Poems are Rubbish (on the whole)!

@shihogiri wrote:

But no one has addressed my original question yet.

Couldn’t decide which was the original question so I’ve answered them all! :wink: :lol:

@shihogiri wrote:

Also what constitutes ‘good’ poetry?

Impossible to answer…unless the assessment is purely technical on structure etc, then assessing whether or not poetry is “good” is so subjective, what touches one person’s heart and soul and makes them view it as “good” poetry might leave another cold.

@shihogiri wrote:

I’ve read some poetry that’s commonly regarded as brilliant, but personally find it…uninspiring.

Agreed, likewise some poetry that is regarded as trite but I find inspiring…see above!

@shihogiri wrote:

So can anyone explain the allure of poetry?

Surely the allure is the same as for all forms of art, it either stirs emotions and touches your soul or it doesn’t…therein lies the allure. People queue for hours to see a painting, for instance van Gogh’s sunflowers…personally it leaves me cold. Yet an artist such as Jack Vettriano is decried by the establishment, yet give me his work over van Gogh any day. If it doesn’t stir emotions or touch your soul then there is no allure, and that is very much down to the individual.

@shihogiri wrote:

Is it the appealing idea that writing poetry suggests a sensitive, ‘windswept and interesting’ author?

Sorry this just made me laugh, and my response is untypeable! :lol:

@shihogiri wrote:

What is it that make you write an ambiguous poem with obscured meaning when you could just say what you mean.

This is like saying why paint a picture when you can take a photograph.

Attack

AT dawn the ridge emerges massed and dun
In the wild purple of the glow’ring sun,
Smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroud
The menacing scarred slope; and, one by one,
Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.
The barrage roars and lifts. Then, clumsily bowed
With bombs and guns and shovels and battle-gear,
Men jostle and climb to meet the bristling fire.
Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear,
They leave their trenches, going over the top,
While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists,
And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists,
Flounders in mud. O Jesus, make it stop!

Siegfried Sassoon

A lot of people have answered your questions very well, so all I can do is add my bit.

Some people like art. Some people choose to go round art galleries and look at paintings and sculptures etc. They appreciate either the way they look, the techniques to create them, or the the subtle layers of meaning within them (or a combination). Others will look at the same works of art and feel nothing. It is purely personal.

Poetry is like painting with words. You either appreciate the sounds as they are read aloud, or the look on the page, the techniques, or the meanings (hidden or otherwise) … or you don’t.

Some people do not like art. Some people do not like novels. Some people do not like poetry.

Thank GOD we are not all the same.

From my perspective, visual art is like breathing, I cannot do without it. But neither can I do without music, which is another expression of an art form that is diverse and again purely personal.

Anyone who cannot appreciate art in all its forms to me has no soul. But, that is only my opinion.