Why Poetry Still Bothers Some People

...because even a small flame changes a room.

Most of what I'll write here will be about the craft of poetry and the gifts of writing and teaching, but I’d be leaving out something important if I didn’t also talk about the cultural "shrug" poetry gets. It is often treated as if it belongs somewhere on the sidelines, at best.

I’ve heard the phrase “crazy poets,” and its many variations, more times than I can count. In my writing program and literary conferences, included. Usually it’s tossed off as a joke after someone encounters a poem they don’t understand, or a poet who doesn't play by the "usual rules." It’s meant to be a dismissal, but over the years, it has really caused me to stop and think.

What is it about poetry that brings out this reaction, exactly? A reaction that can often resemble casual cruelty hoping to be disguised as wit.

Maybe it’s because poetry doesn’t act the way other art forms do. It doesn’t lend itself to franchises, sequels, or tie-ins. Certainly, its value isn’t tied to how many people buy it; poetry is super inconvenient that way. It is harder to package and way harder to monetize. Maybe that’s why it seems easy for some to punch down on it.

Another reason could be because poetry refuses to give up its answers all at once. It requires a different type of time and attention. It’s easier to roll your eyes than to sit quietly long enough to let the lines rearrange something inside you.

Luckily, none of this actually stops people from reading poems. And they keep writing them: in journals, in workshops, in hospital waiting rooms, on protest signs, and to their lovers. They turn to poetry when nothing else seems big enough or small enough to hold what they’re feeling.

I've come to believe the “crazy poets” sneer, in the end, probably says more about the speaker than the subject. Maybe what they really mean is, I can’t control this or I don’t know how to measure this or I wish I could still believe in something this pure.

Poetry is still one of the freest spaces we have. It belongs to no one and everyone. So call us “crazy poets” if you like. The writing will happen anyway, not for fame, money, or prestige, obviously.

And those are exactly the reasons I continue to trust and respect it.