But why hit on poetry as a means of expression? Poetry has the potential to reach a wide range of readers – yet many people are often put off by obscure and dated references. Few collections foster and encourage more people from diverse social backgrounds to read poetry and (why not?) even write the stuff. Yet we all experience love, tension, despair, glee. These emotions need not be necessarily expressed in some obscure language but can be conveyed in simple yet evocative terms. Poetry has advantages over other forms of writing: it can be short and to the point; it can be easily divided into shortish verses; it can play easily on the rhyme, rhythm and music of words; it can provide the ideal release for the build-up of a writer’s need to write, and the reader’s need to face up to conflict and resolve dilemmas.
It’s magical at times, the way a poem develops within – the verses seem to lead on spontaneously one from another and provide a structure. It’s as if you can capture the moment and produce something intimate and exclusive which satisfies your inner need and perhaps says something to others. The compulsion of it all is the fascinating thing and one which should not be denied, for the inner energy needs its outer manifestation. Structure, punctuation and rhyme have their part to play, but they are not the arbiters, the rulers, the sacrosanct parameters of a poet’s craft – freedom to leave aside, to add, or simply to ignore are all acceptable in focusing on and getting the essential message across.
It is with all this in mind that I hit on the idea to provide a short personal take on each poem, thinking these could encourage curiosity and lead people on to read the poem, or, even more magnificently, to create a sense of intrigue whereby one reads the poem first, passes on to a sort of criticism or analysis phase and then checks it out with a second reading of the poem. Not rocket science in approach and not an attempt to be comprehensive and all-defining, but just an aid to enjoy the poetry. Indeed, the content of the ‘take’ is something of a ramble, at times focusing on the content, the message, the point to get across, and at other times on how a particular poetic device has been used to create an affect. The collection is random and may not hold together well nor stand up to any logical cry for compliance and standardisation, but suffice it that the odd poem, the half-memorable line, or a combination of words says something to the reader, even to the point of wanting to read it out aloud to oneself and hearing in a very real sense what the poem is saying and what emotion is conveyed. Hopefully the reader is moved to reflect on analyse one’s own world, the world we live in and the kind of life and circumstances we aspire to in consequence. If this collection achieves any of these outcomes I’ll know it’s been worthwhile.