Do you enjoy poetry? Or do you blame your high school experience for the fact that you don't like poems? Ever since I was little, I have been writing poetry. Not only do I enjoy creating my own, I also enjoy reading it. There are so many people who don't enjoy poetry, but there is so much that the genre has to offer.
1. Everyone gets something different out of it.
This is what made poetry hell in high school; your teacher wanted you to get what they did out of the poem, and you always found something else completely different. But when you're reading poetry for fun, then whatever you want to get out of it, you can.
2. Express yourself.
Poetry is the perfect way to express yourself. There are so many different styles and so many different choices you can make. Don't want to make your poetry sappy and filled with metaphors? You don't have to.
3. It's short.
If nothing else, poetry is generally a fairly quick read. Some of the longest poems are as long as books, but that's not super common.
4. It's basically music.
If you take away the backing track, lyrics are poems. So if everyone loves music, then why wouldn't everyone love poetry?
5. Participate in history.
Poetry is by no means a new genre. Whether you read something written yesterday by some nobody or you read a Dickinson poem, you are involving yourself in a large history.
6. Words matter.
You can pick words that best fit the point that you want to make. In poems, there are some words that fit and flow better than others. When you write poetry you get to pick the words and metaphors that you want; you can use whatever you want to express yourself.
7. Punctuation means more.
Unlike other forms of writing, the different types of punctuation or where a new line is started is more important in poetry. It calls more attention to the thoughts of the author. Poetry is an art form where the format and the punctuation, or lack thereof, can mean almost as much as the words.
8. It doesn't have to rhyme.
Sure, poetry is hard to write if you have to think up rhymes or you have to follow a set syllable count, but that's not all types of poetry. If you don't want your poetry to rhyme, it doesn't have to.