Poetry - Am I just crude?

[AzureAngel]

I have a great many qualms with poetry that, I believe, derive from my being so delightfully young. A great many people my age declare themselves poetic and write countless verses. When I read most, I simply struggle with it. I wonder, "Why couldn't that just be put in a paragraph? Why does it have to be chopped up in such a way?" I just don't get it.

It's not the language that I struggle with - I understand the language. It's the format. What's the significance or necessity of it? Is writing not poetry if not broken up in the same way as most?

Or, more importantly, is a letter inherently less romantic than a poem? Or less appreciated... desirable... less valid as a declaration of emotion.

I wonder that. I love words, though I make no claim at being a master craftsman. Should I dedicate time to understanding poetry's form and write it, or is it insignificant?

I realize that the most important thing is the expression itself, regardless of form... but.... for the sake of others, I ask.

 

[heterotic]

If I were you, I'd wait until I see some that I enjoy. Then I'd try to figure out why I enjoy it, and look for more like it, and try to figure out the whole thing from there.
I wouldn't say that poetry is any more or less a worthy form of expression than prose, but it is different. I'll leave it up to the poets to say exactly how that is.

 

[AzureAngel]

I was pondering this in the shower, where most of my thinking happens, for some reason. An example:

"Before me lay Fire and Ice
and You.
Though better for all three,
I have been betrayed the same.

The Flame warmed my soul
It saved my life
But when I reached out to it, it burnt me.

The Frost kept me cool
It made me smile
But when I embraced it, it bit me.

You touched me
You made me love You
You crushed my heart.

I know better now
than to reach for Fire and Ice.
Why can't I stop reaching for You?"

I read it. I understand it, mostly. I even like it (anyone else?). But I feel like I'd rather hack out the line breaks and put it into prose (thanks for the word, Het, I have mind lapses constantly).

Herm.

 

[heterotic]

I see what you mean on that one. It does look like a regular paragraph of prose (I had a feeling you were groping for that word) That's had extra line breaks inserted. Perhaps mere form doth not a poem make... Or maybe it was an early effort: I know if I ever start writing poetry it's going to look damn akward at first.

 

[AzureAngel]

A LOT of poetry people show me and ask my opinion on looks similar to that, Het. Usually worse. And I sit chewing on my lip so I don't say, "Why the spaces?" Herm. Again.

 

[heterotic]

Hm... I guess I've had the good fortune to only view polished works by accomplished poets. Or perhaps there's a poetic form I don't know about that resembles broken prose.

It's halfway likely, this is the blind leading the blind here; me giving you poetry advice.

 

[heterotic]

Where are all the dang poets on this board, anyway? C'mon people, give us a hand.

 

[AzureAngel]

No doubt. You know if you paste his AV on the front of mine, Het and I make the perfect man.

Help us out.

 

[RastaPope]

Where are all the dang poets on this board, anyway? C'mon people, give us a hand.

Probably out begging for change, mon.

 

[MechaBlade]

I liked the poem, too. Poetry's format allows us to highlight the important parts of ordinary prose. And with meter and rhyme, it sounds more like a song than prose.

Tré Sexy
by MechaBlade

a finger's trace
a smiling face

a touch by nose
a perfect pose

the swaying of hips
the licking of lips

an aerola halved
a girlish laugh

a lovely scent
a playful hint

a flash of thigh
a sudden cry

...tré sexy




I don't write a lot of erotic poetry.

 

[BustyTheClown]

It's not the language that I struggle with - I understand the language. It's the format. What's the significance or necessity of it? Is writing not poetry if not broken up in the same way as most?

Or, more importantly, is a letter inherently less romantic than a poem? Or less appreciated... desirable... less valid as a declaration of emotion.

I wonder that. I love words, though I make no claim at being a master craftsman. Should I dedicate time to understanding poetry's form and write it, or is it insignificant?

I realize that the most important thing is the expression itself, regardless of form... but.... for the sake of others, I ask.

I just have to say, Azure, that I completely agree with you. I mean, I'm an English major, for crying out loud, and I just can't appreciate poetry. I guess our minds just function in a way that makes us read others' thoughts in poetry and wonder, "Now, why wouldn't they just put that in prose?"

One thing I have a problem with -- especially regarding more modern poetry -- is the poems that aren't recognizeably (to me) artistic. No use of figurative language or imagery, just words put together in some order. I was under the impression that poetry was a fancy way of expressing yourself, a way of showing your wit and intelligence, as well as letting people know that you're having said emotions/experiences/whatever.

I don't think you should be at all obligated to understand poetry if you don't want to make the effort. I like paintings and photographs, but I don't feel like I have to dabble in them to understand them better. It may help you, and if you think it will, then go right ahead. But if you really can't be arsed, then I say don't bother. Poetry isn't something everyone likes, and there's nothing wrong with being someone who doesn't like poetry.

As for the validity of poetry over other forms, I think that's a personal preference, really. If you think you can put more meaning and depth into a letter or another work of prose, then stick with what you can do. However, if you think a poem would better fit what you are trying to do, then go with that.

I guess all I'm trying to say is, it's a matter of what you do and do not like, and it's up to you whether you want to pursue any of it. Lol sorry that took so long to get out. I'm a fan of words myself.

