The Poem
What is a Poem?
I ask this because people argue about what is and isn't a poem.
Everyone seems to have a different idea of what poetry is.
For example, of the five statements below, which, if any, would you agree with?
a)'Poetry is old-fashioned and found in books written by dead people.'
b)'Poetry is difficult, boring and written so that people like me can't understand it. '
c)'Poetry is a torture device used in schools.'
d)'Poetry has to rhyme.'
e)'Poetry has nothing to do with my life.'
I'd say that a) b) and c) are true - though not always, d) is not true and e) is just tragic.
a) Poetry is sometimes old-fashioned and found in books written by dead people
But it is also the free-styling flow of Jay-Z or the street-wise lyrics of Lily Allen.
b) Poetry is sometimes difficult, boring and written so that normal people can't understand it
Different strokes for different folks! Perhaps poems that baffle or bore you today will become meaningful and important to you at another point in your life. In the meantime, find the poetry that speaks to you - and just as importantly, create the kind of poetry that you want to have in the world, that speaks to people like you right now.
c) Poetry is a torture device used in schools
Hmmm. Back in the day, when I was young (in the mists of time, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth), I had an English teacher who loved poetry. Lessons with her were inspiring and she taught me to see that poetry can make ordinary, everyday words shine. Then she left and the new English teacher seemed to hate poetry even more than he hated teaching, children or life itself. If you have one of these teachers, perhaps you could write a poem about them. Poetry is useful for channelling negative emotions and can make you feel better about all kinds of bad stuff. Good luck.
d) Poetry has to rhyme. But not all the time.
And sometimes, more fun rhymes come mid-line.
e) Poetry is essential to living life well.
For me, poetry is everywhere, on the streets, in people's voices and the way they speak, in every tear or laugh, in every night sky, drop of rain, moment of joy or pain. Anyone who has a heart and feelings, basically, every human being, has both the possibility and the need for poetry in their life. Poetry is a muscle of the imagination - it helps us make sense of the world when it is painful and doesn't make sense. It helps us to value the beauty and joy around us. Some people never use their imaginations and some people never develop their poetic muscles. What a waste. Poetry is like any other muscle - if you don't use it, you lose it. It's up to you to make sure that you've got yours.
Poetry means different things to different people and you need to work out what poetry means to you. This is one of the most important things you can do in order to write a good performance poem.
What poetry means to me
To me, poetry is where you use words in a way that creates magic in the minds of the listener. You do this by using style and techniques, like rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, description, metaphor, metonym and simile - all those things we learn about in Literature and Literacy lessons. To me, poetry can look like a bunch of words on a page or almost sound as if it could be ordinary, everyday speech - but for that secret magic ingredient which makes the words shine. I always think about how sea-water washes over pebbles and suddenly, they sparkle with hidden colour and depth.
(For certain people, this is too wishy-washy a definition and they get a bit upset and say things like 'well in that case, there are no rules and anything can be poetry'. Sometimes I like to wind these people up by saying, things like 'Rap/graffiti/stand-up comedy is the new poetry'.)
This is one of the most important things you can do in order to write a good performance poem.
Q:WHY?
A: Because you are going to stand up and deliver your poem to an audience. These people are listening to what you have to say! You are representing who you are and what you stand for in the most powerful and basic way and to do that with any authority, you must feel confident that your poem is worth hearing.
Quick exercise
Sometimes it helps to think about what something is not in order to think about what it is. Here's a writing game in the form of a list poem - it doesn't prove or disprove anything, but hopefully it will get you thinking.
© Francesca Beard
