EDITORIAL BOARD
7. THE TRUE POETIC
FREEDOM
IS
A
CROSSROAD ON THE
MOUNTAIN'S PEAK WITH
E N D L E S S WAY S T O
REACH HIGHEST
QUALITY OF TEXT
BEYOUND ANY BORDER
OF SKY AND GROUND...
FOR INSPIRED READERS
BUT NOT THE WAYS YOU
CAN EXPRESS YOUR
RUINED LIFE FOR
FACELESS ECHOS.
8. PLACE ALL YOUR EVIL
AND DARKNESS IN YOUR
POETRY, DON'T SHARE
YOUR RAGE BY MAKING
SCARS, SHARE IT WITH
LINES OF POEMS.
9. EVERY GOOD POEM
CAN BE TRANSLATED TO
AT
LEAST
ONE
LANGUAGE. JUST TRY
AND CHOOSE RIGHT
ONE.
10. THERE ARE NO
PROFESSORS IN POETRY
BUT KIDS WITH OPEN
HEART.
Then why waste another moment, writing what is clearly hallmark verse (we
have all read so much of that it does get tiresome) and then pretending it is
poetry. Or worse, writing something that has no meter at all? Poetry without
meter is, like a fish with no gills. The fish cannot breathe, and it dies. This is not
to say that we all need to go back and write firmly structured sonnets (although
it would be nice) about flowers, and the rights of the people versus king. That is
not the point. However, poetry which has meter breathes. It is memorable. This
is why Dorothy Wordsworth, even when she was in the throes of senility could
still recite William’s poetry verbatim. Poetry as it is being written now is a
shadow of its greatness. It needs a rebirth, so it can once more speak for those
without a voice, tell the tales that need to be told, and be that railing cry against
oppression, greed, and sadness. That would be poetry with a purpose. This is
why Byron’s poem Don Juan still resonates. The themes within it are timeless,
and so when one reads them, there are many points where you do not think
this was written in the nineteenth century, but more, you can reflect on what is
happening right now and find that salient connection. For just as in Byron’s
time, war was ever present, we are living in a world in which war, greed, and
inequities still exist.
The question then is, can we revive verse, make it meaningful in the modern
age? Can we create and hone it, so that it is once more respected as an art, and
not seen as so much frippery? And in doing this, can we then use it to better
humanity? As bards and creative people, and as custodians of a great and
ancient craft, it is my hope we can.
BENJAMIN MITROFAN-NORRIS:-EDITOR
It seems that poetry has been in something of a decline for decades, simply
due to the fact that it hasn't ever been able to solve the issue of becoming
more and more exclusive, and less and less for the general public. The days
when people tuned into the radio to hear the latest works of Dylan Thomas etc
are long gone. However, I'm beginning to suspect this crisis is mainly relevant to
the UK, where people are increasingly terrified of aligning themselves with
anything that may seem pretentious, exclusive or elitist (despite the fact that
poetry needn't be any of these things). Regarding free verse and other forms of
poetry, I think we're at a point now where it doesn't particularly matter. All of
the arts are referencing each other and everything else nowadays, and I think a
lot of the best work is mixing together free verse with more traditional poetic
forms.
YES
-THE ANSWER IS-