Throughout high school and going into college, whenever I discuss poetry with peers, they share that they either strongly prefer writing poetry over reading it, or the other way around. In my personal experience, when I first discovered poetry, I much preferred writing it over reading it. I used it as a mode of expression and an outlet for my teenage angst. However, in recent years, it seems like this inclination has switched a bit. I now gravitate towards my bookshelf rather than my notebook; I use reading poetry as an escape. So I was wondering: which do you prefer, reading poetry or writing it? Why? Or do you like both equally as much? Why?
—Estelle
Hi Estelle!
Like my peers have shared, I find them to be inseparably linked. My gut response was that I enjoy reading poetry. One of the greatest feature of poetry, however, is the way it inspires me and assures me of my own ability to write poetry. Writing poetry is somewhat new to me and I still don’t consider myself extremely comfortable doing it, although I have progressed enjoyed it more and more. I also think that I used to frequently find poems frustrating because I was worried I was not extrapolating the “correct” meaning or imagery, but that has faded as I have been more comfortable simply applying my own stories and interpretations to the poem, when the poem allows, which I think is more valuable and often the whole purpose of poetry.
Hi Estelle,
I find that I enjoy both equally, but differently. While I find reading and listening to poetry much easier than writing it, I never really find myself wanting out of the blue to go listen to or read poetry. When I do, it’s normally because a friend posted a poem on social media and I accidentally came across it while scrolling through and now I just have to see what else that poet wrote or I just have to read more poems describing the same thing and can’t just keep moving on with my life until I do so. Contrarily, when I write poetry, it’s often not right after consuming someone else’s poems but when I feel like I need to to loosen that knot around my stomach just enough to breathe again. I was watching a YouTube video the other day where singer-songwriter Dodie Clark described her writing process and she said that she writes best when it’s late at night and she feels like she’s building up to being on the verge of tears; that’s what it feels like for me as well. I write poetry when the words are stuck in my throat and I just need to get them out before I choke on them. I write prose/journal when I feel like that as well, but the difference is I write poetry when I can feel the layers and layers and layers of subtext and deeper meaning and universalism behind what I’m feeling and I write prose when I know that these layers are there but I can’t feel them and I can only see two seconds in front of me at a time and I just need to get something out and nothing about it all feels remotely poetic but it might be insightful later on or I know I might want to know what I was feeling later on, even if I never could formulate those thoughts and package them up into a poem.
Hi Estelle,
For me I’ve found that the two are inseparably linked. Reading good poetry gives me inspiration to write poetry, and I can’t write poetry without drawing from the bank of good poems I’ve read. It’s an ouroboros; one is constantly feeding the other. Of course reading poetry is easier than writing it, and in terms of which is more pleasurable it’s really hard to say. I tend to get frustrated when the words I put on the page don’t align perfectly with the image I want to convey, and I wrestle with it over and over in my mind until I get tired of trying to meet my high expectations and just throw in the towel. Every time I write I have to re-learn the lesson of writing shitty first drafts. So in that sense, I guess I would prefer reading poetry over writing it, just like how food tends to taste better when it’s prepared by somebody else and all you have to do is pick up your fork and relish in it. But in the end, inevitably, I find myself back in the kitchen. I think I can only consume so much before I start to crave the act of creation. A kind of— “I can do that. I can write deliciously.” And nothing (nothing!) beats the head rush high of when a line finally clicks.
Hi Estelle,
I agree with Haeun’s explanation of how the two processes are linked. Reading and writing poetry inform each other in a way I’m starting to internalize more this semester, actually, just because of how consistently I’m being asked to do both. I do find that reading and writing serve different emotional and educational purposes for me, though. When I read, I’m absorbing new ideas, making new connections, and sometimes, as you mention, escaping. Writing feels much for about synthesizing–an active, immediate process that requires total commitment and personal investment. I can’t separate myself from the work when I write, whereas reading can remain a bit more distanced. It’s like when I read, I’m peering through a keyhole in someone else’s house. When I write, I figure out which keyholes in my house I want a future reader to look through.
Haeun, I love love love this description!
I am also such a big fan of Haeun’s description here, especially the food comparison. I also think that reading versus writing poetry aligns with what you’re craving. Sometimes I really need to read a poem that is going to explain a little about life to me. And sometimes, I just really need to put words down on paper in order to understand why I am desiring an explanation for emotion that I am having difficulty articulating.