Writing Poetry—Yay or Nay? Guest Post from Susanne Loxton

woman-writing_danr13Writing poetry for enjoyment as well as publishing it for the world to see might serve as a great way of testing your writing skills in a new environment and sharing your personal experiences and observations with others. However, the field of poetry is an industry of its own, and writing poems for your own pleasure or in hopes of letting your prospective readers in on your vision of the world around may come with both rewards and challenges.

Here are six pros and cons of writing—and publishing—poetry.

Pros

1. Creative Expression
Creative expression is greatly undervalued in the world today. Where do we get an opportunity to share our own unique view of the world with others in a way that resonates with us on a deep, soulful level? Writing poetry gives us that chance. Poetry is a vehicle of expression that creates a safe place for us to share our unique humanity.

2. Contributing to the World
Literature gives us a way to understand the world around us. When we read stories and poems we realise that others have experienced the same emotions as we have. It shows us that life is eternal in its suffering but also in its joy. Without people taking the time and initiative to sit down and craft those stories and poems we wouldn’t have that—and I believe that life would be greatly poorer for it.

3. Increased Intellectual Fluidity
Writing a good, technically accomplished poem requires both a knowledge of poetic techniques and an understanding of how to apply them. As you grow more accomplished in your writing you start to think with a mind for syllables and sounds, you consider beat and rhythms. As you mold your poem into its final shape you give your brain quite a workout. This is great for helping younger minds to develop and keeping ageing minds young. Talk about a win-win situation.

Cons

1. Dwindling Art Form
Unfortunately, the numbers of people reading and writing poetry are dropping day by day. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but with the rise of technology, our attention spans are getting shorter. Poetry is often found hard to understand simply because of the level of attention to detail that’s required to draw a full reading of a poem. We may lament it, but it is simply a fact of life today.

2. Limited Remuneration
Although money is by no means all that matters in life, we do need to be able to sustain ourselves in order to be able to continue our work. Poetry collections do not sell in great numbers and so the publishing deals that you may get offered won’t be that lucrative. So, unless the revenue you could receive from your work is not as important to you as the outreach of your writing, its amount may serve as a major discouragement to pursue your poetry aspirations.

3. Poetry Takes Time to Perfect
Poetry is an art form which just like any other art requires lots of practice to perfect. What this means in practical terms is that it can take time before you are at a level where your work will reflect your actual skills or publishers see enough value in your work to deem it publishable. Of course, there is always the route of self-publishing but this requires a lot of work on your part to get your work into the shops so that readers can actually buy it.

Poetry is a special art form, and many professional writers may have an inside desire to pursue it as an additional source of income or just as their way to express their outlook in rhymes and polish their craft in a different than usual way. As any other type of writing, it has its positive as well as negative sides, and now that you’re aware of both you can make a more informed decision of whether you are willing to give it a try. Good luck!

Author Bio: Susanne Loxton is an experienced writer with a passion for learning and education. On a daily basis, Susanne works for Aubiz, a compendium of knowledge about companies in her native Australia. Follow her on Twitter @LoxtonSusanne.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/danr13

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