Poetry Has a Genre
for You
Readers are a finicky bunch.
We have authors who we love, genres that we read and recommend, but we
also have those secret pleasures – whether that’s the mainstream crime novel or
romance. More often than not, poetry is considered
too difficult to read or understand.
However, as with every genre of writing, poetry has its more mainstream
writers and those who are more literary.
National Poetry Month, which some critics say focuses too heavily on mainstream and
accessible poetry, strives to bring more people to poetry. To that end, there are events across the
United States and beyond, and the Academy of American Poets offers a number of
resources to help people celebrate poetry.
Check out their 30 ways to celebrate. Charles Bernstein
recently wrote a piece
on National Poetry Month as a mere advertising campaign to further publicize
its own sponsors like The New York Times, among other things.
While this may be true on some level, it is also
disheartening that a poet would seek to strike down a cause that promotes his
own art. Perhaps he does not feel
represented or is upset that the sponsors of the program do not review poetry
collections as they used to or even talk about readings. But National Poetry Month should not be about
the poet or his own poems, but about spreading the word about poetry – new and
old – to readers who fear verse or think verse too hard or academic.
Getting back to the point, poetry is as multi-faceted as
prose. There are poems that have classic
language – take Shakespeare as just one example – and there are poems that are
confessional, reminiscent of memoir, like those of Sylvia Plath. Poems can be about science, science fiction, and
fantasy like Jeannine Hall Gailey, Bernadette Geyer, and Tracy K. Smith, as
well as murder, war, love, and more.
There are poets who focus on nature, like Mary Oliver and Ted Kooser, or
the poets who have poured their hearts and souls into the lines they create to
release the demons created by battle, like Kevin Bowen, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Brian Turner. Even
math can be poetic if you read Edward Nudelman.
The National Poetry Month blog tour,
started in 2010, became another way for me to share poetry with others in the
blogosphere and to have everyone participate.
I wanted bloggers to find poetry that meant something to them, and share
their discoveries with one another.
Through this process, my hope is that poetry gains a wider audience and
that readers who didn’t think poetry was for them find a genre of poetry that
they do enjoy. If you haven’t stopped by
the tour stops yet, there is still time to do so. And we’re collecting links from everyone who
posts about poetry or poets in April, even if you’re not officially on the blog tour.
http://savvyverseandwit.com/2014/04/national-poetry-month-tour-schedule-and-linky.html
http://savvyverseandwit.com/2014/04/national-poetry-month-tour-schedule-and-linky.html
Reading poetry is so individual. I had someone stop me in the hallway at work recently and thank me for making him see Shel Silverstein as poetry!
ReplyDeleteIt is individual. I really think because of experiences in the classroom that were less than desirable, many people just write off all of poetry as too hard to read. I think there is a need to get away from that and to learn that there are more types of poetry than those learned in school
DeleteI used to read poetry of all sorts, anything that I could get my hands on when I was younger. And, I used to write it all the time. Now, I don't read it or write it as much as I used to. I really need to pick it up again. I am finally realizing how much I miss it!
ReplyDeleteTif, it is such a rich genre...and there is so much going on in it. I think more people need to just explore and find something to read...like they do with fiction. Like fiction, there are collections that will resonate more than others. You just have to take a leap.
DeleteWonderful post, Serena! I so agree with this: " I really think because of experiences in the classroom that were less than desirable, many people just write off all of poetry as too hard to read."
ReplyDeleteThat's been the response of a number of people I've talked to. It's sad really.
DeleteBut what's interesting is that I've had bad experiences with say, Dickens for example, but that didn't make me give up completely on fiction.
DeleteI enjoyed your post about National Poetry Month. Thank you for introducing me to another blogger. I have been here, but I should come by more often than I do.
ReplyDeleteTea, this is such a great resource for finding other bloggers
DeleteIt is so true that there is something for everyone when it comes to poetry. Great post!
ReplyDelete