Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.~Edgar Allan Poe
Today is World Poetry Day. Bet you didn't know that. I didn't either until I ran across the fact quite by accident. Made me wish I'd saved my post on Tom Mach's poetry book, The Museum Muse, until today. UNESCO created the day in 1999 to celebrate the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry. That's 15 years ago but it's not a day we circle on the calendar or look forward to, is it?
For those of us who write, be it prose or poetry, it should be a day of interest. Also for people who enjoy reading poetry. I remember very little of what we were taught about poetry in grade school and high school. We were exposed to it but I had few teachers who helped me embrace either reading or writing it. The approach, as I remember, was more clinical in nature. We were given many poems to memorize but I have no memory of a teacher helping us see the beauty of some of the phrases in poems. If we were taught how to write poetry, it must have been on a day I was absent!
Even so, I have written poetry, even had some published and won a contest with one. I cannot recite the techniques of writing poetry to you but I know what is in my heart and can put it into words on occasion. I don't write a lot of poetry and do so only when the mood moves me. A true poet gets moved to pen a poem on a regular basis. I guess I'm a 'sometimes' poet.
I will admit that much of poetry remains a "Huh?" situation with me. I frequently wonder what some poets are attempting to convey. Some of the metaphors used can escape me until someone points them out to me. Besides that, there is much I enjoy in poetry. Because I'm a word person, I can pick out many phrases that are particularly beautiful or poignant and be satisfied with that.
Many people have favorite poets. Did you ever ask yourself why certain poets appeal more to you than others?
If you've never read or written poetry, you should give it a try. Since today is World Poetry Day, read a poem or write one. Maybe more than one.
Sorry I haven't been commenting, but I do read your posts. Mr. Poe is probably my favorite poet. I once had a volume of his work, but when my daughter was in high school, it got lost somewhere. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a poet, but my grandmother wrote poetry. I've admired her work and of ten wish I could write as well. She passed away when I was 8 years old. Sure wish she was still here when I decided to try my hand at writing. A favorite poem is Henry Wadsworth Longfellows The Courtship of Miles Standish. It is about Miles Standish trying to woo Priscilla Mullins, who lost her to John Alden, my great (several times) grandfather. So it has family history. I know it is World Poetry Day, but I'll leave the writing to you. I will make sure to read a poem or two tonight. Perhaps some my Grandma Cather wrote.
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