Where Have All The Poets Gone?

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Hapax Legomenon

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Whoa. I sure don't think anyone called anyone else dumb and I don't believe anyone meant to imply that either. I didn't.

And clearly neither of you is dumb.

So, um, what's this about, then? Serious question.

Well there is a clear line of thought that modern dislike of poetry stems for intellectual decay. It's not that far of a leap to say that people who don't like poetry and never got it are those intellectually decayed individuals
 

Kylabelle

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I think there's a logical fallacy in there but I don't know which one. :)

Certainly intellectual decay is a harsh way of saying some of what's been said, and equally certainly, no one has said that everyone who is smart, accomplished, skilled, talented, or intellectually with it therefore must like poetry.

However, many of us have indeed observed something about modern attention spans, over-stimulation and excess input, and a shift in focus. What it means I don't believe anyone here has felt called to completely decide.

I know quite a few outrageously, even scarily intelligent people who basically hate to read and won't bother. Just for instance.

They miss a lot, including the experience of poetry, but whatever, you know? Not everything is for everyone.
 

Hapax Legomenon

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I gave counterexamples of the "decay" of attention spans, but nobody ever buys that, for some reason.
 

JustSarah

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Yes it matters, though these days I do it more as writing a exercise rather than a path to publication in itself.

I think my main grievance with poetry, is it's lack of specificity these days. Whenever someone says they know a great poet, I have to ask what sort of poetry they mean. For me I'm of the uneven rhyming stanza variety, with a, b, a, b or a, a, b, b format. Yet now there are many different varieties I never even heard of.

I've come to resent the word poetry as this catch all term.
 
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jari_k

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I gave counterexamples of the "decay" of attention spans, but nobody ever buys that, for some reason.
It's adaptation, I think. Modern life calls for a lot more multi-tasking, so people get their poetry more efficiently in recorded music--which they can listen to while doing other things. They doubtless tune the attention in and out, though.

As for people not liking poetry at all, I think they haven't read (or heard) the right poem for them. Once we encounter one that hits us in the heart, it's a cool experience. If that never happens, maybe song lyrics do that for us. I've read lines of prose in novels that struck me as profoundly as poetry--something along the lines of, "Wow, that is so true, and put so well."

Who knows what forms our tastes? Most of us who write think words are cool on some level, but it takes different forms. Thank goodness, or we'd all sound and think alike.
 
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frimble3

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I remember liking poetry as a child.
I still read it sometimes. I like the traditional stuff: metre, rhyme, rhythm, etc. Maybe a story. Something happening, at least. Not five lines of feelings. I like Robert Frost, Robert Browning and Rudyard Kipling.
I've read some contemporary stuff, if I see a sample and I like it. But when someone says 'modern poetry', my mind automatically goes to that 'formatty' stuff.

A
Single
Line
Of
Words.
So
Full
Of
Fucking
Significance.

I was hanging in there, through haiku and such, but when the teacher started explaining that this was poetry, too, I just switched off. Somewhere around the fifth grade, I think. Analyzing poetry didn't help, either. It just turns it into work.
Books were better, if you avoided 'good for you' books, the classics and such. Back when I was a girl, nobody analyzed genre novels.

FWIW, I love folk and country music. And Leonard Cohen.
 

Hapax Legomenon

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I do not think music is meant to be "efficiency" with poetry. Have you ever heard most people read poetry? It's awful. And I think most people have associated that so much with poetry that that's how they read it in their heads if they do read it. And that's why music is better, because no matter what, at least it's not that.

If you really like writing poetry, I think epic verse might make a comeback in the mainstream. So hop to it.
 

JustSarah

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I really personally enjoy epics.

I've always pictured some guy beating on his drum singing the tunes of Beowulf. That always made me laugh.

I personally gave in to primarily poetry, because some sentences don't really flow right as prose. Such as: There was no sound, in the meadows. Come to me, and I will take your hand. No more pressure, no errands. Fly with me to the quiet meadows.

In other words, it just doesn't have that rhythm I want if doing it as prose.
 
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William Haskins

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I do not think music is meant to be "efficiency" with poetry. Have you ever heard most people read poetry? It's awful. And I think most people have associated that so much with poetry that that's how they read it in their heads if they do read it. And that's why music is better, because no matter what, at least it's not that.

