August 4th, 1998

One of the hardest questions I have ever faced is also a deceptively simple one. It goes something like, 'What do you think of poetry?' (It ranks behind only two others on my list of irritating queries - 'Do you believe in God?' and 'Do you think mathematics is a universal language?'). Amazingly enough, these three questions have come up - in one form or another - during the space of these last couple of days.

But the one subject I thought I'd tackle today is that of poetry. My main argument, which you're going to hear variations of, is that poetry suffers heavily - especially in comparison to good narrative prose - on a variety of counts.

The first is that poetry comes too easily. No, let me amend that statement - bad poetry comes too easily to people. Poetry, more than any other literary form, can corrupt itself, twist itself until nothing is left but fanboy imitation. It's quite one thing to recognize Renaissance influences in history; quite another thing to be locked in the same bizarre triangle of 'love', 'death' and 'eternity' today. Honestly, there's more to poetry than rehashing those well-worn themes.

The second danger is that more mundane minds use poetry as some sort of glorified notebook. These are people who lack higher capacities for imagination, who end up resorting on variations of 'I see water trickling, it makes me feel good'. At its best, poetry can be inspirational and quietly reflective; at its worst, poetry can make you want to go out and spend hours actually looking at water trickling, rather than hear some writer describe doing it. Poetry is not merely about form; it also needs a measure of content. Robert Frost writes about common-day experiences, but imbues them with heartfelt emotion; Christopher Logue uses poetry as a recounting of myth; Shakespeare deliveres political satire through his collection of sonnets. In contrast, poetry today lacks the fundamentals.

Likewise, it's easy to forgoe form entirely. How often have you seen poetry that seems nothing more than the product of a writer with narcolepsy? Rhyme scheme, extended metaphors, alliteration, foreshadowing, rhythm - these words should be ringing bells like crazy. If not, I suggest putting your pen to rest and grabbing a literary dictionary instead.

Third, it must be stressed that poetry is designed as a form of short epiphany - you get in, you get out. It involves a very narrow focus, a very select group of characters and a very concentrated subject matter. To be honest, I've never even seen good amateur poetry. My own attempts are, almost without exception, failures.

Because of these inherent pitfalls, poetry writing must be treated as a wild and untamable beast rather than as an affable alternative to 'real' writing. Certainly, it has merit on its own, but unlike other genres, it also lacks forgiveness. I'm sick of reading ill-conceived poetry by writers who have no inkling of what they're doing. This might be news to some, but the Romantic movement died out in the 18th century. The last thing we need is a return to form.

And you should hear me on that question of mathematics.