Lately I’ve been delving into poetry. Mostly reading, but sometimes writing, too. I torture my friends with my 3am inspirations and first drafts of poems that I wrote on jotterpad when sleep wouldn’t come, but I don’t regret it because it’s fun, and because it makes sense.
The poetry out there is beautiful and fascinating and inspirational and many more adjectives that have a warm and motivational feeling.
I have no idea where the urge came for me to read poetry. At school, I steadied my fair share, but it was rare that I would find it interesting. The analysis of the poems was straightforward and focused on exams, and as a result it didn’t leave any space for our own interpretation. I think my recent venture into it started with listening to a poem Gwendolyn Brooks read herself. I was fascinated, so little words, such a beautiful music, and so it became imperative for me to find and read more. Especially modern poetry.
Youtube is a great source of recommendation, and through this video by Jen Campbell my journey begun.
Below are some links of poems that I really like.
- Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks. Gwendolyn Brooks is reading it and it’s magnificent.
- Ugly by Warshan Shire
- If I should have a daughter… by Sarah Kay in a wonderful Ted talk
- tended, tangled and veined by Kayla Whaley
- This is a photograph of me by Margaret Atwood
- The Monogram by Odysseas Elytis (I can find a link to this poem in Greek – Το Μονόγραμμα- but I cannot find an official free translation in English on the web.)
You can also find many poems at poets.org and spoken poetry on youtube.
I know first-hand that poetry isn’t for everyone or that it might take a few tries and poets and poems to get into it, and even then, many people won’t like it. I still don’t know what makes one poem different from the other or why I like the ones I do. But I believe it’s worth a try to figure out what works for you.
I believe that the answer to your question has to do with 2 factors: a) there are topics that just speak to us because of lived experiences/ nostalgia, b) how authentic and innovative we find the words of the poet affects our perception of it and what relationship we develop with it.
Yes, to both. Also, I think timing is important. Where we are at life and what we need to express what we’re experiencing.