Manifesto

Poetry should be in written form. If the words should be made into objects or patterns with symbolic meaning, that is fine as long as the poem can be read aloud. If the object, pattern or underlying meaning is extremely absurd, I strongly believe the writer should provide a simple explanation at the end. This allows the reader to think whatever they want but provides insight as to where the writer’s mind was when they wrote the poem. Poetry with rhythm and rhyming schemes are enjoyable, but not always necessary. I think that poems should flow smoothly but should allow spaces or caesuras for emphasis wherever the poet desires. I believe that poetry is a group of words on a page that do not need to make sense to everyone, but only someone. A poem should hold some form of significance to the writer. Poetry is written to allow the poet to express stories held captive in their heads and the innermost passions, desires and worries they have stored in their hearts.  The audience of a poem should be people that want to feel emotion, discover where there heart is at that moment of time, or who want to find the words that they cannot find themselves. Reading poetry should not be a chore, but rather, an intellectual challenge. Poetry can also be for pleasure. A poem should spark the reader’s attention. It should have a title and should remain focused around a central topic or idea. The poem should shed some light on the topic so that the words on the page can travel beyond the paper’s edges and into the hearts of the writer and reader. It should involve imagery to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. A poem should aim to be memorable in any way possible. A poem should mentally take a person back to a specific memory or mentally take a person somewhere they have never been before.   -LL