Friday, 17 April 2020

Madeleine Barnes : part two

What do you feel poetry can accomplish that other forms can’t?

Poetry gives us a way to voice and visualize experiences in a limited space. For me, the most transformative moments in writing and reading occur when there are restrictions. In poetry especially, you can focus on the joy of imagery, syntax, prosody, precision, and experimentation within the boundaries of a poem or collection of poems. I’m always interested in troubling genre and think poetry offers a brilliant arena for experimentation. You can incorporate different mediums into a piece of writing and call it a poem if it suits your creative sensibilities. Poetry’s visual components can radically change your perception of past and present experiences. Finally, I believe it was Wallace Stevens who wrote, “The purpose of poetry is to contribute to man’s happiness.” The idea that anyone needs to justify poetry is a reflection of intense problems in contemporary society.

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