Whether you like yours traditional, free, in protest,
spoken, stirred, allegorical, narrative, or in iambic pentameter,
poetry is best served hot.
I had a teacher in the fourth grade that used to require us to memorize
a poem a week that we had to recite in front of the whole class.
Amazing how nimble the young mind is. I remember reading over poems
3-5 times and learning them by heart. Now a days it takes a bit more
practice, but I find myself piling the staple of the oral and written
poem on my plate frequently.
Sadly, outside of the traditional Easter Poems, and occasional class
lessons, it seemed the poem may die a bitter death as it competed
with novels, technicolor television frequencies, and music videos.
Thank God, the poem is back! Folks are doing some really interesting
stuff as spoken word and free verse are fused with musical genres.
The question begs to be asked.. Has poetry influenced your life? What poet
influenced your life, and why?
2 comments:
I love poetry! Sadly, however, I don't have a favorite poet - illustrating your point about the poem possibly having died a bitter death. We learned a multitude of poems in high school and I still remember two very well. The Rainy Day by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. The Rainy Day always comforts me when things are going bad and Stopping By Woods always makes me want to explore some new places. I keep saying that I am going to devote more of my time and energy reading great literature, but I seemed to have missed out on the poetry! Do you have any poets or poetry books you would recommend?
You know, it is hard for me to name a collection, but anything by Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes are always a good start. I'm also fond of Walt Whitman, Sonya Sanchez, and at times Jessica Care Moore and Saul Williams.
I have to say that Langston Hughes is still my favorite. :)
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