May I ask what is your definition of 'Poetry'? When does it rise from personal 'scribbling' to an 'art form'? Or is it an art form anymore, at all?

Well, Cynthia, you asked the questions, so here goes:

In my opinion, 'Poetry' is lines of literature that have a repeatable rhythm. That rhythm can be produced by the pace, by the number & shape of the syllables, or even by the punctuation. Whether it rhymes or not is irrelevant.

I consider myself an artisan poet because I am untrained. I've had no tuition in the construction of poetry, nor have I ever been to any sort of writing workshop. Just as an artisan baker will make fantastic bread using only the best basic ingredients, so I aim to use the wonderful English language to construct the message that I hope to pass on to my readers or listeners.

My poetic efforts are described as my 'scribblings' because that is what I do and how they are born. When I get an idea - or a phrase - I scribble it down before it can slip from my mind, just as morning mist disappears with the rising sun. I will then have to return to it, to polish it, to remove or change words, or even to delete whole passages. But they remain my scribblings.

As for 'Art Form' - well, I feel that's rather pretentious so would never use those words to describe the poems I construct. There are, of course, plenty of wonderful poems that could be considered as 'Art Form' but I haven't written any of them, nor have most of the poets I know.

Not a very sophisticated answer to your intelligent question but I hope it will make a modest contribution to the many responses that you'll certainly receive.

Richard

Or, conversely, if the writer thinks it's poetry, is it?

I enjoyed your response, Mr. Hartley.

And I totally agree: a deep love for, and real appreciation of our English language is the first criteria for any writing in our culture.

I don't think there is much 'training' anymore at all, in our European schools. It's almost a 'bad word' these days. But sensitivity to the world in general and empathy with the human condition, expressed in words carefully chosen from so many possibilities, can certainly be 'poetry'. Like yourself, my criteria are imagination, innate rhythm and honesty. And, of course, the inevitable arrogance that no one else has ever seen the world 'just like me!' Probably the most laughable, and sincerely likeable characteristic of us all.

I think active reading of all styles of poetry, both current and 'historical', is hugely beneficial, and from many arenas, including diverse cultures. Expansion - poetry is expansion.

What Is Poetry

John Ashbery

The medieval town, with frieze
Of boy scouts from Nagoya? The snow

That came when we wanted it to snow?
Beautiful images? Trying to avoid

Ideas, as in this poem? But we
Go back to them as to a wife, leaving

The mistress we desire? Now they
Will have to believe it

As we believed it. In school
All the thought got combed out:

What was left was like a field.
Shut your eyes, and you can feel it for miles around.

Now open them on a thin vertical path.
It might give us--what?--some flowers soon?

I suppose it's been around since language began. It seems to have always been respected enough to be memorized, recited and recorded. It is highly valued, deeply studied and constantly the source of passionate debate.
Perhaps this is so due to its power to inspire a sense of wonder, bring about a moment of delight or uncover what would otherwise remain lost to us.
Personally I do think of poetry as an art form comparable to music or painting. I hold it in the highest esteem and look to it for inspiration. So many times I am stunned by its strength, its delicacy, its generosity, its intensity. As hordes of poetry lovers do I find myself irresistibly drawn back again and again into its always open arms, and grateful for the chance.

I think that poetry can be defined as anything that an individual can claim to be poetry. For me poetry is an art form as are paintings sculpture music dance and many other forms. However what constitutes art for one person maybe complete nonsense for another. This is very often epitomised by different schools and styles of painting which some people will go overboard over and others will wonder what all the fuss is about. I see art and poetry in parts of everyday life particularly in the natural world where there is such outstanding beauty. That is not to say that we should not comment on those areas of life which are also discordant, but also consider the richness and diversity that exists and surrounds us all. Therefore I personally find it difficult to define exactly what poetry is but that probably won't stop me from trying to do so.

Thank heavens that not everything in this world can be clearly defined.

Here's my very brief tuppence-worth!

"Whenever music, art, dance or words are created, they only become art when they are able to be appreciated/viewed/heard by others who have not created them"

Excellent point, Graham.

I live; I think; I write. It is the writing that makes the leap into the second party scenario, the prime aim of most of us who 'write' being the desire, the need to share. Hence some form of publication, if only the scattering of pamplets along the sidewalk or a soap box on the corner.

Interestingly, does 'poetry' even exist without the secondary reader? Or listener? That private scribbling, however delightful to the scribbler, cannot be 'poetry' until it is shared. I like this idea: it needs more thought.

As probably does my sentence structure; but, never mind; clear enough, I think.

Ahaa! Cynthia!

Your comments bring to mind that old adage

"If a tree falls in a forest and there is no-one there to hear the noise it makes, does it indeed make a noise"???

We'll never know!

Personally, I think if anyone is inclined enough to call their scribblings of prose poetry due to the poetic quality of their own words, then by all means jump that ship. It is all in the eye of the beholder. There are plenty of rappers passing themselves off as 'writers', 'poets', and everything in between, and no one argues with them- except those who actually do poetry on a daily basis. Plenty of professional musicians, singers, and even song-writers outsource their work to ghostwriters because that, as we all know is a business as well. Poetry is well and alive in this Digital Age, even as it is disseminated, dissected, and dilated for corporate slogans, logos, and production themes. It has just been commercialized with the actual workers -actual poets- taking the back burner to their own trends and talents. Everything's a business, and if a writer can still accept that their own work may never fully be appreciated, utilized, or even looked upon for what it is in their lifetime, then that writer can look at themselves as a poet with no other clarification from anyone else.

Doesn't 'jump ship' mean 'to abandon'? As opposed to 'jump into the melee' and join all the others.

Some excellent points, including advertising which is a HUGE subject to consider under any guise.

Graham of course it makes a noise- there are many lifeforms that are sensitive to sound waves.
Also you can leave a sound recorder on and take a hike and return and playback the tape.

I recently saw in a 1929 proclamation, poetry described as "the imgination in search of the fabulous." Now there's a definition I can live with.

I like Tommy's response. I've always thought that 'the tree in the forest' thing was a bit of a cropper. I get the immediate point, of course, but the proffered question is so 'humanity limited', I cringe. And God knows - we're limited.

The composition of 'matter', and its potential for disassembly and subsequent reassembly, possibly in a varied form, instantly, is just mind blowing. And I don't mean organic death, which is generally accepted as truth. The world's histories are so full of the unexplainable, at least by current human understanding.

I can't bring myself to scoff. What do I know!

I know I like Steven's definition of poetry. Right on!.