Poetry: What is It?

What is poetry? The artist in us will revolt, even rebuke the attempt to define poetry. Nevertheless, this literary form or genre called poetry transcends our feelings. The genre must be preserved. And in that context, there is an obligation that the poet (and other writers) at least attempt to recognize that there is a difference between poetry and prose, regardless of how much that boundary might be blurred.

Before I attempt to answer this question, I want to address another one: Why is poetry important? In answering this, the original question will be partially answered in the process.

In the February 2010 winter issue of Liquid Imagination (Issue 5), I have an essay called “Why Poetry?” Why is poetry important to me and to the world? The short answer is because it is a literary treasure. An excerpt from the essay posits, “There are some remarkably distinguishing features that poetry might possess that other literary forms might not. Poetry will possess, more often than not in contradistinction to prose, some of the following: emotional impact that might be revelatory about the human condition, fresh distilled language with the rhythm of the ocean, often imbued with metaphor and imagery (or a host of other poetic devices), often layered with more than one meaning and cast in an effective structural form. And it is through these things that help make the inexpressible, expressible. This allows the intensity of connecting with the reader to be amplified. In my opinion, there is no other linguistic form that allows such a wide emotional dynamic range than poetry.”

In that essay, I mention the things that I think are important in poetry—critical elements—that I have determined by a judicious examination of various poetic forms through its history for a commonality. I see these things (in varying proportion) in ancient Hebraic poetry seen in sacred literature, Classic Greek poetry like Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, Traditional form poetry, such as the Shakespearean sonnet, and Modern poetry, which is mostly free verse, arguably popularized by Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. A form which is ubiquitous in most journals today.

My earlier investigation did not go much beyond that. But in all fairness, the anecdote should be addressed, too, because we see a lot of it in today’s publications, even though it appears more like prose because of its easy prose-like language that might include dialog. Anecdotes, little bits of narrative salvaged from some memory, seem easy to write. However, the mere tacking on of a punch line in an attempt to give the poem significance is not satisfying. In his book, “The Poetry Home Repair Manual” (University of Nebraska Press, 2005), Ted Kooser, U. S. Poet Laureate (2004-2006), stresses that “a poem must be something more than an anecdote arranged in lines” (p. 85). Most of us call this “cut-up prose.” He continues to say, “don’t rely on just the details of a good story to lift it into poetry…The story itself is merely the material. You have to do something special with that material if you want it to be a poem” (p. 91). And now I can safely concur without fear of impeachment.

There is a temptation for a poet to call his work poetry out of intent to write poetry, as if the proclamation validates the assertion, and that it should not be contested. Out of respect to the poet, we humor him; out of respect to Poetry, we gently advise or at least question, lest a dangerous precedent would be set. (Perhaps this is already the case.) But I have digressed.

For now, let me leave you with the thoughts of some publishers concerning what they seek in poetry submissions. The list of venues has been randomly selected from Newpages. (It is noteworthy that many well-established journals don’t even define what they want. They expect you to already know what good poetry is and also expect you to read their previous issues.) You will be able to draw your own conclusions and at least have a better feeling for what poetry is today when you examine the following statements and the information in this essay.

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American Literary Review
“The poetry we search out should challenge the reader’s imagination through fresh language, precise imagery, formal artistry, and it should demonstrate an attention to the craft and tradition of poetry. We tend to prefer poems that are pleasing to the ear as well as the imagination.”

Beloit Poetry Journal
“Once in a while, I’ll pick up a lit mag and read a great poem by someone I’ve never heard of. A poem that knocks me down and steals my shoes and makes me walk back to my own poor town over rocks and thorns. A poem that knocks the oomph out of my status quo. A poem I want to read to everybody. One that works and risks while it works. The Beloit Poetry Journal offers such poems.”

“We are always watching for new poets, quickened language, and poems that offer a new purchase on the political or social landscape.”

The Comstock Review
“What we like to see is well-crafted poetry, either free or formal verse, written in understandable and grammatically correct English. We like metaphor and fresh, vivid imagery. It can be about any subject, although we have a slight bias toward poems dealing with the human condition in all its poignancy and humor.”

Indiana Review
“We look for poems, stories, and nonfiction that are well-crafted and lively, have an intelligent sense of form and language, assume a degree of risk, and have consequence beyond the world of their speakers or narrators.”

Rattle
“We’re looking for poems that move us, pieces that might make us laugh or cry, or teach us something new… and only those that are unique, insightful, and musical stand out.”

The Spoon River Poetry Review
“publishes high-quality poems in any style that are as intellectually and emotionally ambitious as they are attentive to technique.”
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So when you see a poem that looks like prose that has been versified, ask yourself the question, “How is this different from prose?” If there isn’t some striking difference, then it’s probably nothing more than cut-up prose.

JCM August 2010