Education
Poetry? Seriously?
The intellectual pursuit of poetry often overshadows the fact that poetry also traces its roots in common, ribald and vulgar use of language. A common dirty limerick, for instance, is memorized by more people than any work by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Try it out and see. Begin with I met a traveller from an antique land, and see if anyone can continue Ozymandias. Then try There once was a man from Nantucket. Guess which one the audience will enjoy more.
While classical poetry certainly has more value, ribald poetry is powerful enough on its own. An overly serious situation can easily be put in its place with a funny quote. Inciting laughter is one of the more common tricks in getting a crowd on your side. In fact, the Monty Python Group made several successful forays just with this formula, and it is difficult to find a writer who doesn’t remember I’m a lumberjack and I’m okay and finish the whole song.
If you need help with poetry writing, try out a silly poem. Without the intellectual requirement and demand, words flow easier. One of the poetry writing techniques is through word association, and if you try it, sooner or later, the words turn into sex, and you just can’t help it. Learning poetry writing is not always the serious business the academe has made it out to be. Try a dirty limerick or a senseless rhyme – it gets addicting after a while, and you will see that taking poetry seriously is only a small part of the game.