Litkicks Message Board Archive

POETRY IS HUMANITY.....

I understood yr original reply ph, that you were commenting on the simplistic structure of haikus and not commenting on my offerings in particular, but I certainly relate to what you say about the majority of haikus being cold, in fact I would extend this personally to the entire range of poetry I have encountered. I consider myself to be a poet and I believe poetry is about two things- firstly trying to connect and communicate with the rest of humanity, through tiny beautiful sorrowful details we all share and can relate to, and secondly trying to find your own truth, work through some of the abundant layers of confusion and complexity and pain in your own head. I am very new to litkicks and i must confess i am quite disappointed with the majority of the work on display here, for much the same reason you explained ph about haikus, the lack of warmth, the lack of humanity...

sorry if this upsets or offends anyone but i thought the whole idea of this part of litkicks was to share writing and poetry that communicates in new, original, exciting and touching ways, which yes thankfully some of it does, but alas the majority, for me, (and this is a personal view of course), reads like third rate foolish drunken kerouac... Many contributors seem more concerned with the "beatness" and self conscious awkwardness of their work than they are about it actually SAYING SOMETHING...

When i first read "on the road" it excited me, moved me, thrilled me, amused me, seduced me and left and me breathlessly in love with jack AND cody, and this is what I want my writing to do for others.

Am I missing the point? Am I alone here or does anyone else agree?