Quotations and Literature Forum

“Write a poem
like she writes a poem”
the english teacher said.
She must be crazy.
That can’t be poetry.
At least to me.

So what’s a poem anyway?

I want you
to tell me
how you felt
on Christmas,
or what you thought
when she went away,
and even
your favorite color.

Write it down now.
Quick
Short sentences
no punctuation if you like
Make it flow.
Yes, write a poem
and let me know.

------------

What do you think a poem is?

Well... Answers.com said: A verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme.

That's true I guess. And that's the definition of a poem. But poetry is more than that, it can be a way to express and let go of the pain one is facing. It can be an escape, a way to get lost in words and emotions when the world's too much to handle. Poetry is a window to your soul.

Webbratz

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
~Kahlil Gibran

Poetry is ordinary language raised to the nth power. Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words.
~Paul Engle, New York Times, 17 February 1957

Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.
~Thomas Gray

Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.
~Edgar Allan Poe

You can tear a poem apart to see what makes it tick.... You're back with the mystery of having been moved by words. The best craftsmanship always leaves holes and gaps... so that something that is not in the poem can creep, crawl, flash or thunder in.
~Dylan Thomas, Poetic Manifesto, 1961

Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat.
~Robert Frost

Poetry is that stuff in books which doesn't quite reach to the margin~Schoolchild

Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash~Leonard Cohen

Poetry is the kind of thing you have to see from the corner of your eye. If you look straight at it, you can't see it, but if you look a little to one side, it is there~William Stafford

Poetry is a raid on the inarticulate~T.S. Eliot

All these quotes are great and everything but didn't halfmagic say she wanted to know what you think. Your opinions and thoughts not someone else's.
I know I'm curious to find out what you think in your own words and not what these quoted peoples say (their riddles tend to confuse me ).

Webbratz

Poetry - my thoughts;

Poetry is like art and music. It may make you feel. It may invoke beautiful images. It may make you see something in a new way. It may reflect your life and experiences so you relate to the poem and it becomes personal. Good poetry can do this without you totally understanding it. As with music, which can make you feel even if you do not know the notes and expressions of the music, you need not understand every device, image or implication used by the poet to receive the effect of the poem. Of course understanding them will add to your appreciation.

I used the quotes because they say things that I agree with about poetry.(a lot of these apply to quotations as well)

Putting my interpretation of these quotes into my own “plain English” words (as in the order above);

Poetry is joy, pain and wonder in words.

Poetry is ideas and emotions held together by words.

Poetry is thoughts and words that come alive and affect you.

Poetry is using meaning, rhythm, meter and other poetical devices to make images and feelings of beauty.

Poetry is more than the sum of its parts. You cannot define what it is that makes it work. The best poetry leaves enough room for the reader to flavour it with their own experiences and perceptions and make it personal.

Poetry is a way of trying to understand and deal with life.


I probably should leave it to Phaedrus to comment on his quotes (if he wishes) but I enjoyed all the quotes and will comment on these two;

Poetry is that stuff in books which doesn't quite reach to the margin
~Schoolchild
Sometimes that is the only way to tell that it is poetry!

Poetry is a raid on the inarticulate
~T.S. Eliot

I think that this one sums it up best of all. Poetry is trying to express all those things that we cannot articulate – beauty, pain, emotion, life and its meaning. Everything.

Poetry is of so subtle a spirit, that in the pouring out of one language into another it will evaporate.
- John Denham: (1615-1668) English poet, dramatist

Nice one Fairsix.

It is as impossible to translate poetry as it is to translate music.
~Voltaire

Poetry is a packsack of invisible keepsakes.
~Carl Sandburg

Poetry is life distilled.
~Gwendolyn Brooks

To me, poetry is the music of the heart and soul. Since I began writing my own poetry during the summer before my 10th grade year, I have found that to simply sit down and say, "I am going to write a poem right now" is not easy to accomplish... at least from my previous experience.

When poetry is written in it's truest form, it flows like a river; whether such a river is calm or filled with treturous seas of water is something we only can judge by the final product... if it is possible to invision the exact emotions it captures even at that point. I myself love poetry, though I will be the first to admit that I have not been exposed to it very much. I love language and its elements. They are very interesting and flavorful.

_________________
"Nothing is impossible unless you strongly believe it is, and in a case such as this you have no confidence"~ Me

Jennifer