Rhyme or Reason?

Well, by exploring this web site - http://www.aprweb.org/issues/current/ - I can see that prose poetry is still what is popular. As I said I want to do this book contest; problem is that I have a bunch of rhyme stuff. I enjoy rhyme and think that it should not be extricated in poetry. The methods of the standard types of poetry (Sonnets, Rondeau, Limerick, etc.) require rhyme. I look at what is getting published, and there seems to be a rejection of standard form. It’s curious, for what I can tell is that some people believe that if it rhymes, it is poetry. Others seem to reject rhyme as legitimate modern verse. I like this, “Poets at Work” publication because most of what is in there is traditional rhyme and meter; set form. Yet, I also love to read what is being published in journals like the American Poetry Review. Some of what I read in APR, to me looks like a great deal of aimless pretension rambling on with some hidden purpose, only to be known to the poet. It has an appearance of reason, but yet, it seems like some of it is just crap. NOW, don’t get me wrong! I’m a newcomer to this industry, I don’t have a formal education (so you MUST put little weight in what I say), and all I know is what I have taught myself. I have studied poetry and fiction in college, but that was 15 years ago. Besides, after my illness set in, I haven't retained very much anyway. But I have done a great deal of research on the history of English and American poetry (well, at least some, I think that the volume is a matter of perspective), and so I think I can form some what of an opinion. And that being said, what I see of what is being published, is not so great. I have read some great poetry that has been put out in the past 100, 50, 20, and even 5 years! I mean, life changing. But I also surf the net for poetry, online poetry magazines, and poetry magazines with websites, and read, a lot. I’m just not impressed. I also must tell you that I think 75% of what I have written is crap also. That doesn’t mean I won’t try to get it published. Oh, I will, I assure you. So, it’s not a case of superiority. No, not quite. It just seems that for all of what is out there, there is very little truly SUPERIOR stuff. It also might be unfair of me to even compare one persons work to another, then make a judgment. I mean, I don’t really want to be compared against anybody else. I want to be seen for what I am doing, as a poet in itself.


But, I have something else to say concerning Free Verse. I think that writing in Form, and having it be really good, is hard work. I mean, it takes hard work to write a really compassionate Cinquain, or Sonnet (either English or Italian), or HEXADUAD! It takes time, and effort. It takes a great deal of forethought. I can greater grab my intended expression better in Free Verse, but that is only because I am undisciplined in writing true form. I think it can be easier, or even indulge laziness on the poets part to write only Free Verse, and even defend it as the only reasonable form for the contemporary poet. Don’t get me wrong, I like writing in Free Verse! And at times, I too prefer it. But when I read Shakespeare, or Browning, I get totally inspired. Perhaps I need to read more Emerson, Whitman, and whoever? Maybe I should indulge in their writing, and gain a greater respect for the genius that Free Verse can bring?

And so my search for the literary balance continues. Perhaps as I continue to read, read, and read some more, I will gain greater insight into this vast dilemma that I face.