In Poetry, No Subject Is Taboo |

To paraphrase Walt Whitman, the father of American poetry, the dirtiest poem of all is the expurgated poem. This gets to the heart of today’s post: No subject in poetry is too taboo.

Before I move on to the fifth part of the Millennial Poetics series, let’s review parts 1-4:

The 9 principles of Millennial Poetics are recounted below:

Poetry Has No Taboos

It is an American tradition in poetry to drag filth out of the dung heap of passion. Walt Whitman did his part in singing the body electric. For him to praise the beauties of manly love and to speak of shooting jets of manhood during his day was to effectively turn poetic tradition on its ear – at least, American poetic tradition. It was a total break from anything that came before. And his legacy lives today in the poetry of many of our contemporaries and forebears. Poets from various traditions look to Whitman for influence, and rightly so.

There is room for all kinds of poets in the Millennial School. From the most pious religious verse to the most erotic love poetry, from purity and chastity to S&M, poetry is not, as John Donne believed, all about truth and beauty. It is about life and those who live it. That means the ugly is as poetic as the beautiful, the perverted can be as accessible as the pure, hate is as sublime as love. The only true poetic measure is effectiveness – does the poem move its audience?

Aristotle’s theory of catharsis is a principle for all time. Poetry that is boring dies. Poetry that inspires, incites, thrills, shocks, draws adoration, coerces a tear, forces a laugh – that is poetry that lives forever.

Poetry must, above all else, elicit a reaction. If it does not then it isn’t poetry worth reading. Essential to that motive is the poem’s audience. I would not expect the most devoutly religious to be moved by a Marquis-de-Sade-meets-Baudelaire type poem of the 21st century, nor would I expect swingers and polyamorists into bondage and discipline to read Gerard Manley Hopkins through the lens of John Wesley revisited. The audience must be seen as a part of the poem. Each poem must be written with its audience in mind, but the poetic principles are the same. Whether one is writing for one’s church group or one’s sex club, the elements of craft are the same. Those don’t change. Subject matter is simply another element of craft, like form.

When it comes to choosing a subject for poetry, poets must open their minds and their hearts. Don’t be staid. Life in the 21st century is complex, fast, technological, and vibrant. Poets must write poetry that reflects the culture of their era. Of course, there is a vast difference between the culture of the Western world in the 21st century and the third world of the same time. That doesn’t mean, however, that poetry in one culture can’t be appreciated by an audience in another. It does mean that a poet must speak from a vantage point – a unique vantage that is all his own. If he is effective in presenting his point of view through a uniqueness of voice then no matter what his subject is and no matter who is audience is intended to be, there will be a crossover effect. That crossover won’t be total or universal, but it will be there. And that only further expands the influence of that poet and his verse.

There are no taboos in poetry. Form, subject matter, elements of craft, they all work together toward either an effective presentation or an ineffective presentation. It is up to the poet’s skill, experience, and determination to make the poem speak to its audience.

Continue on to the next part in the Millennial Poetics series