Pasting My Poetry Perceptions

Shakespeare

After doing some research of Elizabeth Bishop for our paper this weekend, I began to think about poetry and contemporary poets, and for some reason the idea of a current individual being a poet for their career baffles me. I do not feel this way because I think poetry is by any means a waste of time or a superfluous profession, it just is a strange thought to imagine someone in their house simply “being a poet”. I know this depicts a stereotype, and I am positive poets have other hobbies, interact with people, and do not stay cooped up in their house writing all day everyday. Still though, embodying a poet back in Shakespeare’s day seemed quite normal, but now a common response to someone claiming “I’m a poet” for their job might elicit a response of, “well yea, but what do you do to make money?”. This saddens me as I reflect on how I too think of this question when imagining someone simply writing poetry as their career. I suppose that like any career that follows a creative passion, the risk of never becoming discovered or making a profit presents itself.  I think it is completely amazing that people still take this creative art seriously enough to dedicate their life to it, and thinking of contemporary poets actually felt oddly refreshing.  When reflecting on how many times adults ask children in our culture, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”, it becomes evident that the normal responses usually consist of; “fireman”, “policeman”, “astronaut”, “superstar”, and usually not “poet.” Even when asking young adults, “what do you plan to pursue in the future?”, I think a safe number or students choose broad topics like; “science”, “math”, “teaching” or “engineering”, as opposed to “poetry”. Even if poetry depicts their passion, they may say “English” instead to make it sound more open with possibilities. When assessing this, it seems completely ridiculous to me that our culture almost frowns on this profession, because poetry actually plays a huge role in our lives. Other than giving English classes plenty of material to analyze and discuss, poetry also appears…

1. in lyrics and a part of every song we have ever listened to.

2. in many childhood books, songs, and nursery rhymes that stick with us throughout life. 

3. in almost every slogan or jingle that we hear incessantly repeated on television, the radio, billboards,  and everywhere else.

4. in many of our everyday reflections or conversations about life, problems or perspectives.

This contemplation of poetry has helped me to diminish my own misconceptions of contemporary poets and I think everyone should try to appreciate and understand poetry’s influence on our lives.