Pet Peeve #52 - Elitist Poets
I like poetry. I truly do. Poetry can be beautiful and present images and emotions in ways prose can’t.
What I don’t like are poets who write something that I and no one else can understand. I and the other readers go on to comment about how we don’t understand it. Then the poet goes on to make comments like “Well, it’s just too deep for you then” or “It’s not my problem if you can’t understand my message”.
It’s happened more than once.
If you’re talking about iridescent lilies in the sky and mean it to represent your relationship with your father, that’s fine. But as a writer and poet, it’s your job to make sure your readers understand it as well.
If your readers come back to you not understanding, then maybe you should take a hint.
Excuse me, but if I don’t understand what you’re talking about, I’m not going to nod along and talk about how deep and meaningful your poetry is.
If other people understand it, okay. There are probably a lot of things I don’t understand that other people do. However, if you have to explain what your poem means to the majority of people who read/hear it, maybe you should take the hint.
Just because you’re a poet doesn’t mean you aren’t a writer. If you write purely for yourself, fine. But if you write with the intention of having an actual audience, then you need to pay attention and adjust if people simply don’t understand.
Being too vague never helped anyone.
March 13th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
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