If you really like writing poetry, I think epic verse might make a comeback in the mainstream. So hop to it.

your admitted distaste for poetry coupled with your hostile opinion-as-fact is entertaining to watch.
 

jimbro

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jari_k

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I do not think music is meant to be "efficiency" with poetry. Have you ever heard most people read poetry? It's awful. And I think most people have associated that so much with poetry that that's how they read it in their heads if they do read it. And that's why music is better, because no matter what, at least it's not that.

If you really like writing poetry, I think epic verse might make a comeback in the mainstream. So hop to it.

Well, different opinions help the world go round. I don't write poetry, but am also unsure I was meant to be the one you were giving advice to. I do read poetry, but selectively. My father was the first one to recite any poetry to me, and he had a wonderful voice and reading style as an experienced actor. Nothing at all like "most" people. :)

frimble3 said:
I like the traditional stuff: metre, rhyme, rhythm, etc.

Me too! I like the words to sing to me. Oops, more music references. I'd probably better shut up, now.
 
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When I was in college, there were poets everywhere. Slam, written, whatever variety you want. I've heard similar things from my friends. They had open mic nights where poets read, poetry slams, creative writing groups who critiqued poetry among many other genres, faculty poetry readings. Slam poetry is big in high school. There are competitions. High school, college, and general audience.

Perhaps circulation of various literary magazines who publish poetry are down. But tons of people are self-publishing chap books. Poetry is being translated into English from many other languages. Poetry is still a thing. But with so many nationally available competing activities now compared to when poetry was at its height, it's not that surprising it's less popular than it once was.



Video games are a huge industry. Most people who aren't active players won't know any but the most popular AAA blockbuster games. They won't know who the game studios and publishers are. They won't know the popular journalists or community commentators are. The same is true for books or for music.

But unlike those areas, poetry has never been big business. You almost can't help but hear the most popular musicians and songs on the radio or in ads. That's because of the commercial aspect.

Poetry is much more like art, although even art is more visible because of installations and sculptures in parks and building lobbies. Now, most people probably couldn't name those pieces or the sculptors behind them.


I really think the article is more click-bait than a reasoned attempt at discussion.
 

Matty lll

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I love poetry, but don't read or even know of anything contemporary (Maybe because I dont know where to look, or what to look for more than it being a case of there not being anything good). However, I sometimes think that poetry (The 'function' of poetry if you like) has been overtaken by music, as a popular medium. That's what I think anyway, I love Rimbaud, Baudelaire and the French symbolists, and it might almost be a joke or a cliche to say it but I believe that in 100+ years time someone like Bob Dylan will be the equivalent.

I could be talking nonsense though.
 

Ken

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They haven't gone anywhere. There are many fine poets amongst us. Right here on AW for that matter. They just aren't getting the exposure they deserve. Poetry isn't as popular as it once was, which is a shame. Maybe there will be a revival soon. I sure hope so. I do my small part by buying poetry collections from time to time and encourage others here to do likewise. Maybe together we can make a difference !
 

blacbird

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Have you ever heard most people read poetry? It's awful.

I don't agree with the entirety of your post, but I do agree with this, as long as the "It's awful" is referring to the reading, and not the poetry itself. Most of the poets I've seen reading their stuff before an audience strive sooooo damn hard to sound important and profound that it makes me want to flee the room.

Exceptions are Billy Collins and David Lee, who show up on NPR every now and then. They are delights. They know how to express what they write in the ways it deserves.

But, God, I've witnessed some horrors.

And don't get me started on "poetry" slams. Most of those have the relationship to actual poetry that Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo has to House of Cards.

caw
 

JustSarah

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I've always wondered why video games and comics had to be mutually exclusive from poetry. Take the JRPG for example, I could imagine some of those stories written as epic poems.
 

Hapax Legomenon

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I don't agree with the entirety of your post, but I do agree with this, as long as the "It's awful" is referring to the reading, and not the poetry itself. Most of the poets I've seen reading their stuff before an audience strive sooooo damn hard to sound important and profound that it makes me want to flee the room.

