  Poetry
This week: Edited by: spidey  
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| Welcome to the Poetry Newsletter. I’m spidey . I’ll be your guest editor this week, and I'll be discussing some views on Poetry. |
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Almost three years ago, I created a survey about poetry because I was truly interested in what the fine folks of Writing.com thought on the subject. I had my own strong opinions on poetry, and I thought others would, too.
Knowing your readers is important in all writing. With other forms, like short stories, essays, articles, etc., it can be easier to think about what your readers are expecting. For me, though, poetry is much more subjective. What works for one person may not sit well with the next. So, I thought I'd try to get an overall feeling toward poetry and some of the aspects involved with reading and writing poetry.
To date, I've had 160 responses, and you can view the results here: "Poetry Survey Results" , but I'd like to discuss them in this newsletter, as well.
Questions and Results:
1. Overall, which do you prefer? (Must pick one!)*
A. Free Verse poetry - 56%
B. Rhymed poetry - 44%
The result for this question has always remained pretty steady. Currently, free verse is slightly ahead, but they've remained about even. Comments often state that those filling out the survey wished they could vote a "Both" category (which is particularly why I didn't include it).
2. What type of poetry do you most like to read?
A. Free Verse - No set rhyme or meter - 29%
B. Strict Rhyme - 7%
C. Strict Meter - 0%
D. Strict Rhyme and Meter - 13%
E. Loose Rhyme and Meter - 29%
F. Other (if other, please email and explain) - 1%*
(see note below)
G. Can't decide - 21%
*Write in vote: For question 2 I chose "other" because I've read and enjoyed free verse and strict verse. I don't particularly enjoy one type over the other-my distinction is just that often times strict verse is more difficult to pull off so it doesn't sound forced. If it's done well, you don't notice it rhymes.
I found it interesting that most chose either free verse or loose rhyme and meter, suggesting perhaps that most readers enjoy poetry without strict rhyme and meter.
3. What type of poetry do you most like to write?
A. Free Verse - No set rhyme or meter - 48%
B. Strict Rhyme - 6%
C. Strict Meter - 0%
D. Strict Rhyme and Meter - 10%
E. Loose Rhyme and Meter - 26%
F. Other (if other, please email and explain) - 2%
G. Can't decide - 8%
About half of those filling out the survey chose free verse as their favorite type of poetry to write. Personally, I agree with them, as free verse seems to allow me the freedom to say what I want without feeling restricted with rigid guidelines.
4. Which aspect do you think is most critical in creating a successful poem? (Please pick one)
A. Imagery - 45%
B. Flow/Rhythm - 37%
C. Tone - 4%
D. Punctuation - 1%
E. Line Breaks/Line Lengths - 1%
F. Other - 7%*
(see note below)
G. Can't Decide - 6%
*One write in vote stated "Originality" as their choice for Other.
*Another write in vote: I think honesty is essential in creating a good poem. It is hard to explain, but poetry is not quite like storytelling. I don't mean we always have to explain our own feelings etc., but there should be something we feel some way about. A good poem is not JUST playing with words.
Almost half chose imagery as being the most important aspect of a successful poem, while the next largest vote went to flow/rhythm. I found it interesting that tone, punctuation, and line breaks/line length received so small of a percentage of votes.
5. Favorite Poets - Various Answers
**See Editor's Picks Below**
6. How do you feel about the use of color fonts in poetry?
A. Love it! - 7%
B. It's okay, if it's done right. - 41%
C. Don't feel one way or another about it. - 28%
D. Would rather not see it. - 18%
E. Hate it with a passion. - 6%
Though most chose the middle ground here, it's important to note that the "Hate it" option has almost the same percentage as the "Love it" choice. I think some subtle choices of color may enhance a poem, but it's important not to let it overtake the poem itself or distract the reader (unless that directly relates to the poem's subject matter).
7. Do you think punctuation is needed in poetry?
A. Yes, definitely! - 16%
B. Most of the time, there are a few exceptions. - 34%
C. Sometimes - 41%
D. It doesn't matter to me. - 8%
E. Definitely not. - 2%
I found this one very interesting. It seems to me that many of the poems I read on this site contains very little punctuation, if any at all, though many people here consider punctuation to be needed at least most of the time.
8. Is a title needed in poetry?
A. Yes, definitely! - 38%
B. Most of the time, there are a few exceptions. - 34%
C. Sometimes - 21%
D. It doesn't matter to me. - 9%
E. Definitely not. - 3%
It's not quite an option on Writing.com to leave a poem without a title (even "untitled" is a title), so it makes sense to me that most feel a poem needs a title.
In conclusion, I think we can learn a lot from surveys like this one. While we shouldn't necessarily take these as guidelines for how we should write poetry, we can at least see the preferences of our readers. I'd like to thank the 160 members who have taken my survey over the last three years. I appreciate the feedback, and I hope you all get as much enjoyment out of the responses as I do.
If you'd like to take the survey, you can do so here: "Poetry Survey" [E]
And the results, which are updated often, can be viewed here: "Poetry Survey Results" [E]
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These are poems written by some of the Writing.com poets presented as answers to Question #5: Who are your favorite poets?
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 Creative us of color fonts
A few poetry activities & contests:
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As a guest editor, I don't have any feedback comments to share. However, I'd like to ask what questions you'd like to see in a poetry survey? If I get enough of them, I may compile another survey.
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Poetry: June 27, 2007 Issue [#1789]
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