Hey guys :) I'm a new writer and so far I have 24 poems written. They're all pretty depressing and whenever I show anyone my work they say its "too" sad. I write best when I can pour my emotion into my work but I'm starting to feel like no one is enjoying my poetry. I'm just not sure what to do.
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In my opinion and experience, poetry can never be "too sad". The reason that I first got into poetry was to just go outside of my comfort zone a little bit, but after three months of that, I started expressing myself more. More and more of my poetry became what some would call "depressing". I used poetry as a sort of coping mechanism - and it worked great as that. My earlier poems were a bit blunt, but I expressed myself in ways i never could before.
It was freeing for me to be able to do that. And (I've never been able to do this with any other thing in my life), I didn't care what anyone thought about it. If they liked it, great. If they didn't like it (or thought it was "too sad"), then oh well. This was me pouring out my true heart and soul in a place I can be myself - unlike the real world.
I say you should never be ashamed of the emotions you portray or how your poems make other people feel; it is exactly that power of emotions that we poets wield that makes us so powerful. We show things as they are, and we don't sugar coat it: there isn't enough space for that. If the people don't appreciate the bitter truth that your poetry shows them, then maybe they just aren't ready to read it.
I hope this helps you, and I'm here to talk if you ever want/need to. ❤️
I admit that when I first started reading and writing poetry, I thought it was supposed to be sad. I learned that poetry can be anything you want it to be. That being said, quite a few of my poems are sad because sometimes I find them easier to write. When I write about something happy, I tend to fall into a trap of cliches.
I might be going on a tangent. The important thing to remember is that poetry can be anything and if you're a better writer when you write about sad things, write about sad things. And another thing to remember is that no matter who is giving you feedback, no one can force you to change a poem or your preferred genres of writing.
Not everyone wants to read sad poetry. A friend of mine once told me she wished I wrote happy stuff, she is one of those eternally positive types who didn't understand it was cathartic for me to pour how I felt onto a page. But if you got something out of writing it, you should absolutely continue. I believe poetry needs to be true to the author, in order for it to resonate with the reader.
Admin note: I have moved your topic to more appropriate thread: poetry discussion
Haha, welcome to the club! I'm told this all the time. "You need to write more cheerful poetry"
I think for this reason I don't really share my work with personal relations. But to echo everyone else. Your poetry MUST be written from the heart!
Hi Hailie! To put it simply - no, your poetry cannot be "too" sad. In fact, poetry surpassing any particular emotional threshold is never a disqualifying factor for it to be considered good. Poetry is meant to be emotive and is supposed to make the readers feel something - negative or positive. If people say your poetry is making them feel "too" much, I'd take it as a compliment. Perhaps, the people you showed your poetry to just aren't fans of sad poems, which is fine. But rest assured, there are many people who will appreciate your poetry exactly as is, and I'm sure you will find plenty here. Either way, it is better to write authentic poetry than to try to appeal to a crowd. And for what it's worth, sad poetry happens to be my favorite :)
You are writing for yourself. You writing your own thoughts and emotions. Why should you stop for others? Poetry has no specific genre nothing is too much emotional or too much dark. Just write with heart and don't be nervous about sharing your work. Carry on, dear.💖💖