What Makes the Poet?
The Yellowed Page
Volume 3, Issue 3 (February 28)
About the Title
⠀ When first deciding on the title for this expository piece, I wondered which would be more appropriate: the definite article or the indefinite article. Did I want to discuss what makes the poet, or what makes a poet?
⠀ No doubt, some readers would be wondering what difference it makes. I could have used either, but one is far more significant. This choice may seem trivial at first, but using the wrong word can prove detrimental.
⠀ A poet and the poet could mean the same poet, but the implication of the first is that it could refer to any poet (person) who calls themselves a poet. This is a general description of someone who ventures into the realm of writing poetry, or at least what they call poetry. Naturally, what we call poetry is subject to personal opinion.
⠀ The poet implies one of higher standing. The poet is different from a poet. The poet is the poet everyone, including the wannabe, wants to be. They are the epitome of what it means to be a true poet, being altogether different from a person who dabbles in versification. Essentially, what I have here are my thoughts on what makes a true and real poet, the poet.
⠀ We need to ask ourselves which poet do we want, wish, desire, or yearn to be? A poet or the poet? No doubt, for those who (insert appropriate intransitive verb here) will want to be the poet. Those who enjoy the occasional dabbling in verse will be as content to be a poet.
⠀ Admittedly, the desire to be the poet does have some hints of egotism. The point of being a good, great, or the best poet is not to let ego play its part. Ego has no place for a poet, and no place for the poet. Pride on occasions, but never ego.
Is Everyone a Poet?
Everyone is born a poet - a person discovering the way words sound and work, caring and delighting in words. I just kept on doing what everyone starts out doing. The real question is: Why did other people stop?
—William Stafford
⠀ These are wonderful and inspiring words, but they are overly romantic. The thought is nice, and in a way, Stafford is correct, if your interest is in poetry to begin with.
⠀ We find the first part of this quotation often used to justify what anyone writes is poetry. What we find today is that there is little difference between a lot of poetry and prose.
⠀ As for the quotation, I have to disagree that "Everyone is born a poet!" I do not see that this could ever be true. As I said before, a nice sentiment, but not everyone is into poetry in the way he describes it. However, Stafford is correct in stating that a poet delights in words and sounds.
⠀ Today, with what we see as poetry, we should ask ourselves: What happened? It may be possible that what we are seeing does not agree with our notions of what poetry should be, yet something has definitely changed.
⠀ A popular misconception is that everyone is born a poet. I think that the so-called poets of today, or those who call themselves poets (pseudo-vers libre), have forgotten the beauty of words. They have forgotten how the sounds can combine to create a melody or symphony that compels one to listen. This, of course, is if the poem is read out loud, another activity that is rarely exercised. Technology today has a lot to answer for.
⠀ Regardless of what people think, not everyone can be a poet. Yes, the pseudo-vers libre commonly writes down the first thing that comes to mind, with no revision or rewriting; this is a poem. Publish! This is such a great shame because these people could do better, but they are not inclined to accept any criticism. Afterall, what would anyone else know?
⠀ The full quotation makes for a different interpretation. Much of what has happened over the years is due to laziness and a lack of discipline. People will look for the easy way out, and I suppose we are all guilty of doing this, but there is no easy way to produce quality verse. If writing and marketing poetry were easy, everyone would be doing it.
⠀ The downside is that it would all become repetitive and boring. Soon, the new standard becomes mediocre. If we follow this trend, then poetry has become ridiculously simple to write, which in effect means that it's not poetry but pseudo-poetry at best!
Why Can't Everyone Be a Poet?
⠀ As individuals, we may have different notions of what makes a poem. We would all be in agreement that the single most horrendous aspect is that of terrible rhythm. This applies to both formal verse and vers libre.
⠀ All poets need a grounding in formal poetry. Whether you agree is irrelevant, but there are more reasons for it than against.
⠀ Today's proponents of vers libre are somewhat of an embarrassment if one looks at how poetry has been written, and compares it to how it should be written. Contrary to popular belief, vers libre is not an easy style to write. For most efforts, what we are seeing is merely butchered prose, which means little, if anything at all. As Auden once stated: One needs a very discerning ear to determine line (verse) breaks. Vers libre has more in common with formal verse than some poets would care to admit. Without even an elementary grounding in formal verse, the vers libre poet will always struggle with rhythm. In some cases, it's even questionable whether the result would be good prose.
⠀ Added to this problem, there is the reliance on images or photographs lifted from somewhere or someone else. These almost always make the poem better. The eyes are more easily satisfied than the ears, and when this style of poem (pseudo-poem) is read out loud well, what of it? Everything is lost because it is the photograph that contains the message, not the words and their sounds.
⠀ Yet, all this should not stop people from trying at least a few times, but they need to realize or at least accept their limitations. Some people do become proficient in their work and move away from being a versifier or poetaster to a poet.
I WANT to Be a POET
⠀ Anyone can be a pseudo-vers libre poet, and this is what we see. To the detriment of poesy, it is fast becoming the norm. You will find this poetry dull and uninspiring because everyone does it. This newer style has made writing a poem, so they say, ridiculously simple.
⠀ It is common for the pseudo-vers libre poet to try their hand at formal verse. This is what I call the quasi-formalist. At this stage, they can produce poetry of a reasonable standard. The main difficulty observed is the lack of consistency in rhythm. Recall that meter is organized rhythm. There can be a sudden change in difficulty as the poet endeavors to come to grips with the restrictive nature of the forms. (This is too hard! Too many rules! Unoriginal! and so on.) Attempts at justifying their lack of discipline and ability, ultimately see them reverting to the pseudo-vers libre. There they will stay, never becoming a poet, yet they will refer to themselves as one.
