Randy on the Simplicity of Poetry

As a writer, the most important goal for me is to make sure that everyone can read, enjoy and relate to my work. I want those who do not read poetry and who are not aware of common conventions among modern artist or any poetry movement or style of writing to understand my work. Often, poets are concerned with what their contemporaries or other scholars think of their writing. I could care less. I want to be able to share my work with the guy behind the deli counter who hasn’t read a poem since grade school and he say: I know how you feel, that happened to me. The more abstract or intelligent a poem, the smaller the audience. It may be a symptom of a society with lowering standards of education. It may be a problem with the small attention spans of Americans who love their television. Whatever the case, the people that are in my family and that I work with don’t care about literature in the slightest. They read the latest trashy novel by Omar Tyree or Zane and consider that art. Everything else is considered boring. I chalk it up to them not being able to follow a Toni Morrison because she never tells a story completely from beginning to end. They can’t handle the classical references made in a Countee Cullen poem. Since it seems I am criticizing the educational system and the intellect of the people I know, I know naturally it begs the question: Why would I want to write poems that are concrete that don’t lend themselves to higher orders of thinking?

I believe poetry has a voice that opens up many secrets others are hiding. It can change your beliefs by providing a different viewpoint. Through imagery and stakes a story can be told or a message delivered that people are frightened of. Change in this world can only happen when the masses stop existing and start observing. If only poets and scholars can understand your message, who are you leaving revolution up to? Most poets and scholars I know have no intention of joining the army, but the young man who read below grade level in school might feel that’s his best option. Think of the urgency of the message an accessible poet could sent to him. Most artists I know have no intention of joining politics, but think of what message an energetic, young interesting poet could send to the lawyer or accountant running for mayor. Poetry has the ability to sell just as many units and be widely received as any John Grisham, Dean Koontz or Zane novel, but there is a stigma attached to poetry. It’s considered by many to be intentionally dense and difficult. Take the following four lines for example:
Persephone walks down the hill
Casting a shadow upon the earth
We must wait 6 lunar days
For the fields to again show mirth
The common response I would get from a non-poetry reader for that poem is Oh, That’s Pretty. This response is because lines 2 and 4 rhyme. The scholar or artist may enjoy it, only because they know what Persephone’s story is and what I meant by 6 lunar days and they know what the word mirth means. However, I could have been clearer:
The snows of winter last six months
Love is frozen in one’s vein
Hearts can’t feel any warmth
Until the spring thaws it again
Most scholars would say that the above poem belongs in a third grade text book. Artists may say it’s full of clichés. However for someone who doesn’t read poetry will be able to appreciate it more. And know what is being said.