Do you have to read poetry to write poetry?

Question

Must you know the best to have a chance at maybe being good? There are some very talented writers on this site and they have various styles they write with.....And to the good writers that may see this...Do you pick format first or format the words after?

Answer 1

I don`t think you have to know the best to be the best. That's why they`re called naturals "undiscovered talent". TD made a good point once about changing, mending, inventing, and breaking rules!! (well he didn`t say like that, lol)

Whoa hoo I feel like a rebel! You can`t get arrested for breaking poetry rules. lmao

I say have fun. Sometimes when an individual, has a talent or a gift, they do it for fun, but when you get into the business of things, it changes everything!

When its comes to writing, most likely, your talented or not! Like with anything else.

I SAY FORMAT THE WORDS LATER, BUT YOU DON`T WANT ADVICE FROM A RULE BREAKER, DO YOU? LOL

Answer 2

I think that a familiarity with great poetry is very important, perhaps even necessary, for a couple of reasons.  We create poetry, in part, by acts of misprision*, i.e. "creatively misinterpreting" what we have already read.  The allusive richness of our poetry, and the dialogue it becomes a part of, is informed by the poet's familiarity with what has already been written.  I can't imagine that a poet unfamiliar with pieces as stylistically diverse as Paradise Lost or Wallace Stevens's "Auroras of Autumn" would write quite the same poem as one who was. We are influenced by all who have come before us, like it or not.  That is perhaps good because it adds a resonance to much of what we write that is otherwise lacking, but also bad because we are simultaneously constrained by that same familiarity, what Harold Bloom calls the "anxiety of influence."  I am not certain that I would identify myself as a good poet though others on this site have kindly accorded me that status. However, for me the question of primacy of formal considerations or of content is a thorny issue.  As soon as the idea arrives, I find myself counter-factually proposing metered lines, intoning them for my own amusement. I form my plan as I am doing this and immediately begin writing, almost hearing the poem being recited rather than consciously constructing it. I do no revisions and typically write a sonnet in 5-10 minutes or a rhymed sestina in less than 30 minutes.  Do I feel that I've done my best work after this -- invariably not!  Could I do better if I edited -- most assuredly!  But I battle perfectionism in all other things so this is my opportunity to be flawed, to relax. I don't agonize; the proper form suggests itself, but it does so at almost the instant that I first see the concept of the poem.  I'm sorry I can't be more informative about what is for me a great, yet undeniably pleasant, mystery...

Answer 3

I normally write the words then pick format after.

Answer 4

I can only speak for me...I don't know anything about form.  I listen with my inner ear for rhythm and rhyme, I count syllables, sleep on a thesaurus

and scrap what doesn't seem to work.  I never know if a poem will be free or rhyming till I'm into it.  I know that probably makes no sense, but there it is...Peace.

I have always read poetry...

Answer 5

I think you do need to read the best, the worst, and everyone in between in order to be a good poet.  There are rules in poetry despite the fact that many novice poets won't admit it.  However, I don't believe that you necessarily have to follow the rules, but a poet should learn the rules before trying to break them.  I also believe that reading, reading, and reading, is a great way to learn many of the nuance's of poetry.

I don't know how good I am, but  I am currently on a quest to write as many structured forms as possible; therefore,  I tend to choose a structure that best fits my theme or idea, but the words come after choosing the structure.  I keep a list of structures that I have finished, those I want to attempt, and a list of ideas then go from there.  

Answer 6

I prefer to read about technique then compose something based on that.

Sometimes I let "the voices" dictate what comes next. I am writing free form more nowadays because I am lazy. (I am NOT saying all free form is lazy - just my version of it) I prefer short formats like haikus/Jaykus and Con-verbs. Brevity is charity. Despite what some may think EWD (Excessive Word Disorder) is a real problem amongst many poets. (then again that is hypocritical of me to say as I rarely edit and revise)

I only read poems written on YA. So if you are all teaching me bad habits...then I am just gonna hafta smack you all on the bottoms! lol

Answer 7

I started writing without the knowledge of other poets.  Since I've joined Yahoo, my knowledge has expanded.  I have learned alot.  My poetry has broadened, and I've added more styles to my repertoire.    

Answer 8

Not really but If you write poetry I would assume you would like to read poetry. BE POETRY!

Answer 9

I'm not a poet, but I do know to be successful in any form of writing, one needs to read, read, read!!

Answer 10

No, you don't have to read poetry to write poetry.

I hadn't ever written any form of poetry and one day I just sat at my computer and started writing something. And it turned into a poem, and now I've written about 10!

Now I've started reading other people's poems and it certainly DOES help.

Answer 11

I wrote before I read poetry, then was hungry to read poets, I still read

poetry, and know I shall never master writing poetry, but I enjoy writing any way.

Answer 12

Do you have to eat soup to make soup?

I prefer the Chef to be familiar with the technique...

Answer 13

I've been reading poetry since I was 5.

I have been reading it ever since.

I write after having been influenced by the

poets I have studied.

However my poetry  will  never be



understood by the people on Yahoo.



It would be all Greek to you.

Love and peace to you all @--)---

Answer 14

If your life experiences (emotions) tell a story and you can turn that into poetry, you don't need to read others works...

If I have something to say... I lay it out like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle... I create a time line... I try to fit it into a form and I think the words as if I'm saying them... I look at each word and ask myself is there another word that might fit better here... I play a word game to see if I can rephrase it to make it rhyme and have meter (if it doesn't).

...and I do try to work things into a form these days because it makes me better, but I refuse to bow to form if it compromises content.

I refuse to let cliches prevent me from saying exactly what I want to say... even if it means using a few. Sometimes your readers want that... they love it... it's not like Keats makes it to the average high school students required reading... OMG these are the same kids that love that Twilight c**p.

The one and only one thing I truly abhor regarding poetry is when poets start writing for the sole purpose of impressing other poets...  Pretty soon the average public won't have a clue as to what poetry is.

...in Dead Poets Society the first thing Robin Williams did was rip out the first page of the book, I too have the first page missing... I don't want to follow in anything I do... I want to innovate.

...and if you read poetry do you not risk grabbing the ideas of others and making them your own. If you read too much poetry do you start writing about what you have read instead of writing about what you have lived?

I do read others and I am better for it... but I know I have to be careful not to immatate, after all 'I want to be as unique as I can be.

I talk too much... and my thoughts are random, without good meter, but thanks for asking.

note: I do believe if you know the rules and break them that is rebellious art... if you don't know the rules and break them that is ignorance.

add: I read what AHM said 4 times and it still doesn't make sense to me, am I the only one?

Answer 15

There can be exceptions...but I think the answer is yes. For me, my writing has grown by seeing what good writers have already done. It's like when Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile and afterwords it continued to be broken. Reading good poetry is a key to writing good poetry.

As to your other question for me the subject and the approach suggest the format. I rarely start with a format in mind.

Answer 16

I would quote Oliver Wendell Holmes; "Man's mind, once stretched by an idea, never regains it's original dimension."

I find that reading poetry stretches my mind in a mostly enjoyable fashion. In fact, it resembles a bit of an old cloth bag now.

To write 'great' poetry requires a wide-ranging mind capable of making links and images beyond the everyday. Whilst this may be possible without reading other great poetry, I feel it would certainly help by indicating potential routes to explore.

Answer 17

Don't know if I am that good,

however when I write I follow no hard fast rule except that it be easy to read, thought provoking or more or less for others interpretation.

Reading poetry sometimes forces poetry out of the musty corners in my mind and onto a page. Usually random and in the midst of sleep deprived early mornig hours when a paper and pen are far from my drowsy reach.