Poetry and me

In my 8th grade yearbook, my future occupation is listed as a "famed poet". I was thinking about this after I took a quiz on Facebook which indicated my writing style was most like William Blake who was described as "one of the most creative minds there has ever been." I presume this is to suggest that I have a creative writing style. Debatable, certainly. (As a contrast, several friends have writing styles compared to Jack Kerouac: "right here, right now.") This highly amuses me because while I like some of William Blake, he is far from my favorite poet. And, I am certainly not a "famed poet", creative or otherwise.

From about age 12 to age 25 or so, I liked to write poetry. This urge has resurfaced at various times, usually when falling in love or breaking up. (Nothing so original about that!) Some of this poetry was ok on a juvenile level. Naturally, most of it was unadulterated dreck. But I was passionate about my poetry writing and miss the quiet mediation on words it was to me. I love words. I like to learn them; to use them; to abuse them; to mull them; to make love to them; to savor them. Poetry was a good venue to revel in words.

I love etymology for the same reason I love poetry: words. One of my favorite classes ever was a course on the history of the English language. Ah, me!

The best thing about having written and having loved poetry is that I've always enjoyed it and have never been afraid of it. When I was an adjunct English professor, I was astonished to discover how many of my students were petrified of poetry, even children's nursery rhymes. (I taught children's literature.) My own kids, like most kids, love poetry's rhythms. How could they not? They are learning their native tongue and before we read, we speak. Our ancestors could speak for thousands of generations before they could read. Poetry is a natural, beautiful manifestation of language. It saddens me that so many fear it because of...the way they were taught...its elitist connotation...its disappearance from daily life...

I am old school. I prefer dead white guys' poetry. John Donne is my favorite if I have to pick. John Milton is another. Of course, Shakespeare makes the cut. So does Edgar Allen Poe. My favorite female poets are Emily Dickinson and Adrienne Rich. Conventional. But that's ok. Their poetry is timeless. Which is why they are "famed poets." As far as I am concerned, all poets have creative minds.