This is my introduction to my upcoming volume 69 Sonnets.
It seems like nobody does these anymore. I was sharing poetry with some folks online and kind of wish I hadn't. A lot of people think that writing poetry it's just something casual and easy that anyone can do. People shared a lot of prose, and when they did rhyme, it was often “hip-hop” rhyme, which most often are merely examples of assonance more than actual rhymes (“Axe” with “cats”, “Fake” with “Great”, or “Gun” with “Tongue”). The sentiments were tired and overdone. Metaphors, if there were any, were mixed and inadequate. The nouns were as concrete as a sidewalk. Imagination was often absent, vocabulary was poor, and even though one doesn’t grade poetry for grammar, the verb tenses and subject-verb agreement were awful.
I was called an elitist but I dared to suggest that various authors try rhyming, play with meter, even experiment with the many different forms of poetry. Here's an exchange I shared with folks online about it. I share it word for word, comma for comma, and spelling error for spelling error (real names excluded).
ME: Man, I ask a simple question when people want to join this group. "What are you three favorite poets?" You'd be amazed how many people can't answer that question, or how many times people say, "Myself". I reject these folks. They only want to write their stuff. They only want to spill their beans. Their interest in the art form, and their interest in the many forms of poetry, is so severely limited, it appalls me. To read great poetry is as important as to write it. One cannot be a great poet without reading great poetry, without learning about poetry. If one lacks care for the works of other poets, they are simply narcissists spewing crap for its own sake, a form of emotional masturbation they expect the whole world to watch.
KARA: I dont think that not having a favorite poet means you dont respect poetry as an artform. One can be profoundly moved by a specific piece and be left numb by other pieces that are all from the same artist. As for "emotional masturbation"...Art is simply primitive expression. Of thoughts, feelings, ideas. And done craftfully it can make people think and inspire them. Wether the muse is revolutionary ideas, !personal emotions! or the kitchen sink. The most profound truth: art is subjective. What you crassly refer to as emotional masturbation might inspire others and what you consider high art might leave others cold. I think your post is kind of rude xx
ME: I'm not saying that it's bad not to have a favorite poet, but I'm saying not being able to name poets at all is indicative of a lack of comprehension of the art form. Take Rick. here. He makes a point of studying and learning the various forms of poetry. Right now, he is exploring the sonnet. The end result isn't that he has to write sonnets all the time, but that inclusion of the understanding of sonnets informs the structure and creation of his own work, which is why I consider him one of the best poets to share on this page. Some people only want to play with loosely formed prose, never expand into more challenging poetic craftsmanship than that, and seem mostly interested in crying out, "I am. Please see me." As poetry, I feel this is fairly commonplace, and it's why so many people roll their eyes at poetry. So much of it is self-indulgent. So much of it, I reiterate is "emotional masturbation".
RICK: Thank you, Michael; however, true as your words are, please remember that we all start from vastly different places. I have a master’s degree in English. I taught English for over twenty-five years. I began taking my writing a bit more seriously after I retired, but I have a backlog of experience and information that other writers here don't possess. Having said that, I agree with you. The more we learn and experience, the larger our poems AND OUR LIVES WILL BE. Please, try new forms, new ideas. I'd never written a sonnet until I took a poetry class. WHAT FUN!! Please, people, increase yourselves now, for tomorrow we may die.
KARA: And Im simply saying not being able to name a list of poets does not make you any less of a poet. And oxford scholar studying shakespeare writing fancy sonnets about lifes trials and a homeless man writing limericks about his favourite street corner can both intrigue/inspire me. I choose not to discriminate. You clearly do and that is the only reason i think your post is rude
RICK: Kara, I don't believe Michael was projecting rudeness. Were his words a bit harsh? Yes, a bit, but consider that he reads and posts hundreds of poems. He sees patterns of writing and of behavior that we don't. I think Michael is simply passionate about poetry. He recognizes that poems are OUR HEART SONGS. He wants us to respect our hearts and to dive deep within ourselves. Please, don't take his criticism too much to heart; people do sound harsh when they express their most valued beliefs. Instead, let's take the hint: read (I don't read enough poetry myself), write, inhale great poems. You may find yourself copying favorites poets at first, but that will pass, and the inspiration will remain.
KARA: I just dont think that people who dont have a favourite poet or an expansive knowledge about poetry are somehow lesser poets than those who do. Art is subjective. And I also dont think you can judge someone based on a single answer to a simple question. I just disagree with his post in principle and i felt the need to say so. But I understand the underlying point he was trying to make xx That knowledge of the artform is helpful.
RICK: Kara, more than helpful. Knowledge, experience create US. Each moment, we are creating ourselves . . . with the guidance of those who came before, who travel with us. Michael is saying, CREATE BEAUTY. Value truth, your/my truth. Poetry is the language of our hearts. Yes, art is subjective, but whether we explore our souls or remain intellectually passive CAN BE SENSED BY OTHERS.
JOE: I believe art IS exhibitionism. You are taking something private and showing it to the world. I take everything with a grain of salt, but everyone's brain releases dopamine when they see they get a like.
ME: I don't disagree with that, but there is also something higher than that, in art, when it goes beyond the weak needs of simple ego gratification. Take a great poet like Emily Dickinson. Her work was published by loving friends, posthumously. She exposed herself emotionally for sure, but her works were sublime, beyond herself, which her close friends and confidants realized. Her work is almost perfectly aggrandized, BECAUSE it was not driven by a need to recognized.
