difficult poems

            I am not a fan of poetry. I never have been, and don’t think I ever will be. My biggest problem with poetry like most people is “difficult poetry”. I don’t know if I accept it as an art form, I look at it more as busy work given by English teachers that have as little idea about what is going on as I do. I bet you know what I am talking about when I refer to these difficult poems, the long poems with random words that may or my not rhyme. These poems tend to contain words I have never heard and never will hear, skewed English that apparently is apt within poetry. However, I know I am not alone.

            Bernstein’s “Attack of the Difficult Poems” shed light to how I feel about poetry. I like how it told me that “Difficult Poems are normal” (4), and how I shouldn’t be ashamed or angry when I encounter one. Rather, I should accept it, as who ever is writing the nonsensical poetry isn’t doing it for the sole purpose to piss me off, even though that’s what it generally seems like. No, they are just writing their poems, and I have the options of either accepting for what they are or getting angry and throwing my laptop.

            I don’t really consider difficult poems to have much value, contrary towards the article. No one really writes a poem just to be difficult. Honestly I’d rather tackle a 250 pound bodybuilder than a 250 lined poem of words I can’t comprehend, but I have to accept that I am not the only person who hates reading them, lots of people hate reading them, or at the very least have difficulty with them.

            I will try to keep this reading in mind when I am forced to encounter some of this difficult poetry. Hopefully, I will be able to handle it masterfully, or at the very least with a brief amount of grace. One of my biggest fears within the creative writing program is spending the entire time analyzing poetry, then going into a world where that is probably the farthest thing from my mind to actually pursuing. However, contrary to what I said earlier, I do acknowledge poetry as and art form, even if it is a frustrating one. I want to write for a living, I have a lot of good ideas and stories in my head even if they don’t come out so great a good deal of the time. As redundant as it is, I’m using this blog post to remind me to not over react towards poetry, rather use it to become a great writer.