Poetry will change in the future. I feel it strongly that new horizons have yet to be reached. It is a therapeutic medium that helps us vent our feelings. There are, in fact, more closet poets than ever before. Poetry in the schools has progressed to delight its pupils, and poetry readings are more popular than ever.
I believe poetry will be the catalyst that keeps the spirit of hope alive. We may need it more than we know. As for the quality of poetry—that remains to be seen. It needs to come full circle first before we can see a change—from the terrible stuff out there to the mind-boggling keepers. Learning the craft takes time, and like any field the poet must practice and read as many poetry publications as they can. To delve into what poetry really is, not just the basics. Be ready for the future of poetry. Be there to back it up, no matter what happens or how it changes.
ADVICE FOR POETS:
Do not use the title in your poem. The surprise is gone. You want your title to make the reader curious and draw him or her inside the work. A twist in the title can change the whole poem's outcome. Again it depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your poem. Why say "Trees" when you can say it better with a line like "Maples In My Mother's Yard." Or twist it to say, "Where There Are Maples, There Are Rock Gardens." Anything is better than ordinary titles. But, I will say that a simple title is powerful in a complex poem. That one word—the right word— can give the wordy poem a softness where there is none. There are many tricks to make your poems more interesting. It is up to you and how you present them to the reader that dictates the outcome of your work and how others feel about it.
Subjects are varied as you know. It is okay to write about a dog. The thing to do is don't write how much you love the dog, but write about the dog's quirks. For instance, my second dog slept against our register in the winter. The hotter the heat that spilled out, the more she loved it. She used to place her head on the register ledge, like a pillow.
Are you embarrassed to write about your favorite movie star, or your neighbor? Does Aunt Martha have a secret that you are dying to find out about? What do you think about the new women's movement? Does any of the presidents get on your nerves? Are you sick of hearing about killing, raping, or porn? All subjects worth tackling in a poem. Remember, you don't have to write how you feel, you can twist the poem to make it more thought-provoking and different. Then again, write how you feel. Go for it. Don't write too many "I" poems either. But the secret to a really good poem is how you broach the subject and what your title implies.
Don't sit there and dream about a great poem. Do something about it. Pick up that pencil or turn on your computer and say what's on your mind, or not on your mind. Say it differently, but say it.
The type of poetry selected for Poetic Page poetry magazine I used to edit and publish, and I have to admit, I do miss it. Especially receiving the wonderful poetry by some really great poets and writers. It was a great experience in my life:
PARIS
by Jan Brevet
How many ways does the sun light time-stained gray of buildings!
Sometimes it is a lemon hacking at walls with the pungent odor of
citrus.
Or it is a tatooer's needle breaking a design of golden sparks
Upon the elephant gray of bricks,
Or it is snow-frail apple blossoms clinging window ledges.
Light, your ferment is wine, when a city holds you like a flask:
You cling to laughter like a silver lint.
Those nuances of deep dusk-throated frenchmen
Are as subtle as the changing pulses of a Mozart symphony.
Or the conversation settles as richly as a succulently flavored
Seven course dinner. Now the waiter pours the wine
With the grace of a swan's curved neck etched in calm water.
The stain of all these moods are partadagio, part andante, but they
are
Always the scented wonder of white gardenias, and this is Paris.
We walk along the book-stalls where stone bridges cross the Seine.
Here, old prints of maps display colors, pastel as butterflies,
And seen from afar they are as mosaic as stained glass in a
sixteenth
Century cathedral. The Bach concerto in E minor
Drops its violin passages on our ears, and
We visualize it in the drops of color breathing in cathedral glass.
But for shape and vigor we feel the tremors of the metro
Sending a clean flame of welder's light
Into the depths of earth, peeling away the darkness
As though it were the sleek skin of some furry animal.
Oh, Paris, how spellbinding is the magic of your city!
—"Odes a Paris" 1962 honorable mention
read over the french radio, received an
International certificate of poets with the
signature of Andre Maurois at the bottom.