JOE: There are as many styles of poets as there are people. Some are narcissistic, some egotistical, some neutral, etc etc. As a matter of fact, there is a Scandinavian form of poetry that roughly translates to Boasting. Its literally just saying I'm awesome, you suck and they go back and forth if this fashion. So, while I disagree with you, I have said my bit, and I respect that you have an opinion too.
ME: I recognize, very readily, the narcissistic quality of poets and poetry writing, but I also believe that the poet who leaves herself unchallenged, without embracing something beyond easy prose or boasting, cannot be considered that good. The most popular answer to my favorite poet question is Edgar Allen Poe. He was a master at alliteration, assonance, rhyme, meter, theme, and even auditory suggestion. He was a master of form, and wrote nothing self-aggrandizing. He could write about other people and tell unique stories in his poetry. It had depth and variation. I went beyond ramblings about being broken-hearted or feeling like he didn't belong or purgations about depression and anxiety. I'm not saying the poetry you describe isn't poetry or even art, but it's mundane, and frankly tiresome.
BECKY: Why is someone a narcissist just because they enjoy writing or reading poetry? It can be therapy, an outlet, or just be something someone enjoys. Not everyone just wants “ all eyes on them” people can actually enjoy something. It can also be helpful if someone can relate to their work so that they know they are not alone. That’s the only reason I’ve ever shared mine. Or to show people that they are not alone in any feelings they may have. Is that so unheard of nowadays?
ME: I assure you, the people I'm talking about enjoy writing poetry, and they enjoy sharing poetry. They're not really into reading poetry and couldn't really be bothered to learn more about poetry beyond their own experiences. This is why so many people who want to join this group can't tell me the names of three poets they love. The fact that they are not readers of poetry also goes a long way to explaining why their work is limited. Poetry is not only therapy, it's an art form, and like all forms of art, an artist is made better when she appreciates the many styles and works of other artists.
JOE: I like a lot of different poets; many of whom I have found on this, or other sharing sites. I don't really like many well-known and/or classical poets at all. I like this site as an outlet, because it gives a voice to those people of whom I have never heard. I had English as one of my majors in college, and I have had professors be objective, and I have had professors try and tell me what writing is good or bad.
ME: Replace "painting" with "poetry". "Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do." -- Edgar Degas
JOE: Hmm...I am unsure if I agree or disagree with that in terms of writing. It's definitely intriguing though. That seems true with painting for me, because I can't paint or draw to save my life.
KARA: I wholeheartedly agree, and so it is with all things in life. A fool imagines himself wise and educated. But the more a wise man comes to know, the more he becomes aware of how little he knows. And, in my opinion, just how little his "knowing" makes him any better than any other carbon based organism on earth. In my eyes, the oxford scholar writing about the futility of life in perfect quatrains and the ragged beggar sporting half rhymes on a streetcorner about yesterday's stale bread... are both ARTISTS And frankly I sometimes find more profound meaning in the latter
ME: Once, I went to an art exhibit, and one of the pieces was simply a cardboard box with different-colored broken glass in it. I'm sure the artist felt the work had some merit. At the same museum, I bore witness to the marvelous brushstrokes and textures of Vincent Van Gogh. Both could be considered art, but they are worlds apart. Pablo Picasso crafted bizarre shapes in cubism, but he could paint just as naturally and realistically as Leonardo DaVinci. I wonder if the person who filled the cardboard box full of glass had the capacity to work as effectively in different media, in different genres, in different styles, and in greater degrees of complexity. This guy and Picasso could both be called artists, because surely people could choose to perceive meaning in what they created. I'm just going to go on record and say though that the artist who will not expand, will not challenge him or herself to go beyond their boundaries, to expose themselves to different forms, to be a perpetual student of art, is no great artist at all. The wise man, yes, realizes what he doesn't know. He pushes his own evolution. He doesn't wallow in a single, static, tired, limited form, which is what I perceive to be being defended here.
So, make of that exchange what you will, but in the end, I pride myself of trying different things in my poetry, and when I put myself to an artistic test, I like doings so with a Petrarchan sonnet best of all. Maybe I’m elitist. I don’t know.
Now, let me tell you now about a Petrarchan sonnet. It has 14 lines. The first eight lines are called an octet. The last six are called the sestet. The ends of the first 12 lines feature alternating rhymes:
Head
Way
Dead
Pray
Until you get to the last two, called the rhyming couplet, which rhyme directly:
Duck
Truck
Each line has ten syllables, composed in iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter involves the use of unstressed syllables followed by stressed ones. Here's an example:
I kissed a girl from Cleveland yesterday.
If you say it out loud to yourself, it should have the following rhythm.
De-dum-de-dum-de-dum-de-dum-de-dum
The first eight lines, the octet, tends to deal in a problem or a question. The final six lines, the sestet, bring an answer to this question or a resolution to the problem. The rhyming couplet completes the thought, and so often, in my case, an unsubtle Jab (because even writing sonnets, I have the subtlety of a runaway train).
So here it is. I hope the work meets with your approval. Thank you, Rick. Kara, Joe, and Becky … I dare you.