Poetry is about being as intentional as one can be with one’s words. Being economical. Minimalistic. About how one can transmit meaning with as little tools as one can.
I think all writers ought to be poets or at least try to be one.
Essays on the other hand are where we try. Where we can be more free.
Genre-less writing is of course not concerned about these genres. It is about freedom.
From Martin Villanueva:
A poem is a place to find unknown connections.
As an expression of my jiyū shūkyō, the act of writing a poem to me is contemplative. Its revision and furnishing the refining of what came to be (balong).
Ideas on what a poem is from poets I resonate with:
From the poets I resonate with:
- a poem is a field of action
- a poem follows the breath
- a poem should be free
- a poem is form extending from content
- everyone could write a poem and be a poet
- a poem shouldn’t be constricted by traditional forms
- a poem or its practice (poetry) has to be dynamic
- poetry could be a tool for healing
- poetry could be a way of uplifting people out of injustice and could make a difference in the world