poetry eh?

Writing poetry or writing about poetry? I am going to have to guess most people would say creating poetry is more fun and more interesting than writing about published poetry. I would tend to agree with them.

It is a pretty close race in my mind but I have good reasons for liking to write than to write about, mostly the creativity. When you write about poetry it seems like you are just writing about someone else's ideas. You can make new ideas about what a poem means but you are never really sure it is true or not because really the only true authority of meaning is the author them self and most of the time they aren't talking for one reason or another. At least this is my belief. When you create yourself, on the other hand, you can make it mean whatever you want. Ironic, mean spirited, happy, sad, whatever; it is you and nothing else. Creation is also much more satisfying than regurgitation.

The one advantage to writing about is that it is safe. You write what you think something means and if you are wrong, oh well, I misinterpreted but it isn't a big deal because sometimes it is trial and error. You may not be familiar with some of the experience the poem contains in its ideas and you could hardly be accountable for something like that, at least in the context of being a student in a classroom. But when you create a poem you are putting yourself out there for everyone to see. People are basically getting a flash of your soul and that can be scary. The anxiety of not being good enough or interesting enough creates a lot of pressure as well. You can find meaning in someone else's work if you look long enough and in the right places, but your creativity is all you and only you.

In the end for me the satisfaction outweighs the anxiety just enough for me to put myself out there for all to see.