The Power of Poetry
Why we all need to be reading and writing it.
Poetry is short. You only need a few minutes, sometimes even just seconds, to read a complete poem. As a teacher, I know how appealing this can be to struggling or reluctant readers who are easily put off by a lengthier text. But it’s not just children who have short attention spans in this social-media age of scrolling, 140 characters and short-burst videos. Plus, even for those of us who still enjoy spending hours lost in a book, busy lives mean it can be hard to find the time.
While poetry might be quick to consume, it can still pack a powerful punch in terms of meaning. I recently read an article about how there had been an upsurge in poetry book purchases over the past few years since the pandemic. In a time of uncertainty – not only due to Covid but also the cost of living worries and the wars and violence we are witnessing across the world – people are turning to poetry for both escape and reassurance. In a few words, we can find comfort, an uplifting message, a different way of thinking about things or just a sense of not being alone in what we feel. A poem can make you laugh or cry, and every emotion inbetween. It connects us as humans. And, while the poem itself might take only a few minutes of your time, the effects can be lasting as the words linger with you and you ponder their meaning.
Likewise, writing poetry is quick. Well, it can be. If you are a writer you will know that less words often means more time spent deciding on exactly the right ones. However, it’s still more achievable to finish a poem than a novel. I often compose mine while out on a walk or during the daily commute - those alone times when you brain is freed up and ideas swirl around. It’s why I take a notebook everywhere I go and why you may occasionally see me pulled-over in a layby hunched over the steering wheel, scribbling furiously before the words leave me head.
However, the best thing about poetry - for both child and adult writers alike - is that all the usual writing rules go out of the window. Ghastly with grammar? Poor with punctuation? It doesn’t matter. You can even get away with spelling words incorrectly and pretend it was done on purpose.
Plus, there are so many different types of poetry. Some follow strict patterns (think acrostics, haiku, rhyming couplets, kenning) and this can be a supportive structure for children that don’t know where to start. Some follow no rules at all which means you really can’t get it wrong.
Finally, poetry is meant to be performed aloud - listened to not silently read. You can compose and share a great poem without even putting pen to paper if you wish. Two of my favourite forms of poetry are found and blackout poetry - for that very reason. You can create them without needing to write a single word.
I have never been good with art. I can’t sketch or paint and, when I try, it never looks like I want it to in my head. The one type of art that I can do? Collage. I don’t need to be able to draw anything correctly because I can just compose something out of other people’s work.
Found and blackout poetry are to writing, what collage is to art. You don’t need to scribe a single word yourself in order to create something beautiful. Found poetry is created by cutting up words and phrases from a text and re-arranging them. Blackout poetry is made by taking a page of text and crossing out words to form a poem from what is left behind. Both allow children to be writers without needing to be able to spell, physically write or think of a word themselves. And they can be fun for adults too.
So if you have a little time, why not delve into a poetry book or play around with creating one of your own? You might just find it makes you feel a whole lot better.
