This is why I can never keep a diary

I shouldn't be allowed to do this blog thing. I know I missed my post last week. I'm sorry! I'm not made for this! I have commitment issues! I just set a reminder on my phone, though, so we'll see how that goes. I figured I'd make this post about poetry. As a brief disclaimer, I'm a huge fan of poetry. I know it's a genre that kind of splits the room, especially in an English classroom. I like prose, too, but actually prefer short stories to novels. (Did I mention my commitment issues?) And I loved poetry before I took classes at NEU, but taking Contemporary Poetry and the Poetry Workshop with prof. Kim really solidified that for me. (Yes, plugging her classes because she's brilliant.) But poetry has a bad rap. It's inaccessible, lofty, oftentimes boring and out to trick or confuse you. It's 'high art'. It's snooty. And, from what I know (very little) it does not really have a market. There are exceptions, obviously. Rupi Kaur, despite writing 10-word poetry with no line rhythm or discernible meaning, has been doing pretty well for herself. Instagram Poetry celebrates poets with pretty book covers and easily digestible poems. Let me be clear: I don't think elitism has a place in poetry if it wants to be at all relevant or interesting or do something more than sit on shelves and get dusty. But the problem I have with Instagram Poetry is that it has no perspective. It's so terrifyingly vague that twelve-year-old girls and fascists alike can easily relate. Here's a full poem by Rupi Kaur:

"it isn't what we left behind
that breaks me
it's what we could've built
had we stayed."

I mean, come on. Emily Dickinson didn't have sex with her brother's wife and write poetry about it for this. I believe all good poetry has an inner thesis. There has to be some bite to it, some contention or at least a little tension. It's more than conveying meaning in beautiful ways (although it should be that, too). I guess what I want is for popular poetry to do more. It's such a distinctive art form that so many people do so well. Alright, I'll stop being cantankerous now and end my post with some poetry recommendations.

If you're new to poetry and want to dip your toe in:

Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing by Margaret Atwood (yea she does dope poetry too)

After by Octavia Paz

Some poems by Ada Limon (I recommend all of them but especially Accident Report in the Tall, Tall Grass)

Lillian Gish Goes to Hell by Richard Siken

A Certain Kind of Eden by Kay Ryan

A Myth of Devotion by Louise Gluck

My Life had stood - A Loaded Gun by Emily Dickinson (try to forgive poetry.org for choosing the worst possible font for em dashes)

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

If you already like poetry and maybe want to see something new:

How I Became Impossible by Mary Ruefle

Four poems by Maggie Nelson

Slow Dance by Matthew Dickman

Two poems by Hala Alyan

Desunt Nonnulla by Kaveh Akbar

Frida Kahlo to Marty McConnell by Marty McConnell

Prayer for the Newly Damned by Ocean Vuong