Poetry as art

I have been haunting the literary boards lately, looking at writing submitted by others, and listening (as objectively as possible) to critques about my own.

During this process it seemed to me there seem to be a variety of reasons people write poetry. Some people seem to write to 1) Get in touch with their own emotions; 2) deal with past experiences; and 3) relate to other people. I'm interested in all the reasons people write poetry.

Here are some of my reflections:

When some people write poetry, they seem to examine more deeply their own emotions, in order to accurately share them to others.

Sometimes, people write poetry as therapy. They use the process to purge demons, cement their memories, or describe a state of being or experience.

I also think that people write poetry to share, display, work, and enrich their own lives by connecting with others.

The unique thing about poetry is the artistry.

Each and every poet is an artist.

Sometimes the poetry picture flows and is easy on the eye, and you catch your breath at the wonder of it. Sometimes, it shocks and rips you open. Sometimes, it is vanilla bland, cheesy or mundane.

Perhaps the paint the poet has used is not your favorite color. Perhaps the lines they draw are bolder, or thinner, then you would use. Perhaps the subject is not your favorite... But what you take from the writing, is your unique experience. What you take from the poetry picture, is up to you.


Why do you write?