Why do some people say that "you can't write poetry on a computer"?

Question

Are they right? Why do you come to this conclusion?

Answer 1

I think its a matter of preference.
My friend writes chapters by hand, she enjoys the sweeping motion of her pen( or something to that effect). She says that computers are too impersonal. I think its because she's a slow typist.

I prefer a keyboard. I can concentrate on my word selection without worrying about spacing and hand accuracy. I can write in the dark, as I am at this moment. And my fingers never cramp.

But I do understand the romantic notion of the written word in tangible form. There's something nostalgic about inked fingertips and piles of loose sheets strewn this way and that.
Go figure.

Answer 2

I believe you've answered your own question: "some people say". That's all there is to it..."some say". To answer "your" question, no, they are incorrect in their absolute statement. However, it may be true that "some" people find it impossible to be creative when using a computer. I'm not one of them. I've written over 1500 poems, had dozens published, etc., blah, blah, blah...but the long and short of it is that for "me", the computer is far easier and allows my creative juices to flow more readily.

Why? Because I don't have to think when I'm typing and I can type much faster than I can write legibly. It is also easier for me to see typographical errors on a page, how the poem will "look" when it's typed, and yes, even "spell check" it. I don't have to mess with erasers, lined out words, etc.; I simply backspace, cut and paste, etc. until I get what I want. To some this may be far too technically oriented, but to those who treat these tasks as second nature, they are as simple and natural as human speech.

So, you can't prevent people from speaking their minds, but the minute you hear anyone say "you can't...", you might as well close your ears, because the chances of anything they say after that having any basis in fact is almost nil....almost nil...you'll notice I didn't use the absolute in my sentence, because there are very few things in this world that are members of the set of absolutes, and "how" you write poetry is not among them.

You can write poetry on whatever makes you feel comfortable. If you're not next to a computer or a desk, grab a napkin and borrow the pen from the waitress...whatever it takes to write down the inspiration, or type down, or scribble on your hand, the dirt, whatever...just find a way to make it less volatile than in your head, then transfer it to paper...either by pen, pencil, crayon, or computer. In the end, it's all about communication and getting your ideas from your brain to someone else's eyes or ears.

Write on!

Answer 3

Who are these children of Satan? :)

I do both as my mood dictates.

Using my computer, because I type quickly with few errors, and without looking at the keys, I can keep up with my thoughts.

At other times I am so slow and ponderous about what I really want to say that only a piece of paper beneath my hand feels right for me. It feels better then to have a pen in hand.

I also cannot write in pencil. Just like the crosswords I do, I have to "commit" in pen. I never erase what I write. If I cross out more than a few words I have to start on a new sheet of paper and see the words all nice and clean with no previous thoughts...although I can always refer to the version before.

I don't understand why anybody would unilaterally say you can't write poetry on a computer. I also write or draft poems on cocktail napkins, place mats, shopping receipts, you get the drift? The computer is just another vehicle.

Answer 4

I prefer to write poetry by hand, and I'm even a fast typist. Pen and paper is just more personal to me, there's something about the way you write your poems that type can't capture . . . you know the saying, "it's not what you say, but how you say it"? I think that's why some songwriters' original drafts are worth money, because you can look at how they wrote the song (all the little nuances about their handwriting and style) and tell more about what they meant to express with their words, what kind of mood the poet was in at the time the words were written.
An afterthought . . . if I could hand-write on a computer . . . and it is coming . . . I might be able to inspirate on a computer, too, but-- there is still something irresistably inspiring about ink and blank paper.

Answer 5

Whether or not one can write poetry on a computer will depend at least in part on what you call poetry. I once had an old professor who had a hundred words he could use to discuss verse, rhyme, lines; but only when they came together to create art worthy of the name did he use the word "poem."

As yet, I've never seen anyone reach that state working on a computer in the first draft stages -- a computer is an excellent editorial tool, but when you sit down to a computer, especially one connected to the internet and bogged down with messengers and mail boxes, you lose -- first your tactile connection with the words on page, then your privacy, and finally the wholeness of the work because it is instantly rendered into a disjointed collection of dots on a screen.

Even if it is later made public, poetry starts it's life in intimacy. Anyone can handle a pen at whatever speed they need to in order to keep pace with the flow of ideas or passions that drives them to write -- and they get to move the pen for beauty when the mood strikes them or very sloppily or briefly if the passion requires them to skip a few strokes to keep up. Try skipping a few things on a computer -- the misspelled word indicators pop up all over the place as distractors and take you out of the flow and mood.

I've been a professional writer for decades, an editor for years. When I hired out to do ad work or technical work, I was grateful for the computer -- would have been difficult without one -- and tech work was especially difficult before computers became widely available. Creative work, however, (work of my own invention) has always been done in bed or at a desk in my bedroom. It has always been done with a yellow letter sized tablet, and I greatly favor the 10 for a dollar Papermate pens -- always black.

Not sure why I went to black, but I abandoned blue about 10 years ago.

Maybe others can use a computer to write poetry. I've tried and the work suffered. I do like using a computer to edit after about the second or third draft. Most of my good work needs only one or two drafts, and most of the bad stuff is abandoned before I ever get to a third draft, so really the computer is primarily used to format for publication or storage. I make my living with a pen, not a keyboard, but maybe someone else can do it as I cannot; so I cannot answer conclusively, but I do not believe real poetry will ever come without that intimate connection of poet to paper.

Hope that helps.

Regards.

Answer 6

If you ever encounter someone pontificating haughtily about what you can or can't do, simply remain pleasant, say something like, "Oh, that's so true," and excuse yourself from their presence as quickly as decorum will allow.

I work in the professional performing arts [opera, classical, theatre], and it is utterly rife with self-perceived experts who are brilliant legends in their own minds. It's simultaneously amusing, scary, and asinine.

So whatever you're writing, do so with whatever tools and in whatever environs you like. I don't write poetry -- I ended up encountering this question via a side path -- but when I write plays and books I use both a computer and paper & pen -- it just depends on whether I want the rigidity of being indoors chained to my desk [very useful when a deadline is approaching] or out in the fresh air laying on the grass letting ants traipse over my feet.

Long story short -- create however you feel like creating, and don't let anyone persuade you otherwise.

Answer 7

I think it's a matter of personal preference. I write both on the computer and on paper, though I usually get ideas out better on paper. I sometimes think that the way you shape your letters in the words you hand-write allows for more inspiration, but that's probably just me.

The only bad thing about poetry on a computer is that you don't always have a computer around when inspiration strikes, while you are far more likely to have paper around, at least at my age.

Answer 8

I don't come to this conclusion because I disagree. I don't see why you should not write poetry on a computer. On the contrary, I think writing on a computer can offer new possibilities and maybe change one's way of writing, because it also changes one's way of reading. You don't see what you write in the same way as when you write with paper and pen.

Answer 9

its probably coz typing for some is tougher!
one can , and many do 'write poetry' on the computer...
but imagine if inspiration fills u in the street, or out in the countryside where at best you have the scrap of paper ,flying loosely about...getting to a computer jus then cud dull the moment , wotsay?

Answer 10

Who said that? That's stupid. If you're truly inspired by something you can write whenever/wherever you are. Pen and paper or computer, it's all the same in getting your thoughts out. I'm big on poetry, and I do both.