04/07/2022 – Poetic Slump

If you follow me on Instagram, there’s a chance you have read what I posted on the 11th of June. To paraphrase, I cannot write poetry anymore.

My ability to write a poem has vanished. I don’t know where. I don’t know how. All I know is that I haven’t been satisfied with any of my recent attempts. It doesn’t work. Nothing seems natural. Nothing flows. If a poem does not flow, one should stick with it and improve it in editing. Salvage something from it. But I’ve lacked passion in every poem I’ve written recently. That is a death sentence for any creative piece. If you do not care about what you’re making… stop making it. You must care. You have to. And I haven’t cared about writing poetry recently. So I’ve stopped. Better to produce nothing at all than something you do not care about.

In my first year at university, I took an introductory poetry module. I enjoyed it and engaged with it. I met some great people on the module, and my lecturers made the learning fun. But I came to realise that there’s so much more to poetry than I once thought. It is daunting to me. There’s so much to learn. So much to consider. I enjoy studying poetry from a technical angle, but not writing it from the same perspective. I don’t like thinking about metre and rhyme and rhythm while writing a poem. For me, too many constraints suffocate the creative process. I am not as skilled as the poets we studied. I understand that I never will be that skilled at writing poetry.

In recent weeks, I have become more introspective. Considered who I am as a writer. I’ve come to realise that I prefer prose over poetry. Novels and short stories over poems. I don’t envision myself as a poet. I envision myself as a novelist. Stories resonate with me more than poems. While a story possesses a narrative structure, a poem is a freer style of expression. Of course poems have structure. But not every poem tells a narrative. Poetry is a lot more technical than prose. One doesn’t have to consider rhyme and metre while writing prose unless you are utilising poetic function.

That is a result of my gradual shift away from poetry – my prose has become more poetic. I use techniques like alliteration and assonance in my sentences, often without realising. That is the beauty of prose. You can implement poetry into prose, but it is difficult to implement prose into poetry.

Consistency guarantees success. Artists and creatives must be consistent. My poetry-writing efforts have not been consistent. They never have. That helps explain why writing poetry has become an insurmountable task for me. Writing one poem a day may help me out of this rut. I may try that.

The biggest reason for this poetic slump is my decision to focus on prose. Longer pieces. More conventional writing, like my current novel and short stories and these blog posts. Poetry doesn’t fit with my current priorities. Other things demand my focus and attention.

My shift towards prose will also help me in the future. I wish to become become a line editor – someone who edits sentences. Prose. My most useful skill is the ability to edit other people’s writing. But that’s a discussion for another blog post. I don’t want to become a poetry editor. My knowledge of poetry remains too underdeveloped. What makes a good poem? I cannot answer that question. I’m not qualified to answer that question. It is easier to explain what makes good prose. The rules are more rigid, and everything makes a little more sense.

Poetry intimidates me. It never used to… but now it does. That is what it all comes down to. I’m not good at it anymore. I doubt I ever was. Some writers are better poets, others are better at writing prose. The second category seems like a more accurate description of me.

One day I’ll write poetry again. But it may be a very long time. I am currently working on a short story that I’ll publish on this website. And I’m aiming to blog consistently. My temporary departure from poetry is not a departure from writing. All I need is some time. Apparently, Ted Hughes went a year without writing a poem. I’m not comparing myself to Ted Hughes. He was a masterful poet. But the principle remains. If Ted Hughes retained the ability to write poetry after a year of not doing so, perhaps I can too.

I hope that’s the case.

I’m not much of a poet anymore.