Thanks for this Andrew! It was lovely to hear such a great defense of poetry's value. I agree with everything you wrote and also wanted to add that Keats and Wilde were both reacting to traditions in poetry that had trained readers to expect poems to function as vehicles of didacticism and moralism. Many 19th-century readers thought poems were written to teach them explicit lessons that they could apply to their own lives, so Wilde was being counter-cultural in insisting that art didn't have to do this.
I think sometimes people still prefer to have a lesson easily told rather than to wrestle with the abstraction of Beauty. I feel that a lot of contemporary poetry has gone back into overt moralism a bit. In one way, I understand this, because it makes reading poems easier if the message is obvious. But the process of freedom and recovery you described seems more limited if the reader doesn't have to participate as fully in recognizing the meaning. Anyway, thanks again and look forward to reading more from you!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Allie :) The added context you provide helps to gain a more complete picture of things, especially re. the Romantic reaction against didacticism in art, as you say. Thank you for the kind words!
hello Keats, just wanna say great great work you are doing here and on ig with Poetry, i follow a good number of Poets but none ever made me curious to know more and poetry, i feel like a door of me has been opened and i can't wait to explore it,
i will really love to see some of work(poems) if you write any I started writing in late 2022 but havent got the courage to share my work yet,
So glad you enjoyed reading it :) I plan on going back through these posts and attaching artist details on the margins of each painting. Oftentimes there were no details when I found them! Will hope to do this soon.
Well, what a great pleasure it is to hear a voice speaking as you do about poetry. I just subscribed, not just followed, based upon one reading. I was an extremely reluctant writer of poems from age 23 to my late 50's. No place for it in a carpenter's life. Now I embrace it. I would be honored if you would read these two. They are
Thank you for the kind words, Weston! and for subscribing, it really means a lot :) Thank you aswell for linking these two poems, can’t wait to read them 🤍
This was all so beautiful! Reading Walt Whitman’s Civil War poetry ignited in me a love for Civil War history but more importantly a love for the common boys who served and died in the war. The poignancy of words and the images they created in my head helped point me in the direction I’ve taken as a novelist.
I’ve read WWII poetry that simply broke me and made me realize that it’s a way for us to appreciate how these soldiers suffered (and their families, too). War poetry is a power of its own.
Art is useless and at the sametime beautiful, why will something useless be so beautiful? also human are defaulted to find meaning of everything and turn to pursue things that have meaning, so
why are we attracted to poetry which is quite useless, why do we find it beautiful even though we might not completely comprehend it
My last question is what if we read a peom and dont get that "this is it feeling" does it mean its not a poem,
Are Poems open to different interpretations, must it mean to the reader as it was to the writer and why
Thank you for your questions! I love thinking about this.
That art can be both useless and beautiful is somewhat of a paradox, but it also makes quite a bit of sense I think. Art, poetry, literature, does not really have much practical or utilitarian value, because all of its value is inherent within itself. Distinct from, say, a wrench or a vehicle, which both have clear practical applications, art justifies itself. The same thing is true for our humanness. We aren't valuable as persons solely because of whatever utilitarian value we could offer. We have inherent value and worth. Same thing goes for poetry! Because it is an extension of our humanness.
As for your query regarding whether a poem must have a "this is it" feeling to justify itself as a good poem, I suppose this is a bit more difficult to answer, because of the variety of our individual tastes. When talking about poetry I try and avoid matter-of-fact, objective statements about what is or is not poetry, because what may connect with me may not connect with you. That said, I think there are some necessary elements to a great poem, in some sense, such as its power to speak to and change our consciousness, to increase our empathy, to let us really feel with the feelings of another self.
I hope I have answered your questions! Thank you again for your kind and thoughtful comments.
Art and poetry are often considered useless, these days - but if their only use is to sit there for us to admire and take comfort in them, then why are we not approaching them as something that is absolutely necessary?
The world is so busy that we often lose ourselves. We are afraid to ask for someone to take care of us, so we look at a beautiful painting of flowers, and we feel better. We read a poem and we feel better. Our problems still exist, but *we feel better* and more prepared to tackle them.
Let us keep poetry alive; we need it more than ever.
A very consciously written piece which helps to compound and understand our love for poetry. Thank you.
I have always loved reading poetry, since childhood- from funny limericks to more dedicated, sturdy pieces.
