Hi friends. It's been awhile since I've blogged. I thought that when I graduated I'd have more time to do all the things I love to do, but somehow my time has still been filled. I have been writing some, though, and my literary journal is now over a month old. So I guess all is not lost.
Since receiving submissions and reading a few of them to my husband, we've had this on-going debate about poetry. He loves traditional rhyme and hates the new free verse, anti-rhyme style that has become popular. A part of me agrees with him. What happened to the Frost, Dickinson, Tennyson, Browning, etc. style poets?
I recently read Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler (which is fabulous, btw.) and in it F. Scott Fitzgerald says, "The smart literary son kills his own father." My question is must we kill our literary fathers? Why not build on all the greatness before us and add our own seasoning? I, personally, am moved by Victorian poetry and the idea of killing Bronte, Browning, and Tennyson is horrific. To me, these people were/are the definition of poets.
Contemporary poetry is now Picasso - abstract. They're vividly descriptive, but the meanings are sometimes completely elusive. This type of poetry is okay with me. I can see the art in it just as I can see the art in Picasso's work, but what saddens me is that there is little to no place for the traditional style anymore. If what Dali and Warhol produced is art, then why can't a modern Rembrandt be art too?
Think about your favorite poet. What do you like about their poetry? If you like it so much, why would you change the formatting? If it's not broke, why fix it?
When the novel first appeared on the literary scene, it was considered trash literature and only suitable for women. Poetry was premium literature. Now their roles have reversed. I think the reason is because modern poetry has become so abstract that few people, outside the true literary-minded, can discern its beauty.
This is just food for thought. I'm sure I won't revolutionize the poetry market with my observations, but maybe if we start being open to writing in rhyme again, the market will follow. Who knows?
*If you'd like to read more of my quirky, literary thoughts see "Confessions of a Serious Writer" , a guest post I wrote for the brilliant Ashley Chappell.
