My 360 blog entry for November 19, 2008!.
http://blog!.360!.yahoo!.com/blog-F9aIuM0ka!.!.!.
My experience over many years is that there is a poetry "establishment" that runs the organizations and contests and effectively establishes the standards that we are all to swallow unthinking!. Generally speaking, there is a kind of elitism involved, because if you do not meet their criteria and standards, of course, you are not accepted, awarded, acclaimed, recognized, published, etc!. It all seems like a cozy little, self-serving club to me, of course, as an "outsider"!. If I liked there criteria and standards for what is "good" poetry, I perhaps would not have a gripe!. But I think the so-called "modern" poetry has "gone off the deep end"!. Most of what I have seen being published and winning contests is, quite simply, in my humble opinion, terrible!. What I see happening is an increasing degree of "abstraction" to the point that you cannot understand what they are talking about!. Poems make no sense!. And, I feel that this reflects a kind of arrogance by the artists!. If they put out their material to the public, why not make at least an attempt to communicate!. Clearly 99 percent of the population cannot comprehend 99 percent of the modern fare!. Now this results in a loss to both ends!. The audience loses, because they cannot enjoy or be enlightened, and the poets lose, because the audience for poetry has clearly been continually shrinking, to the point where it has become very small!. At Yahoo! Answers, we write poetry "for the common people", i!.e!. poetry that you can understand!. What is amazing about this is that, in doing so, we exclude ourselves virtually automatically from acceptance by the, I'll now label them, elitists!. So! What remains!? I personally believe that we have a fight on our hands, and that is this!. The fight is to regain the poetry audience for the general public by writing better poetry and hoping that people come to their senses and reject abstruse, convoluted encrypted elitist poetry and throw their support behind poetry that reflects more the reality of our lives!. This is what I believe in, and this is what I am and will try to do!. This is s fight, which requires almost a political or social organization; so if you agree that this cause is worth fighting for, please enlist in our "army"!. Be a promoter, in your own way, doing whatever you can!. Support common sense, natural talents and reality in poetry!. Support the poets, who work hard at their craft!. Spread the word!. If possible, others will agree with us!. I believe, truly in my heart that they will, and that this is a cause worth expending some effort in!.
Some SAMPLES of what I'm talking about!.
in just-
in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman
whistles far and wee
and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring
when the world is puddle-wonderful
the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
it's
spring
and
the
goat-footed
balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee
e!.e!. cummingsWww@QuestionHome@Com