Poems are supposed to make you think

[Zephalephelah]

My favorite poem ever was from Muhammad Ali. He used to tour colleges & talk to students & try to get them to think. He was a good speaker & quick witted.

After he was finished with a speech, someone said, "give us a quick poem". He returned to the podium and said, "Me, We".


Best poem ever!

[Worm of Despite]

Yeah, I remember hearing about that one a long time ago. I think it's the shortest poem in history, but I'm not sure.

[matrixman]

Sorry, but poetry just isn't for me. I could never get the hang of it; I always felt like the class moron in school when it came to trying to write poems for assignment. It's an art form that remains closed to me. Nope, poetry generally doesn't make me think, it just makes me confused. Give me a straight, well composed sentence or paragraph, thanks.

Although, I don't usually have trouble understanding song lyrics. Then again, they usually aren't as obtuse as "pure" poetry anyway. I believe in the adage: "unless you're a genius, it's best to be intelligible." Or something like that. Can't remember who said it.

[Worm of Despite]

I write poetry to generate an emotion in a person. Even if the emotion is confusion or disgust, then I have succeeded.

[duchess of malfi]

Some poetry is definately geared to make people think...a lot of the twentieth century poets like Elliott (such as his Wastelands) are very much geared to that. I have always thought that poem in particular is poetry's answer to James Joyce's incomprehensible novels like Ulysses.

And others are geared to the heart, such as a lot of love poetry.

And some poets, like Shakespeare, try to accomplish both at once...

Matrixman, in one of my poetry classes, we studied song lyrics quite a bit. To me, lyrics are definately a form of poetry. Some Beatles songs, such as Eleonor Rigby, or some Simon & Garfunkle songs could stand on their own quite well as very good poems. [/i]

[Loredoctor]

I prefer poetry that empowers or releases the human spirit - to make one understand oneself. I also like social commentary; my favourite poet is Wilfred Owen. Poetry which is pure aesthetics annoys me. Oscar Wilde, whilst being one of the greatest writers of the 19th century, also has the most flowery poetry. It's nice, but that's really all it is.

[Worm of Despite]

My favorite poet isn't actually a poet but is a lyricist named Roger Waters. He wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd. I'd also venture to say he was one of the five best writers of music since WWII.

[matrixman]

Well, if song lyrics are good enough for the duchess and Lord Foul, they're good enough for me. That's the kind of poetry I dig. Roger Waters is definitely a songwriter to be reckoned with.