Why don't people read poetry anymore?

Question

What is contemporary poetry lacking? Is it a dying genre?

Answer 1

It is not a dying genre and there are still many good contemporary poets out there...however it is not as lucrative to be a poet nowadays. Also many contemporary poets are compared to classical poets and to me it is like comparing apples and oranges...you are talking of different experiences and different times in which they live/lived.
I feel that for some time now contemporary music has offered many skilled poets in all sorts of genres too.
The poets are out there you just have to look harder.

Answer 2

Literacy and the cult of celebrity have lead to a proliferation of poets. Once upon a time, people only wrote and published if they felt they truly, and deeply had something to say. Now, there's a great number of amateur writers who aren't prepared to give the art the dedication it truly deserves. This has lead to a flooding of amateurish and ordinary writing on the market, which makes it difficult for the serious poetry fan to keep on top of what's worth reading out there.
Although this has generally affected all the arts, poetry has been particularly hurt. That is because pretty much anyone who can read can write a poem in an hour, or less. Not a good one, however.
And the cult of personality has given many the illusion their feelings were worthy of publicizing simply because they were theirs and that no further work was necessary in order to give the expression of these feelings an artistic value. Furthermore, a great misconception says poetry should 'come from the heart', and that therefore, re-working poetry was tantamount to betraying the idea of poetry. Poets of old would work very hard at making, and remaking perfect pieces that would sound as they want it. Today, this is viewed as anti-poetic by a great many authors.
All these factors have lead to a flood of poetry on the market. Editors have become wary of new poets. Although their eye is better trained to identify the better work that does exist, their time is limited and they may bypass great work in their rush to just get through the pile.
It certainly shows a great interest in the form, but many write for the wrong reasons. They have every right to do so, of course, but their effect on the art is undeniable.

Answer 3

I went with a group of people to a number of British War Cemeteries in France this year. We stood by one memorial in a wayside cemetry, and, recited and read war poetry from the First and Second World Wars together with some contemporary War poetry - yes it is still being written. There was not a dry eye in the house. Contemporary War poetry will be the poetry for tomorrow's war standing alongside the Great and Second World War Poets.

Fortunately good poetry is timeless. Who does not read poetry anymore? No, it is not a dying genre - contemporary poetry stands alongside classic poetry and lacks nothing. Maybe the problem is whether or not it is being read in schools?

My apologies regarding the punctuation of this post - I have been up burning the candle at both ends to complete my dissertation and am now off to my bed.

Answer 4

1. They do read poetry.

2. The difficulty with contemporary poetry, and indeed with poetry in general, is that it is difficult to market sucessfully (in this respect it resembles classical music) being too serious, difficult and lacking the flashiness required by the marketting men.

3. It is not a dying genre, but it is out of fashion. But it must be remembered that much of the poetry of the nineteenth century (when poetry was most certainly in fashion) was dreadful (stilted and silly narrative verse).

4. There are poetry groups meeting in all major cities in the UK, which you could happily go to, and many reviews.

Answer 5

Because it is boring.
Bad poetry is descriptive writing , written badly

Good poetry has rhyme and rythm and is now usually called lyrics because it is very often put to music.

However Music needs formality of phrase with usually 8 bar phrases in usually intro 32 bars 16 bars (middle eight) 32 etc so good poetry will break up this formality whilst retaining rhyming and stressing within individual 2 or 4 line phrases.

Stressing is the key, Modern Music puts the important word on the beat, Gilbert and Sullivan almost invented this modern form 120 years ago.

Many Christan Hymns started as poems and some are bloody awful Come down O love divine to "Down Ampney" is the pits stressing wise but very popular with the tone deaf and stone deaf

But if someone writes interesting which is poetic, rhymes has rythm without the repetitive verse verse chorus/link phrasing needed for "Music" then folk will read it and enjoy, but so much poetry is written by acedemics with impeccable qualifications and no talent. Try Night Mail that is a poem

Answer 6

reading in general is a lost form... but I don't really think poetry has a particularly prominent place in our modern culture. For a while, when prose and oration were at their height, there was quite a taste for poetry and for unique visualization and alliteration and other such orniaments of language. The same was true of writing in general... current works of fiction use a more straight-forward plain language approach, which fits with the utilitarian mindset in American business and culture.

But I do think it should be noted that, in some ways, poetry is more alive than ever. Poetry slams continue to bring out some very vivid and ingenious performances... and with the advent of blogging and personal webpages, I think a lot of people (especially teenagers) are writing and publishing their own personal poetry. Not to mention, hip hop has produced many great (though probably more not-so-great) performance poets and prolific writers.

So I wouldn't write an epitath for poetry quite yet.

Answer 7

1. What makes you think they don't read it anymore?

2. What makes you think they ever read it?

3. Why do you think contemporary poetry is lacking something?

Having said that, I read poetry, some of it even contemporary. And I'm just a random person. So your question lacks foundation.

Answer 8

Contemporary poetry is following modern art. It's not a dying genre as much as one undergoing dramatic change, and not everyone is sure they like it. It's a controversial issue. The problem is that nobody is quite sure what constitutes poetry anymore. They're not sure if it should be something that rhymes, (in which case our friend truman above, is a successful poet!) or something that induces an emotion in an individual, or whether it should be something metaphorical which forces you to see the world in a different way. nd because people aren't quite sure what poetry ought to be, they're not quite sure what is poetry, and not quite sure if they like it. It seems to have been enveloped in a sheath of uncertainty!

To me, poetry is anything from the works of Chaucer, to Shakespeare's plays, to the stuff GCSE students study, to the ranting, non-rhyming, heartfelt verses that line my friend's notebook.

And for the record, I still read poetry. I read anything that's set in front of me. I like to read the poems on the underground on my way to university, and to recite them to myself. I also write my own poetry.

So even if you do think it's dying, it's not dead yet. And I'm of the opinion that it will never die. It'll just evolve to survive, like everything else.

Answer 9

Contemporary poetry isnt really lacking anything except for maybe an audience. It is full of people who try too hard to write like the great poets of the past. I, personally, read poetry to this day...most if it is from classic poets though

Answer 10

It has never been the most popular form of literature but many people still do read some poetry and also write it.

Here's one from a couple of weeks ago-

Sunday Morning.

Sunday morning at seven am
Sun bright blue sky, birds call and fly.
Most of the city is sleeping
Who now is awake but I?

Mothers of babes must stir now
Denied rest by an infant cry.
Clergy will rouse for their big day
A service and sermon to ply.

Hospital nurses are busy
Arriving for work or on call
Others hand over, head home.
Most don’t notice Sunday at all.

There’s a crew in the plane overhead
At airports a skeleton staff.
Saturday’s party is just about over
Stragglers stagger and laugh.

At the zoo keepers are keeping
Watch over monkeys and cats.
Mixing and measuring breakfast
For parrots and lions and bats.

Maybe someone began to stir
And woke up to sunrise at five;
But most of the city slept on
Snores alone tell they’re alive.

Though bright out it’s cool and it’s still
This new day a promise to come.
Awake now I’m one of the few
Aware of this day start to bloom.

Answer 11

People read less and less print work as other forms of media become more prevalent. Newspapers are going out of business, most publishing houses are having a harder time, etc. Poetry has never been a lucrative aspect of the business, even before the Internet and TV. It only makes sense that poetry, already the under-performing part of the industry, would feel the effects of this downward trend first and most.