More than once I have railed against the pursuit of the gimmicky in writers’ attempts to truffle out some kind of uniqueness in today’s overcrowded world of poetry. Here, for example:
Very occasionally — i.e. hardly ever — I will try my hand at some kind of nonsense to see what happens. Below is one such example.
Is it a poem?
Because I choose to call it a poem, does that make it one?
What if it appears in a collection of poetry or a poetry magazine?
And does ‘poem’ now cease to have any meaning, become a catch-all for any writing that isn’t narrative prose, non-fiction, screenplay etc.?
Anyway, here it is. No, really. See what you think…
Making Peace Ingredients - two cups of hope - half a pint of water - a sprinkling of salt - a thousand grains of sugar (or one small sugar cube) - yeast (preferably fresh) - some stock (made from distilled patience and persistence) Method 1. mix the hope and water 2. add the salt and sugar (the cube crushed if a cube is used) 3. stir 4. add the yeast and stir again 5. finally add the stock 6. mix well and leave to rise — or to ferment even though fermentation is an odd word in the context of making peace when ready share liberally throw parties in celebration note 1: the mixture is often left in the dark, which results in the ingredients failing to bond note 2: the mixture should be kept in the light; checked regularly; cosseted like a sourdough starter note 3: the party will not be for you but for your descendants — and only if you have been diligent in preparing the ingredients and following the method
I think it makes much more sense from a poetic standpoint than some of the gimmickry in the examples you shared in your other post. I recently attended an open mic night and saw a version of this firsthand: one poet read a series of text exchanges and presented them as poetry. The performance, the reading, the tone, the voice, made it engaging to listen to, but I’m not convinced the piece would hold up in the same way on the page. The poet also shared an email exchange with a student and presented it as a poem. This is a published poet and a professor in an MFA program.
This experience inspired me to write a poem about childhood memories structured as design and construction specifications, a nod to my profession. I found out today that the journal I submitted to has shortlisted it. Notably, this is the same journal that rejected my "standard" work eight times before.
It is a poem. Poems come in all forms and formats. And I happen to like that chocolate.