Honestly it is hard to pin down what draws us in but I studied, and taught, English Literature as reading was always a joy of mine. To enter into a writers world through their words is a true honour and privilege. It is also I believe, because we are intricately drawn to the human experience. We often see ourselves in their words. It is about connection.
Recently I have turned to writing poetry to express grief. It has been tumultuous but healing. I read my words and wonder sometimes if I actually wrote them. It has been an almost out of body experience for me. The words have poured out of me. I am not sure they would be worth reading to others, but I now would like to concentrate on more poised, conscious poetry writing. For pleasure.
And yet I am thwarted with thoughts of self doubt.
Does this mean that poetry has to come from our soul, driven by a need for self expression ? Or can it be more structured for a specific audience… I am having a poetry crisis!
I love this interpretation. It speaks to the paradox of art—how, in its supposed uselessness, we find something deeply valuable. Like Eliot’s passage (which speaks of exploration, though exploration can take many forms), art doesn’t take us somewhere new in a conventional sense; instead, it guides us back to something fundamental within ourselves—memories, emotions, or truths we had forgotten or never fully grasped.
In your writing, you mention freedom—the freedom to be oneself. To me, this freedom equates to peace, a peace found in fully accepting ourselves. There’s something profound in the idea that peace comes not from function or productivity, but from simply being—existing within art, allowing it to hold us without demanding purpose. In that stillness, like ‘between two waves of the sea,’ we often find clarity, or at least acceptance.
Thanks for this Andrew! It was lovely to hear such a great defense of poetry's value. I agree with everything you wrote and also wanted to add that Keats and Wilde were both reacting to traditions in poetry that had trained readers to expect poems to function as vehicles of didacticism and moralism. Many 19th-century readers thought poems were written to teach them explicit lessons that they could apply to their own lives, so Wilde was being counter-cultural in insisting that art didn't have to do this.
I think sometimes people still prefer to have a lesson easily told rather than to wrestle with the abstraction of Beauty. I feel that a lot of contemporary poetry has gone back into overt moralism a bit. In one way, I understand this, because it makes reading poems easier if the message is obvious. But the process of freedom and recovery you described seems more limited if the reader doesn't have to participate as fully in recognizing the meaning. Anyway, thanks again and look forward to reading more from you!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Allie :) The added context you provide helps to gain a more complete picture of things, especially re. the Romantic reaction against didacticism in art, as you say. Thank you for the kind words!
The style/voice of your work is so enchanting, Andrew. Yet another rejuvenating post (as a fellow poet) just now—do keep it coming! ♥️
Thank you, Veta :) "Enchanting" is the highest compliment I could hope for.
hello Keats, just wanna say great great work you are doing here and on ig with Poetry, i follow a good number of Poets but none ever made me curious to know more and poetry, i feel like a door of me has been opened and i can't wait to explore it,
i will really love to see some of work(poems) if you write any I started writing in late 2022 but havent got the courage to share my work yet,
this is an amazing piece, I Love love it
Just curious. Your selections flowed so well and I love the traditional/naturalistic choices
Thank you!
I’m a painter and I feel a tug to explore poetry through your writing.
I’m still working on my art history and painting recognitions. I really liked your painting choices in this piece, who painted them?
So glad you enjoyed reading it :) I plan on going back through these posts and attaching artist details on the margins of each painting. Oftentimes there were no details when I found them! Will hope to do this soon.
Oh, well done! It can be an actual high, this momentary grasp of the ineffable, or by the ineffable upon our psyche.
"It may seem like simple advice, but the best way that I have found to go about reading a poem closely is to annotate."
Yes! Prose, too :)
Well, what a great pleasure it is to hear a voice speaking as you do about poetry. I just subscribed, not just followed, based upon one reading. I was an extremely reluctant writer of poems from age 23 to my late 50's. No place for it in a carpenter's life. Now I embrace it. I would be honored if you would read these two. They are
https://westonpparker.substack.com/p/the-rhino
The second one I just wrote this morning and so it must be looked at further but it is interesting.
https://westonpparker.substack.com/publish/post/141009227?back=%2Fpublish%2Fposts%2Fscheduled
Thank you for the kind words, Weston! and for subscribing, it really means a lot :) Thank you aswell for linking these two poems, can’t wait to read them 🤍
This was all so beautiful! Reading Walt Whitman’s Civil War poetry ignited in me a love for Civil War history but more importantly a love for the common boys who served and died in the war. The poignancy of words and the images they created in my head helped point me in the direction I’ve taken as a novelist.