⠀ The next phase requires a great deal of effort, and this is why it is not for everyone. A lot of study, practice, and reading is necessary. They must also be open to advice from other poets, and in some cases actively seek advice. They will write a lot of rubbish in the process, but some of their work will be first-class. Perseverance will always pay.
⠀ Even at this stage, the bold quasi-formalist may decide that they know better. Who wants to challenge William McGonagall for the title of the worst poet? In his case, all he took away was that verses should rime. For him, this was the only requirement for a poem. He produced a lot of what I might call pseudo-formal work, but it had terrible rhythm and forced rimes. As history would have it, he is noted for his incompetence rather than skill.
⠀ If you make it through this stage, you can smile and perhaps take some pride in your work, but keep the ego under control or suffer the consequences.
⠀ Success means that you have become a formalist poet. This does not mean that everything you write is perfect, but it is well-formed, structured verse. Something interesting can occur at this point; a poet could become a poet in vers libre. Armed with the knowledge of sounds, rhythm, skill of verse (line) breaks, spacing, indentation, enjambment, and so on, the vers libre poet can now write their poems using the necessary tools.
⠀ The problem is that most poets never leave the pseudo-vers libre stage, and so will never experience the satisfaction of writing true vers libre. For some reason, people think that vers libre (free-verse) is easy to write. What a great misunderstanding that is!
⠀ The last stage is where we would all like to be, and some will make it. The secret to become the poet is to remain a lifelong student of poetry.
Is There Such a Person as a Full-Time Poet?
⠀ Is it possible today, or was it ever possible, to be a full-time poet? In earlier times, the poet had another occupation, sponsored in some manner, or was independently wealthy. It would be rare for a poet to make a comfortable living from their poetry alone.
It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it.
—W. H. Auden (The Dyer's Hand)
⠀ Anyone who enjoys writing poetry and has some popularity would jump at the chance to be a full-time poet, or would they? Poets like Auden and Eliot had to rely on other means to support their work. Often, it has been far more profitable to write about poetry than practice it. We should ask ourselves if this is a realistic goal. A couple of questions to consider:
- What would a full-time poet do?
- Is anyone capable of producing their best poetry every day?
⠀ First, well, they would write poetry. No surprises there, yet to write on demand or expect your best every day is foolish. It will not happen, even for the poet laureate who has the unenviable task of writing poetry for special occasions, even if they are not interested in the event. Imagine how difficult the task would be. As for the second, the laureate is subject to the same failings as any other poet; the more forced, the likelier poems of mediocre quality will be produced. A poet never wants to be known for mediocre work else any interest in them will fade.
Should Poets Be Prolific?
⠀ As much as any poet likes to write, they need to realize that there will be a lot of, let's say, rubbish, with a few good poems in between. As I have stated before, 95% is rubbish, 4% is excellent, and 1% is immortal! Personally, I can attest to writing a lot of rubbish, but I am content with the final 5%. By immortal, I mean that no one else would have been capable of writing those poems.
⠀ Thus, it comes as no surprise that the poet has some important decisions to make to decide which of their poems they should publish. Publishing everything would be foolish; it's better to publish a small number of high-quality poems than include a whole lot of mediocre poems.
What Makes a Poet Different?
⠀ We may be tempted to assume that a poet is not a great deal different from any other form of writer, for example, a novelist. All writers are concerned with getting their ideas down in a comprehensible manner. So too, the devices they use are similar, but will vary according to personal taste. Of course, it has something to do with the nature of the person. Not everyone can be a poet, no matter how hard they try.
⠀ We are finding that the person who takes on poetry is changing. They have been changing over the last century, and not a great deal of what we see is good. The bar has certainly fallen.
⠀ The pseudo-vers libre poet is looking for something easy. This ease requires no effort, but with no effort, there can be no gain. To appreciate anything, there must be quality, not quantity. ⠀ Quantity is not a problem for the pseudo-vers libre poet. They can, as well as anyone else, scratch this out all day, every day. Anyone can do it! For quality, we expect much more.
⠀ The poet should have a reasonable understanding of writing verse. This would be the expectation of any reader of poetry, but that expectation is disappearing, and the reader does not realize what is happening. The pseudo-vers libre poet has flooded the market with their nonsense. Traditional publishing houses are also at fault for aiding this perverse change in poetry. We now have publishers dictating what we should read. It may well be the case that it has always been this way. The point is that the unaware reader has been led up the proverbial garden path.
⠀ The poet is changing from one who took pride in their art. They made every effort to express themselves using the formal structures that have survived for centuries. Today, the poet has changed into someone who wants the most recognition with the least effort. When this occurs, something has to happen, and this accelerates the death of poesy.
Final Comments
⠀ Nothing of quality is written quickly or in large quantities; to do so necessitates the work being substandard or mediocre. Avoiding these problems requires revision and rewriting where appropriate, or perhaps scrapping. The poet today needs to be discerning.
⠀ No one can be taught how to be a poet, but they can be shown the relevant guidelines and how they can be utilized. Whether the person is capable or feels it worthwhile depends on their liking and passion for poetry. The style of poetry is irrelevant, but practice, perseverance, study, and dedication are essential. Not everyone can be a poet!