I understand that. I think the average reader, and certainly most men, do not enjoy poetry.I read quite a bit, and I love the art of story telling, but poetry seems to be more about word games and being clever to me. I mean, I could deal out a few favorite poems if under pressure, but as far as "enjoying poetry" goes... I just don't.
That’s a huge statement. Most people have not been exposed to, taught correctly, or interacted with “poetry “. What they have had done to them is to have their noses ground into literature that is self absorbed, overly complicated, and contextually meaningless to children and young adults. That’s not a reflection on poetry so much as it is poor teaching.I understand that. I think the average reader, and certainly most men, do not enjoy poetry.
That is an even larger overly huge statement, ha ha. That is like saying people don't like oatmeal, because they have not been taught to like it.What they have had done to them is to have their noses ground into literature that is self absorbed, overly complicated, and contextually meaningless to children and young adults.
I understand what you mean and think your point is valid. No one "taught" me to love poetry or literature (though they tried in my school days), but much later on in life I stumbled upon things that I enjoyed. My desire was for knowledge and wisdom and I figured out the way to get it was in books. Finding and enjoying poetry along the way was an unexpected bonus.That’s a huge statement. Most people have not been exposed to, taught correctly, or interacted with “poetry “. What they have had done to them is to have their noses ground into literature that is self absorbed, overly complicated, and contextually meaningless to children and young adults. That’s not a reflection on poetry so much as it is poor teaching.
While I love the poem, because I've had time to study it, and I "get it" now. The idea is obscured in meaning. It's like hiding the main idea, which goes against the very reason for communication.plato told
him:he couldn’t
believe it(jesus
told him;he
wouldn’t believe
it)lao
tsze
certainly told
him,and general
(yes
mam)
sherman;
and even
(believe it
or
not)you
told him:i told
him;we told him
(he didn’t believe it,no
sir)it took
a nipponized bit of
the old sixth
avenue
el in the top of his head:to tell
him
Not at all. I taught poetry for 37 years and I worked in the education system with others, from kindergarten to undergraduate, who taught it. My observations were that poetry was generally taught to students to familiarize them with specific poems chosen by some far away committee who felt those poems needed to be taught. The teachers who taught them generally were not poets, generally were not interested in poetry, and almost to a person, not writers themselves nor were they interested in language so much as they were interested teaching. That isn't to say it was a rule that this observation was always true, but I was hard pressed to find exceptions. And yes, exceptions are out there - we all have had them as teachers.That is an even larger overly huge statement, ha ha.
"I hope you look both ways before crossing my mind...
Because I'm cumming baby..." ~Bootsy Collins
I think that we are saying the same things to make different points. Tap dancing morphed into street dancing, where the mounted shoe taps were no longer relevant, but to say that one enjoys tap, because they enjoy break dancing, is no longer valid. Thus, because one enjoys music, doesn't necessarily mean that one enjoys poetry.Not at all. I taught poetry for 37 years and I worked in the education system with others, from kindergarten to undergraduate, who taught it. My observations were that poetry was generally taught to students to familiarize them with specific poems chosen by some far away committee who felt those poems needed to be taught. The teachers who taught them generally were not poets, generally were not interested in poetry, and almost to a person, not writers themselves nor were they interested in language so much as they were interested teaching. That isn't to say it was a rule that this observation was always true, but I was hard pressed to find exceptions. And yes, exceptions are out there - we all have had them as teachers.
Poetry is not rhyme, nor is it simple shorthand for being too lazy to write something longer. What it is, however, is the effective use of the language to transmit an idea, thought, feeling, etc in such a way that the reader is not only able to understand what is being said, but is able to experience it in a manner that is authentic to themself as well. Rhyme, meter, structure, personification, metaphor, hyperbole - these CAN BE aspects of poetry but they are not poetry. Most teachers revert to literature that is overflowing with these literary devices and it has the effect of overwhelming the student and distracting them from the actual poem.
To say most people do not like poetry is ridiculous in that we clearly see that most people enjoy music with words. Songs, ballads, raps, ... these ARE poems. Therefore, one can conclude, "Most people LOVE poetry."
Agualung, Freebird, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Love, Love Me Do... all poems. Yes, they have been set to music, but it doesn't make them any less poetry.
My recommendation has always been to introduce poetry to students by first engaging them with the literature that is relevant to them - songs, memes, sayings, etc and then to allow them to explore the aspects of language that make it exciting - hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia, idioms, metaphors, etc, as well as meter and rhyme. And by all means, let it be playful and not serious. That can be held back for later.
I would suggest that more often than not, when a public address is given to an audience, some aspect of it will indeed include an aspect of poetry or will be poetic itself.
Agreed.I understand what you mean and think your point is valid. No one "taught" me to love poetry or literature (though they tried in my school days), but much later on in life I stumbled upon things that I enjoyed. My desire was for knowledge and wisdom and I figured out the way to get it was in books. Finding and enjoying poetry along the way was an unexpected bonus.
I'll also say that I believe people do like poetry to some degree without even realizing it. When anyone dies, someone will be asked to get up and "say a few words," and what they are looking for is something beautiful and meaningful to be said, which is poetry. On special occasions like anniversaries, people don't know what they want to say but they do want to say something special, so they buy greeting cards with fancy words on the inside. In other words, when something is weighty and important, we reach for poetry.
Well said.I think that we are saying the same things to make different points. Tap dancing morphed into street dancing, where the mounted shoe taps were no longer relevant, but to say that one enjoys tap, because they enjoy break dancing, is no longer valid. Thus, because one enjoys music, doesn't necessarily mean that one enjoys poetry.
I coach a Speech and Debate team, so I am familiar with how speeches take on the same aspects as poems. But, it's not necessarily a poem. No more than we think of Snoop Dogg as a poet, but in which he really is in a way.
I remember poetry slams in college, which were like having bamboo skewers driven under my nails. While poetry has come into many aspects of other parts of our culture... you'd be hard pressed to make a dollar selling a books of poetry or hosting a poetry reading, outside of an academic event. And, I say this with one of my closest and best friends in college being named our state Laureate. Her struggle with making it to the top of creative writing in poetry, is that there isn't a dime in it.