Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Poetry is Many Things

Hi, I've been thinking about poetry, and enjoying the way my thoughts have been going. Poetry is indeed many things, and I wrote the following on a friend's Facebook page recently, in response to " Writers Write"

"Poe-try"

By posting that, what was I trying to put across? My initial thoughts were just to play with the word/words. That's certainly one of the ways at looking at it. But poetry is many things, and playing can lead to doing, and can lead further to presenting in a variety of different ways.

I've been thinking about identity lately, in response I suppose to the Gawler Friends of the Library poetry competition with Identity as its theme. Who am I? What do I do? How do want others to think about me? How do I want to think of myself?

Last week, thoughts like these led me to thinking about, and then writing a 'Rap-style" poem. The poem felt so good to write, that I felt I had to share it with others, so that's what I did on Monday. I'm the "Writer-in-Residence" at Poetic Justice Cafe Gallery three times a week, and Mondy is one of my days there.

I printed out my Rap, on card rather than paper, and in a larger than usual font, so I could more easily read my words, and keep them handy as needed. I read that poem at least five times on Monday, and apparently, every time I read it, I got more into the "Rapper" mode.

So who am I? Wife, mother, writer, dog lover


- yeah sure, I'm all of that. But I'm a Rapper now too, and I'm sharing my word with all of my Sistas, fighting to get the word out about who they are, what they want, all of those things - we all have lives and stories to tell, and don't get in our way, dude, 'cos we are on our way to GOOD things!

Haiku, rap, villanelle, ballads, these are all poetry, give them a TRY and you may be thrilled with the results.