A Pean to Poetry

A Pean to Poetry

This is an introduction... and a question.

Let's start with the basics... the very basics

What is poetry? Many would answer "What isn't." Others, more formally, would say "A short piece of imaginative writing, of a personal nature and laid out in lines." In truth, like beauty, it really is in the eye of the beholder. Most agree that there are two types of poetry.

Traditional - follows standard rules of grammar and syntax with a regular rhythm and rhyme scheme.

Modern - avoids rhyme and standard grammatical organization and seeks new ways of expression.

How can such diverse types both be poetry? It's not in their differences but in their similarities that they find common ground.

Poetry is an expressive, rhythmic literary work. There's a flow of both words and emotions that set it apart... and that's what we'll be looking at in the coming weeks.

Starting in June, I'll be hosting a monthly poetry contest, on behalf of the Paper Doll Gang Alumni Group. We'll explore various forms and even remind each other of some of the tools that we have at our disposal to create "expressive, rhythmic literary works." The subjects will be for you to discover. The subject of a poem can be anything. It could be about something as intense as child birth, or as mundane as waiting at a bus stop.

Wherever we end up, I promise we'll both learn something and we'll have fun.

See you at the party!

Ken (aka Hunter's Moon)

Oh, yes... in case you were wondering. Pean – A fervent expression of joy or praise. Who knows? We may learn a few new words too!

Featured in Shadows: A Paper Doll Gang Publication Volume 1: Issue 1, May 2009

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