Maureen Hynes : part four

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

Poetry can work in so many modes and genres and topics– purely emotional, narrative or historical, scientific, biographical. But I think, at its core, and no matter its subject matter, poetry is a form that usually relies on cadence and sound and music more than others; that somehow manages to present some piercing truths or perceptions that get overlaid or overlooked in our day-to-day lives; and often –not with every poet, but many-- seeks to intensify by distilling or condensing language. That mysterious process of revealing more by saying less. Poetry can also be a way to play with language that other literary forms tend to make less use of.