My Why... why why why...

[TL Murphy]

Just look at the posts on poetry on this site. I don't think anything is being solved.

I beg to differ.

[Outsider]

I beg to differ.

You've solved the pandemic? The economic recession were in? Climate change? Are all these problems in that minority that you don't include in "most"?

[TL Murphy]

Not at all. But poetry raises consciousness and writing poetry raises consciousness, even if these are incremental steps. I believe that art makes the world a better, richer, safer place. That's why tyrants suppress it. It doesn't solve all problems all at once and of course there are always new problems. But writing poetry changes the world by changing the poet.

[clark]

The words/concepts "problems" and "solutions" are so often misunderstood. The starving child, all bones and protruding belly is not the "problem" nor is the bowl of nutritious gruel it's given to ease back into food the "solution", however welcome for that individual child. The "problem" is the consciousness of the society that failed to produce conditions that would have ensured such a condition never existed. Altering the consciousness of the culture is the only way to solve the problem . . .and poetry, narratives, stories that embody the best of the culture in words that can shock the culture into heightened awareness of their identity and potential, that is the key. Baby steps, for sure. First, the poets achieve that sense of fusion within themselves, second, epiphanies in their readers/hearers impact the culture in small ways that grow into broader paths. All cultures know this. At any given moment in any culture, the statements of account, engineering specs for mega projects, clandestine notes between royal lovers, shopping lists for major parties--all of these declarative, functional, task-oriented documents were HUGELY more important to keep the gears moving than any poem of the day. But ALL of those functional documents quickly became dust as the currency of their issues were passed and gone. What survives then? From every culture, down thru time . . . .their poetry. Not by accident. By necessity.

[Irwin]

Not at all. But poetry raises consciousness and writing poetry raises consciousness, even if these are incremental steps. I believe that art makes the world a better, richer, safer place. That's why tyrants suppress it. It doesn't solve all problems all at once and of course there are always new problems. But writing poetry changes the world by changing the poet.

That's a good way to put it. It does change the poet and makes one look at the world differently by increasing awareness, which is not necessarily a good thing when you don't like what you see, and in the current state of America, there's a lot not to like.

[A97]

I don’t really have a vast experience of writing poetry but I’ve always been interested in and longed to do it however my confidence and ability is very low (which I’m trying to improve on). But I find poetry so interesting and wish to write it because I find beauty in words and that’s it. I wish I had a really in depth meaningful answer but I just find the concept of words beautiful and remarkable.

[ritudimrinautiyal]

Why... that's the question... why... whys drive me crrrrrazzzy... my why is this... Why write poetry... why??? I know hundreds... maybe even thousands of people, people who have passed through my life, some life long friends and a huge family... but the weird thing is... they don't feel the burning desire to write a poem... I find that so intriguing... and kinda ... sad... Why? Why don't they write poems.... I mean... how can they not...

I know why I write... my beloved GrandMam started reading poetry to me at the age of 2... I fell in love with the sound of her voice as she read and I fell in love with the beautiful rhythm, ebb and flow of the poems she read... and I fell in love with the "Raggedy Man"... and I cried over "The Wreck of The Hesperus"....

Later, I turned to poetry, as a way to express things that were happening to me, and that was how I survived, reading and writing poetry, losing myself in the beauty of the words as I read poetry to escape my world... writing poetry probably saved my life..

Often I write just because I love words... I will hear a phrase or a line in a song and my mind kicks into POETRY MODE... and then I am DRIVEN to write... for me, it is almost a primal urge... and it can NOT be ignored...

But most do not feel the urge to write their thoughts, moods, emotions or anything else, in a poem...

So my question is WHY do YOU write poetry....why... why why why....

Hi Fire,
This happens with me also, that while I am listening a song ( most often I do that while washing dishes) and suddenly a theme or a word strikes inside my mind and strings of thoughts get connected, generating a poem, so many times, it happened like that. Instant lullabys for my daughter when she was too young were all cutie feelings I used to share with her..... I felt emotional by your words.

Thanks for sharing those here.

Ritu

[Foxee]

I'm not always driven or inspired to do the same kind of art. Like a lot of things this is a strength (inspiration is heady stuff) and a weakness (if you're not willing to put in the 10,000 hours of practice and learning, facile excellence with the medium may elude you).

I have a friend who does wire-wrapped jewelry, something I've never felt a drive or urge to try, but she makes lovely pieces and I own some of them.

Poetry as a sort of puzzle that dilutes experience into spare words that reveal something appeals to me. Producing it does, too...just not all the time. So I've never learned all of the things that make a good poem. NaPoWriMo showed me my lack of learning for a whole month, lol, and even reading back over pieces that I liked I recognize that they're more doggerel than poetry. Still, fun to try.

But for now I have to decide where to put my efforts to learn and improve and that's more on story writing. That's giving me enough of a hassle without trying to sort out the delicate and elegant art of poetry at the same time.