Greetings poets and lovers of verse,
Poetry has long been a vessel for expressing the raw, unfiltered emotions that reside within us all. From the joyous highs to the melancholic lows, poetry has a unique ability to capture the essence of the human experience in its purest form.
What emotions do you find most compelling to explore in your poetry? Is it the bittersweet ache of longing, the euphoria of love's first bloom, or perhaps the quiet solace found in solitude? Share with us your thoughts and insights on the role of emotion in poetry. How do you infuse your own emotions into your work, and how do you believe they resonate with your audience?
Let us embark on a journey of introspection and discovery as we explore the intricate tapestry of emotions that form the heart and soul of poetry.
Thoughts, 3 weeks of reading instagram; there is a distinction between a poem and a meme. (hope that is the word). Meme are similar to chants. Although a chant creates a feeling, whilst a meme catches it, or falls flat. I wrote my second poem even though I thought it was really only a second draft. On re-reading it sometimes I like it, other times I think it falls flat. Have a good day😊
Drafting my response I just had an uh-ha moment!
I can relate with your post, most of the so called IG poetry makes my toenails curl. I call it the Schlager of literature, Schlager is a specific German music genre that addresses big topics in an extremely accessible way. I think it works well for anyone who maybe never had the privilege to learn about their own emotions and I think the purpose of these artforms is to help people to finally access and be able to have words for something they experienced but could not name. That's the insight that emerged writing the response to your post.
If you had the privilege like me of growing up in a verbose wordsmithing family (although never formally) who installed reflection about ones own feelings and behaviours; than this type of writing is not relatable, because I want more, more to think about, more to engage with, to challenge me and my reality.
I think much of my poetry is around trauma and healing, and as this is progressing there are more and more light hearted ones emerging. So I have began to transcribe some childhood memories, or moments that happened, and the occasional cheeky rhyme. But first and foremost poetry for me is processing the big emotions, the ones that are too big to keep inside.
It is the 'commercial grab bag' that is superficial not necessarily the Instapoem form. Not sure if I mentioned my friend who is 6 years older than me before but, her argument is ' aging is a fact , growing up is a lifestyle choice.' She will never 'grow up' but she doesn't intend to 'act like a juvenile'. I have a darker more serious side that I use poetry to keep at bay. Ultimately I can only write poems that want to be written. I have finally created an Insyagram account to be able to read other people's poems I tried to write another post yesterday morning but I am still trying to write it.
I think form as a vehicle for meaning is overlooked. I read an analysis of John Dryden's ' on the death of Purcell' recently. Dryden mixed Iambic pentameter, trimester and diameter with no metrical pattern over the verses so it sounded like a song. Dryden and Purcell apparently worked together. (Sorry I have subverted your post to include my own musings) This Ode I found very emotionally stirring. The emotions I try to capture are those invoked by everyday living (hope that makes sense) Bizarrely, when I feel intense emotion about something the musings become very cliched.