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Wednesday, October 07, 2009

What is your poetry supposed to do?

books23 So you write poetry…  and you do this with what objective in mind?  I’m curious about what writers most hope to achieve when their poetry is read by someone. I know there are probably more then one answer for most writers, but I’m asking you to think about the majority of your poetry.

In considering my own I’ve realized sadly that I don’t often give this a lot of thought. There are times when I hope my poetry will inform. When writing something with a social of political flavor to it, informing can be a big part of it.  But sometimes there is no underlying message, just an attempt to provide a different way to view something. Stepping outside the box to show something outrageously different.  How a person might look to a catfish on their plate…

I read an interview of a poet recently and there was some discussion of poetry entertaining. Strange as it might seen,  I never really considered poetry to be about entertaining readers, though I suppose it is safe to say that I have myself felt entertained by poetry that I have read.

Do you set out to entertain when you write? What do you generally see as the best value of your finished poem?

3 comments:

Kelli Russell Agodon - Book of Kells said...

Michael,

This might sound odd, but I'm not really attached to outcome when I write. While I have goals as a writer to keep me organized, I do not have goals or beliefs for my poems.

I think the best value of a finished poem is that the poet finished it. Whether no one reads it or not, you've added art to the world and I think that matters.

And no, I don't set out to entertain when I write poetry. I just set out to write.

Good post!

Greg said...

Why would I have an "objective" in mind? Writing poetry—like any art—is an end in itself. If I wasted time thinking about why I do it and what I expect from it I'd never write. Overthinking is a great enemy of art.

Radio Nowhere said...

It is all dependent on the poem in question. If it is written with amusement in mind, a smile or small chuckle would be great. If I make a poem about something that caused me to ponder, I would hope the reader would ponder as well.

I write because I cannot do otherwise. It is a form of communication, and as such I distrust those who say that a completed poem (or any artistic endeavor) is an end to itself, that no purpose need be attached to the completion of it.

If you intend to create art/communication with no purpose beyond the creation itself, then it has no purpose. It is simply a filled page with no place to go.

These are just my thoughts, for what they are worth.

mark