I have given careful consideration to this question of what makes a poet. Eventually I found a foreword by the editor of a collection of poems called 'Angel's Breath'. This is how he views poets. I really want to share this with my fellow poets so here goes.
I firmly believe that poets are a different breed. They see and feel things with a heightened awareness. They look at life in a different way.
Reading poetry is a very engaging occupation but the ability to write it is what sets poets apart from other people.
That's because poetry gives us wings. It helps us soar above and beyond the normal pathways of humanity. It elevates us to a higher plain and helps us to find new levels of existence, new realitites and new possibilities.
It's obvious to anyone reading these words that I afford poetry a kind of reverence that one would normally associate with the religious or the spiritual. That's because I believe so strongly in iths power.
A poem can change lives for the better. it can change opinions and feelings. One poem can do so much.

An interesting discussion topic, Eleanor...

Poetry... "helps us soar above and beyond the normal pathways of humanity. It elevates us to a higher plain and helps us to find new levels of existence, new realitites and new possibilities".

Hmmmm. Maybe the best of poetry does...but I'm not sure that applies to some of the immature and hate-filled rants that get posted on the blog section of this site (along with all the good stuff, of course!).

Poets are special, though. No doubt about that. They see things differently, and, in my view, the best poets are spiritual and emotionally intelligent.

On the whole, poets will see and communicate beyond the mundane and procedural aspects of life. The best poets illuminate a kind of poetic truth that leaves us reeling.

So, yeah, let's big it up for poets (up to a point).

I think you have to be careful how far you run with those thoughts Eleanor. I feel uncomfortable with the comment that poetry puts you on a different/higher plane. I don't feel that at all. I happen to love playing with language like someone else might music or food or paint... There are so many different forms of poetry. I like poetry that makes me laugh as much as cry. How different is a funny ranty poetry to stand up comedy? Not very in my opinion. If I could choose to be anything in life - it would be a stand up comedian - it must be a great feeling if you are good at it - but I and most poets rely on a bit of paper - cos it takes real talent and nerves of steel to do stand up...I also don't believe that you can change much with a poem. You might touch people for a moment or make them think but you'll never achieve any great social change - very few people read it - perhaps if you set it to music and performed it all in green, or stark naked with braille tatoos.....

Hi Eleanor.

Tricky question. The easy answer is, I guess, the ability to compose a poem. But then most people, given a little encouragement, could probably manage that. A more relevant question might be, "What makes a good poet?" (And I use the word "good" very loosely in this context.)

I think maybe it's also (rather like the chicken and egg scenario) worth asking, "What makes a poem?" I suspect you would get a different answer from each person you asked. As for claims of "heightened awareness" etc, many poets, Coleridge for example, acheived their heightened awareness via the use of mind altering narcotics. Being off your face on opiates probably would make you look at the world in a different way. As for poetry giving us wings - so (allegedly) does Red Bull, but I doubt I will take up drinking it in order to improve my poetry.

I'm not sure that I can recall any particular poem that has changed the world in the way that you claim - but I live in hope. Indeed, is that the purpose of poetry? Does it have a purpose - or is it simply a method of communicating thoughts and ideas in a way that may be categorised as "poetic?"

For those who enjoy poetry - both readers and writers - yes, there probably is some kind of reverence for the medium, but then a golfer might also say that about his bag of clubs.

Having said all this I would be interested to see what you consider to be examples of "powerful" poetry, and to find out whether others might share your views. It is obviously something you feel very passionate about; a feeling to be valued.

Regards,
A.E.

p.s. Isobel, you seem to be developing some rather unusual fetishes!

"That's because poetry gives us wings."

I thought that was the job of Red Bull.

Writing poetry doesn't make you a special person. Poets are interested in language, in the play of it, in the multivalent meanings behind the words we use, in looking at the world in a closer way than others, but I don't think they're anymore special than your average factory or office worker. What makes a poet is what makes a human being, plus a particular love of language. It's the same as an artist or a musician; they love imagery and sound respectively. Poets love words.

But we're not better than anyone else.

Some interesting points made here already and i can associate with much of what's been said. For me personally,
poetry is something which caught my attention in my younger days then i lost interest as work, play and marriage became the focus of my life. A series of disasters shocked me to the core and forced me to sit and re-evaluate. It was at that point i discovered the spiritual aspects that Eleanor speaks of and the start of my writing experiences which eventually turned poetic. I found the profound in mine and then other writers works. Profound to me i hasten to add.

In answer to the question, the poet makes a poet, the poetry is secondary because of its subjectivity and subject matter which will never reach the whole wide world but will touch the ones who can identify with the content.

I do believe we are capable of reaching a higher level of awareness to assist with the message we might want to portray in writings and even to help us discover what we are capable of but i cannot believe it is the writing which projects us to a higher level of awareness.
It certainly doesn't make us any better than anyone else, just the best we give ourselves the chance to be and the same goes for cooks, mums and dads, scientists and teachers...
the list is continuous and eternal.

Whilst this is an interesting question, I feel that the true question you wish to ask is what makes an artist. I think people often forget that good writing is an art form. At least that is what I feel the better writers achieve. A while ago I came across a theory of minds that categorised people into 7 different types, one of those was 'Artist' and the description was 'sees and is aware of everything, and through their life try to define and understand'. I feel this is a real truth and can apply to so many writers and artists.

It's all very well to set poetry apart and say that it can change someone, but so can a play, music, books...almost any art form you care to imagine can change someone. Poetry is certainly not special, it is a part of what we might call art.

So back to the question, what makes a poet? Well changing that a little to: what makes a GOOD poet? The ability to see things and try to explain or bring them to light. Now even as I'm writing this I feel the answer is a little idealistic, but hell I'm gonna say it. Like all art, poetry, that is good poetry, is the part search for the truth, part highlighting the world around us.

All these prior comments are excellent.

I don't believe that a poet lives in a 'personal poetry' vacuum. I think a poet needs to read the poetry of others, the major, universally acknowledged poets of all nations - extensively. I also believe a poet should know and apply the disciplines of his/her art. Once secure in formalities the individual can branch out in any free style desired. But it is impossible to be 'free' before you have been harnessed.



'In the Time of "The Breaking of Nations"' was the most impactive poem of my youth. It coloured my view of life in general. Amazingly, I was willing to be instructed by wise people, and I don't think anyone is wiser than a good poet. He/She seems to have a 3-D awareness of life.

Poems like these guided me to conciseness in my own work - profundity in simplicity. Never waste a word. I try my best to follow their excellent examples.

For me, it is the drive to share ideas. A poet needs a lot of gall to think himself/herself so unusual that the world is just waiting to hear what he/she is thinking. But I believe this very egotism is a major make-up of a poet.