 

[freescorfr]

I wouldn't claim to be a poet, heterotic, but I think your first piece of advice is good. "If I were you, I'd wait until I see some that I enjoy. Then I'd try to figure out why I enjoy it, and look for more like it, and try to figure out the whole thing from there. "

Everyone's a poetry virgin to start with. Play with words, try different forms. Try some tightly disciplined stuff like a sonnet, free stuff.

But read poetry.

This thread has some great romantic poetry:

http://www.literotica.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=1471015#post1471015

 

[kotori]

I would agree with my franco-scotish friend there (as usual). I would also like to recommend reading aloud, or trying to listen to some recorded poetry. Dylan Thomas recorded a lot of his work, and as with theatre, when the words are spoken, they seem so much more alive.

I think the big difference between poetry and prose is that poetry is supposed to be more visceral, while prose is more intellectual. This is where the disconnect is: poetry seems intellectual ('cause it looks funny on the page). Take it off the page.

 

[just pet]

As a poet, I have read all this with great interest. Poetry is form. It is fluid at best, expressing an opinion or insight or truth or universal question... Good poetry resonates with you, allows you to see another point of view. I love any writing or art that evokes a visceral response, negative or positive. Then I know I have been touched.

 

[heterotic]

Hm... So then, would writing, say in a short story by A.E. Van Vogt, which invokes a unmistakeably visceral reactions, be considered poetry by those whom it evokes such a reaction from? Is the definition of poetry one of function or of form?

 

[heterotic]

Oh, and thanks for the opinion seconding, freescorfr.
And we'll have to glue our AVs together someday, AzureAngel, and make all the ladies get creamy at the sight of our super studly selves.
(No, I couldn't say that with a straight face; not really)

 

[just pet]

Hm... So then, would writing, say in a short story by A.E. Van Vogt, which invokes a unmistakeably visceral reactions, be considered poetry by those whom it evokes such a reaction from? Is the definition of poetry one of function or of form?

I believe I said poetry is form but we should not forget the prose poem.
According to the PoetryDictionary by John Drury

poetry : The art of composing texts with charged language ... Robert Graves, however, asserts that poetry is "not an art, but a way of thinking." ... Works of fiction that are considered poetic, such as James Joyce's Ulysses and Herman Melville's Moby Dick

 

[just pet]

No doubt. You know if you paste his AV on the front of mine, Het and I make the perfect man.

Help us out.

I all into that one... count me in...I'll even take the new pics

 

[heterotic]

I believe I said poetry is form but we should not forget the prose poem.
According to the PoetryDictionary by John Drury

poetry : The art of composing texts with charged language ... Robert Graves, however, asserts that poetry is "not an art, but a way of thinking." ... Works of fiction that are considered poetic, such as James Joyce's Ulysses and Herman Melville's Moby Dick

Ah... charged language--Gambit, from the X-men, throwing a newspaper which explodes on contact came to mind first, but after that, I realized that a fluid form still confuses me just a tad bit. It is a form. But that form can take nearly any form?

 

[just pet]

Ah... charged language--Gambit, from the X-men, throwing a newspaper which explodes on contact came to mind first, but after that, I realized that a fluid form still confuses me just a tad bit. It is a form. But that form can take nearly any form?

Therein lies the problem of the definition of all art. I appreciate the comment, "I don't know poetry/art, but I know what I like" Is it necessary to define and confine poetry or allow it to amble and touch you as it will. Would you define an artistic blow job purely as form or function, or just enjoy the hell out of it...

 

[heterotic]

Therein lies the problem of the definition of all art. I appreciate the comment, "I don't know poetry/art, but I know what I like" Is it necessary to define and confine poetry or allow it to amble and touch you as it will. Would you define an artistic blow job purely as form or function, or just enjoy the hell out of it...

Nothing to drive the point home like a sexual analogy *imagining sitting with pants down, a pad and paper in hand taking notes, while getting a superb blowjob* i guess i'll go ahead and leave the defining to a compromise between the artist and the experiencer of the art.

 

[seXieleXie]

i'm in a creative writing class right now, and at the beginning the professor said "for something to be a poems it has to meet the following two requirements: 1)call it a poem 2)pay close attention to the language." i agree with that. i think one can write prose poetry, i certainly have. i've also written verse poetry.

verse provides way to draw attention to your language. ending or beginning a line with a word emphasizes it.

i know there are people who hate poetry but i don't get that. i don't see how you can get hung up on pagiation. i'm not saying that is wrong or stupid, i'm just saying it's a totally alien concept to me.

 

[heterotic]

So the only thing that can't really happen, by definition, is prose in verse?

 

[just pet]

i'm in a creative writing class right now, and at the beginning the professor said "for something to be a poems it has to meet the following two requirements: 1)call it a poem 2)pay close attention to the language." i agree with that. i think one can write prose poetry, i certainly have. i've also written verse poetry.

verse provides way to draw attention to your language. ending or beginning a line with a word emphasizes it.

i know there are people who hate poetry but i don't get that. i don't see how you can get hung up on pagiation. i'm not saying that is wrong or stupid, i'm just saying it's a totally alien concept to me.

I agree... good poets are conscious of each word and its position in the line, its impact, phrasing... the music of the words

 

[AzureAngel]

So the only thing that can't really happen, by definition, is prose in verse?

Oh balls. I'm getting confused and my period key is not working very well.