Exceptions are Billy Collins and David Lee, who show up on NPR every now and then. They are delights. They know how to express what they write in the ways it deserves.

But, God, I've witnessed some horrors.

And don't get me started on "poetry" slams. Most of those have the relationship to actual poetry that Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo has to House of Cards.

caw

I was mostly referring to the sort of reading of poetry that goes on in middle and high school classrooms, but yeah. It's pretty endemic. And if you only know that way to read poetry that's the way you're going to hear it in your head, and if that's what you hear in your head, no wonder you never want to read it.

Rap and other music has a rhythm that's entirely different from the overly important/profound tone that we've been trained to read poetry in, so people like it better than what they think of as poetry even if it still is poetry.

And with the epic poetry, I mean, I remember Crank and its companion books were really popular a while back. I've no doubt that something like it could become popular again, even if you used more traditional verse.
 
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I don't agree with the entirety of your post, but I do agree with this, as long as the "It's awful" is referring to the reading, and not the poetry itself. Most of the poets I've seen reading their stuff before an audience strive sooooo damn hard to sound important and profound that it makes me want to flee the room.

Exceptions are Billy Collins and David Lee, who show up on NPR every now and then. They are delights. They know how to express what they write in the ways it deserves.

But, God, I've witnessed some horrors.

And don't get me started on "poetry" slams. Most of those have the relationship to actual poetry that Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo has to House of Cards.

caw


I've seen high school and college-age readers who read in a perfectly fine manner. Perhaps it's because we have lost our tradition of oral poetry that not everyone who does wish to read poems is taught that many possible ways to read it.


As far as slam poetry goes, I'm not sure it's RYFW to compare the events, the poets, and the poems, to Honey Boo-Boo. I've seen many slam poets, and there are plenty of different styles of reading, various subject matters, and various levels of quality of writing, as one would expect from events generally open to the public. More formal poetry slams and contests tend to have more consistency and high quality, although that's a guideline, not a rule.

Slam poetry does tend to have a different style and choice of subject matter compared to poems intended to be read off the page, although, again, that's a bit of a generalization.
 

Ken

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Just might be said as an aside that reading poetry aloud, whether ones own or someone elses, is an art in itself. A great poem can be compromised by a poor reading. It really takes talent, as much as acting.
 

NRoach

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As an aside, whenever I see "Slam poetry", I can't help but imagine acapella rap battles.
 

Latina Bunny

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I think there's a logical fallacy in there but I don't know which one. :)

Certainly intellectual decay is a harsh way of saying some of what's been said, and equally certainly, no one has said that everyone who is smart, accomplished, skilled, talented, or intellectually with it therefore must like poetry.

However, many of us have indeed observed something about modern attention spans, over-stimulation and excess input, and a shift in focus. What it means I don't believe anyone here has felt called to completely decide.

I know quite a few outrageously, even scarily intelligent people who basically hate to read and won't bother. Just for instance.

They miss a lot, including the experience of poetry, but whatever, you know? Not everything is for everyone.

Ah, thank you for clarifying. I aplogize if I misunderstood the implications. It was sounding like if someone doesn't "get" poetry, then society is declining.

It just reminded when I've seen other threads and posts where people were shocked and dismayed that there are other people out there who *gasp* don't read much or don't like to read. So what? There are times when I get burned out from reading, especially when I was taking college courses, and I would turn to other mediums to enjoy stories, such as tv/movies/games/comics/etc. I think everyone is different and have their own preferences on finding the stories. Even those reality shows sort of have "stories" and "characters", in a way.

For me, it's a personal taste thing. Poetry is not bad; it's just not for me. It's like when someone doesn't enjoy a certain genre or type of story.

The only poems I kind of enjoyed were some excerpts from some epics we read for high school schoolwork, such as Beowulf, The Grendel, the Odyssey, and Milton's Paradise Lost. And maybe Shakespeare? I think all of those are poetry? These were the closest to something poetry-like that I enjoyed. However, I still struggled to read them and needed some assistance from either my teachers (or Sparknotes) in "translating"/"interpreting" some bits of them from my English book. Paradise Lost, in particular, was a difficult one, but I liked the "story" aspect of it.
 
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