Why do I write poetry when I’m not very good at it? Primarily, I create poems as a prose-writing exercise. By writing poetry I practice being precise in my word choices in order to create vivid images in as few words as possible– striking and colorful nouns, lively and intense verbs, fewer adjectives and adverbs. I create poems to improve the lyrical flow of my prose-writing.
So that’s one reason.
I discovered a second reason I write poetry: it is therapeutic. I certainly do not set out to write poems about my inner well-being (or lack thereof on certain days). While engaging in the April NaPoWriMo Challenge (writing a poem a day for 30 days), I found that some of the poems I wrote “took over” and out came some of my issues. So obvious this was to me that I am now researching the use of poetry for emotional healing and resolution. Poetry writing could become a daily meditative practice and inner work. I’ll see where that leads me.
Here are a couple of media resources I came across that you may find of interest:
A podcast episode of Poetry Spoken Here devoted to Poetry Therapy
And these Tedx Talks on the same subject:
It has been a long April so I am off to rest now.
ljg 2019
Miss Pelican's Perch 