Poet and literature activist Jonathan Davidson considers the concepts of ‘progress’ and ‘success’ in poetry, and suggests how we might carry poetry into the future.
‘Engage with it thoughtfully’ - that’s the prize. Someone takes time to give thought to what you’ve given thought to. I saw a post here yesterday about how to write poetry that goes ‘viral’ which essentially amounted to one-line self-help aphorisms dressed up as profundity. It would be sad if that becomes the poet’s goal, simply out of a need for attention.
‘Engage with it thoughtfully’ - that’s the prize. Someone takes time to give thought to what you’ve given thought to. I saw a post here yesterday about how to write poetry that goes ‘viral’ which essentially amounted to one-line self-help aphorisms dressed up as profundity. It would be sad if that becomes the poet’s goal, simply out of a need for attention.