way.

But on Friday I was relaxed enough to chat a little bit, and the other poets reading were (mainly) good, and the audience was nice. Buffet was too spicy, but you can't have everything...

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 17 May 2004 09:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I think 'patter' != what you say in the text: it may be quite unrelated?

― the bluefox, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 13:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I picked up 'Don't Ask Me What I Mean', poets in their own words, today. I might report back.

― cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 13:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I used to perform a lot - but I never supported myself with writing poetry. When people at readings approached me and said "You're such a good poet!" I would reply "Thanks. I'm also a really good waitress."

― aimurchie, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 13:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh it's not that I think patter = what I've said in the poem. I'm just not very good at talking, except in poetry.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

You should hire someone to write your patter for you. It's what the President does, after all.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 17:12 (twenty-one years ago)

My favortie poetry reading reaction is the campbell's soup "mmmmmmm". Before my thesis reading I asked my brother to keep an "mmmmmm" scorecard to see who won. (It wasn't me, but I prefer laughs over mmmm's anyway.)

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

My favorite noise -- though I too usually tend towards laughs (of humor or recognition) -- is the deep exhale that comes after you've been unconsciously holding your breath during a poem. I actually got one (or two!) of those during my reading, so I was pretty pleased.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 19:05 (twenty-one years ago)

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