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/lit/ - Literature

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20814429 No.20814429 [Reply] [Original]

>Some people argue that poetry is in a bad state today because its appeal is very largely to an extremely small group - an audience of intellectuals, of people who love dictionaries and the ring of well-chosen words, of people who enjoy pushing their own exploration of language to the limits. But the audience for the most ambitious and demanding poetry has always been small. For every Anglo-Saxon who gave appreciative ear to a poem such as Beowulf there must have been a thousand who never got much past simple jingles. Every age has its popular and elitist poetry. Some popular pieces may have elements of sophistication in them - we can see this in some of the carols, the traditional ballads and, later, the lyrics of such poets as Robert Burns, Alfred Tennyson, Christina Rossetti, Dylan Thomas, Leonard Cohen and John Lennon, to mention a few. But elitist poetry is usually the ultimate word-game, the most concentrated experience - the most rewarding to focus on, offering more in less space than any other form of language. For this reason, it’s often the most difficult to penetrate.

Thoughts?

>> No.20814444

>>20814429
What thoughts do you want? That excerpt states a pretty imperative truth. The simple jingles didn't change, they were not for literate audiences and can be heard in popular music today.

>> No.20814538

>>20814444
nice quints

>> No.20814916

>>20814538
lol

>> No.20814926

>>20814429
analytical languages aren't compatible with deep and rich poetry

>> No.20814937

The problem with modern poetry isnt elitism, its identity politics.

>> No.20814940

>>20814429
You've got to love the self-flattery. But poetry readership has only increased over the past few decades. About 30 million adults in the US alone read poetry - we're talking about 10%+ of the population. Poetry book sales are up. And the outlook is even better in other languages.

There's an interest in poetry; there's even a market for poetry. What's lacking is talent, plain and simple. Facile MFAs and ideologically- and identity-driven acquisition editors from major publishing houses have a stranglehold over the field, and they aren't interested in poetry for poetry's sake.

>> No.20815196
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20815196

>>20814926
*blocks your path*

>> No.20815198

>>20814940
Readership has only increased due to population rise and democratization of education. A general rise in the interest of reading poetry has not happened.

>> No.20815219

>>20814940
There are more readers bur those readers read stuff like rupi kaur or instapoetry. There is talent, it simply is not being published because simple to understand poetry has a much larger appeal.