So nice to hear :) Sounds like I need to read some of Whitman's Civil War poetry!
I’ve read WWII poetry that simply broke me and made me realize that it’s a way for us to appreciate how these soldiers suffered (and their families, too). War poetry is a power of its own.
Beautiful
This reignited my desire to read poetry! Loved this
So glad to hear! 🤍
2 Quick Questions
Art is useless and at the sametime beautiful, why will something useless be so beautiful? also human are defaulted to find meaning of everything and turn to pursue things that have meaning, so
why are we attracted to poetry which is quite useless, why do we find it beautiful even though we might not completely comprehend it
My last question is what if we read a peom and dont get that "this is it feeling" does it mean its not a poem,
Are Poems open to different interpretations, must it mean to the reader as it was to the writer and why
My apologies as i ask more questions arise
What makes a great poem?
Thank you for your questions! I love thinking about this.
That art can be both useless and beautiful is somewhat of a paradox, but it also makes quite a bit of sense I think. Art, poetry, literature, does not really have much practical or utilitarian value, because all of its value is inherent within itself. Distinct from, say, a wrench or a vehicle, which both have clear practical applications, art justifies itself. The same thing is true for our humanness. We aren't valuable as persons solely because of whatever utilitarian value we could offer. We have inherent value and worth. Same thing goes for poetry! Because it is an extension of our humanness.
As for your query regarding whether a poem must have a "this is it" feeling to justify itself as a good poem, I suppose this is a bit more difficult to answer, because of the variety of our individual tastes. When talking about poetry I try and avoid matter-of-fact, objective statements about what is or is not poetry, because what may connect with me may not connect with you. That said, I think there are some necessary elements to a great poem, in some sense, such as its power to speak to and change our consciousness, to increase our empathy, to let us really feel with the feelings of another self.
I hope I have answered your questions! Thank you again for your kind and thoughtful comments.
Art and poetry are often considered useless, these days - but if their only use is to sit there for us to admire and take comfort in them, then why are we not approaching them as something that is absolutely necessary?
The world is so busy that we often lose ourselves. We are afraid to ask for someone to take care of us, so we look at a beautiful painting of flowers, and we feel better. We read a poem and we feel better. Our problems still exist, but *we feel better* and more prepared to tackle them.
Let us keep poetry alive; we need it more than ever.
Well written. Without the morning songs of little birds, or the beauty of a medieval portrait, or the words of the bard, whatever would life be?
A very consciously written piece which helps to compound and understand our love for poetry. Thank you.
I have always loved reading poetry, since childhood- from funny limericks to more dedicated, sturdy pieces.
Honestly it is hard to pin down what draws us in but I studied, and taught, English Literature as reading was always a joy of mine. To enter into a writers world through their words is a true honour and privilege. It is also I believe, because we are intricately drawn to the human experience. We often see ourselves in their words. It is about connection.
Recently I have turned to writing poetry to express grief. It has been tumultuous but healing. I read my words and wonder sometimes if I actually wrote them. It has been an almost out of body experience for me. The words have poured out of me. I am not sure they would be worth reading to others, but I now would like to concentrate on more poised, conscious poetry writing. For pleasure.
And yet I am thwarted with thoughts of self doubt.
Does this mean that poetry has to come from our soul, driven by a need for self expression ? Or can it be more structured for a specific audience… I am having a poetry crisis!
Thank you for posting this. Art indeed.
I love this interpretation. It speaks to the paradox of art—how, in its supposed uselessness, we find something deeply valuable. Like Eliot’s passage (which speaks of exploration, though exploration can take many forms), art doesn’t take us somewhere new in a conventional sense; instead, it guides us back to something fundamental within ourselves—memories, emotions, or truths we had forgotten or never fully grasped.
In your writing, you mention freedom—the freedom to be oneself. To me, this freedom equates to peace, a peace found in fully accepting ourselves. There’s something profound in the idea that peace comes not from function or productivity, but from simply being—existing within art, allowing it to hold us without demanding purpose. In that stillness, like ‘between two waves of the sea,’ we often find clarity, or at least acceptance.