GOING BACK TO BASICS

I have concerns about modern poetry. Free verse forms the bulk of it and is therefore, quite naturally, inspiring a new generation of poets but I fear many of the next generation are ignoring the basics and jumping in feet first.

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Throughout the years great poets pulled off perfectly polished, structured poems that told a story or conveyed a message but how often in this day and age do we see a perfect rhyming, structured and emotional metric poem? 

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Demand is surely still there because one need only look at the nation's most popular poems. The likes of Kipling's If, Wordsworth's The Daffodils and To Autumn by John Keats will always feature towards the top of most people's list.

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In 1970, Mary Wilson, wife of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, released a book of poems, imaginatively titled Selected Poems. Mrs Wilson may have had the advantage of her position to assist her in obtaining a deal with a publisher, but the book sold a very impressive 75,000 copies.

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One need not be a Professor of English Literature to read through the work and conclude that Mrs Wilson was not a great poet, but there was a sincerity to her writing that clearly struck a chord with lots of people. Every author is not a great author just as every painter is not a great painter, but it doesn't mean their work cannot be enjoyed, and indeed celebrated, for what it is.

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In the preface, Mrs Wilson wrote 'I am happiest writing poetry which rhymes and scans, although I have written a little free verse', before going on to explain that there are skills and attention to detail involved in the way she writes. I find it rather odd that she felt a need to justify herself. 

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She followed up her collection in 1979 with the equally imaginatively titled New Poems, and her opening line in the preface was 'I have always believed that a poem should stand by itself, and its meaning be immediately clear to the reader'. Once again there appeared to be a justification clause inserted right from the start.

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Why should practitioners of traditional verse feel the need to justify anything? They are writing what the majority of people prefer, as was indicated in the sleeve notes by the publisher which ought to provide food for thought, and perhaps a wake-up call, to many of today's publishers.

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Mary Wilson's new collection follows on from her phenomenally successful Selected Poems which was a best seller in hardback and, in the process, uncovered a vast and almost forgotten market for sincere, traditional verse.

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Alas, the vast and almost forgotten market for sincere, traditional verse appears to be almost forgotten once again because so few, if any, prominent poets of today write to traditional forms. It's rather surprising really because I doubt many modern poetry collections sell in such quantity as the works of Mrs Wilson.

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What  we seem to have today is a bit of a free for all - anything goes.  This filters down to the aspirants of this Internet age where poetry has completely lost its way in a maelstrom of pretentiousness in 'look what I wrote today' mutual appreciation societies. 

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I believe the fundamental problem lies in a misguided belief that free verse looks easy, at least to the layman, whereas traditional forms of poetry appear to present obstacles. Neither is true of course.

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Formal poetry, with its combinations of metric, rhyme and line constraints, does not present obstacles. It presents a challenge to unlock the door that separates poetry from prose. 

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The limitations of traditional forms are actually rather liberating because they enforce a discipline necessary to improve as a writer and gain a greater appreciation of poetic devices and the sounds of words. It forces a constant review of the text to ensure the words say what they mean to say - and sometimes more - without appearing to be forced and with seemingly effortless grace - and that takes a great deal of skill.

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Similarly, to produce free verse with poetic device throughout, without appearing pretentious in its visual construction and hold a reader's attention throughout is incredibly difficult. This can only be pulled off by an accomplished practitioner of the craft and I believe that a truly accomplished practitioner will have mastered a variety of traditional forms. I would be very surprised if any past or future Poet Laureate jumped feet first into free verse.

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When we aspire to creative writing, even in a hobbyist capacity, it is usually as a result of having read or seen something performed that has impressed us and left a lasting impression upon us. We envy people who have a perfect turn of phrase and it is only natural to attempt to emulate what pleases us. In the case of creative writing - of any kind - the act seems simple and straightforward because we can all write and we all know lots of words.

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Creative writing will certainly seem a lot easier at the onset than playing the piano or painting landscapes but like any creative process it soon becomes obvious that there is a lot going on backstage. Almost all of the seemingly effortless beauty of those we revere is a very deliberate result of intense effort and, in the case of writing, we soon discover tools we didn't know existed. It doesn't take long for an aspiring creative writer to learn that it requires a great deal more than simply putting pen to paper.

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For me, the art of poetry lies beyond tropes and metaphors for these are also present in well-written prose. The art is in the mastery of the sound of words and an ability to create a fluidity that makes the work seem effortless, despite the fact that one might agonise over every word to eliminate a cliché or the forcing of a rhyme. If it means scrapping the assignment altogether then so be it. 

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Metric poetry can often be flat and uninspiring but well-written metre has a melodic quality that is so clearly designed to be read aloud. Equally, it is in the aural sense that free verse lacking in inventiveness and sensitivity falls flat on its face and all pretentiousness is laid bare, particularly where stanzas end and then open in mid-sentence.

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I worry that owing to a seeming disregard for structure, modern poetry is in danger of evolving into one gigantic cliché of irrelevance, unless the aspiring poets of tomorrow are encouraged to embrace traditional forms.

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If this is perceived as going back to basics then so be it.

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