April is Poetry Month

Do I write poetry and, therefore, should I consider myself a poet? Sure. Only because, somewhere deep inside the vortex of my various writing styles and genres I allow myself to throw poetry into the pile. 

Do I read poetry? Sometimes. 

Do I understand the many, many forms of poetry and how they need to be written? Absolutely not.

I wondered about how I could approach the month of the year, April, known as Poetry Month. All of these vague questions and answers do not take away from the fact that I like to write poetry. It is not something I partake in often, but letting my version of this genre settle words on paper as such, is an interesting and gratifying outlet of my creativeness. 

I am of the opinion that all forms of writing are a type of poetry that is not necessarily defined by a specific style outlined under the genre of poetry. As a fiction writer, I use words to carve out a character, a story, in a long form. Much in the same way as a sonnet might be written to tell the same story in a shortened, condensed version. Overall, the same outcome is met; however, because of the so-called guidelines used for each genre, the look and feel will be different for the reader.

Undoubtedly my thoughts will open a can of worms. Poets argue that fiction writers don’t have the discipline to create poetry; and fiction writers argue poets don’t have the imaginative longevity needed to write a novel. I respect the die-hard poet who has honed their craft with no interest in any other genre. I am also in awe of the writer who has worked diligently to produce a stand-alone novel created in a fantasy world. Both are excellent wordsmiths in their own right and their preferred genre. 

In my book, Moon Rising: An Eclectic Collection of Works, there are several poems mixed in with the prose and stories. Some of each of these genres were transformed from my writing archives I had squirrelled away four-plus decades before. 

Written words don’t age, only the writers do.