Lessons Learned from...Poetry

We don't read poetry like we used to. We still study poems in school; we still acknowledge poets at prestigious award ceremonies; but how often do you see someone leafing through Leaves of Grass on the subway? Exactly. I attempted to revive poetry last autumn. I loftily headed out and bought a volume of Christina Rossetti (there's nothing life reading "Goblin Market" on a crisp fall day) and tried to read it like a novel. It didn't quite work, but more annoyingly, I didn't know why it didn't quite work. I suppose it was because reading poems is so much more labor intensive than reading a novel. There is the multi-layered meaning, jungle gym of language and general density to a (good) poem.

Poetry and Poets teach us to take our time, to meander in this über-efficient and ultra-sonic world. It's a hard lesson for me to learn. I love 'getting things done' and 'crossing it off my list'. I often jump into projects without fully considering all the ramifications. But poetry lives in the ramifications.

I came across an interesting poetry form while reading the Griffin shortlist this year. P.K. Page's book of Glosas were so engaging I decided to try to write one myself. Here goes...