I have written short poems for some time - mostly quickly on my phone: ‘in the moment’. Now I’ve just started posting on reddit: to the OC poetry list.
I’m wondering about poem writing
Do I write for myself?
Or do I write for others?
and if I do write for myself, then why do I want to share?
Just something I’m wondering about. Any opinions?
Posted Apr 25, 2022, 4:08 AM UTC
Well personally, I write for both. Knowing that people are going to read and enjoy your work is an amazing feeling, but I still write what makes me happy, not what would make others happy. Think about it like when you hear a really good song and you become obsessed with how amazing it is and how you can relate your own feelings and/or experiences to that song. That’s how I want people to feel about my writing. When I write with the intention of sharing with people, I want them to be able to experience my enjoyment with me and hopefully bring them happiness.
Yes that makes sense! It was just something that occurred to me - I guess I have been writing the odd poem for a while now without showing anyone and that’s been fine. But I like the idea that others might get something from reading my work…. And yes when I read other’s work and I can relate to it I enjoy it a lot - and it helps me to think about the theme /subject that they are writing about…
So you are asking us how you feel about writing poetry? I think I am a little confused about your question. Are you asking Reddit how we feel about writing poetry?
i write because it’s better for me than therapy, and sometimes i’m proud of what i’ve written and want to share it. win win
Never ever ever write for others. Write only for yourself. Writing for others will only lead to poems that are either performative, didactic, inauthentic, or a combination thereof.
On the other hand, you absolutely MUST edit for others, if you wish for the poem to have an audience of more than one. Otherwise your thoughts and ideas won't be communicated effectively.
... For me, this is the balance that I think can keep my poems true to myself but accessible to others.
TL;Dr: write (only) for yourself; edit for others.
Do you think about an audience when you write? ie do you change a word to make the poem work better?
Do you secretly want to show or read to an audience (at some undefined future time) but don't quite feel ready yet?
Poetry is a creative act. I do it for its own sake. I do think about potential audiences in terms of how much of my meaning do I want to reveal plainly and how much must be worked out. Once it is complete, I think about what editors might like it before I send it to them.
The time to share your poetry is right now. Share it with editors. Once you post it on reddit, most reputable editors won't touch it. No one is ever "ready." No poem is ever "done." If your poetry is really good, most people won't really understand it--at least as fully as you do. The more you share your poetry with editors, the more rejections you will get and the more comfortable you will feel with rejection.
i write them because i enjoy them, and share them because i want to get better at writing them, which hopefully furthers my enjoyment of writing them.
so you only share because you hope to get feedback which allows you to write better poems?
I wonder whether you also share them because you feel that it is good to get them 'out there', in the world? That, although you have written them, and you enjoy writing them, they might have 'something to say' to others?
sure i guess, because often times they show me something first. personally i enjoy spoken word poems (particularly funny ones), and reading them aloud to friends and family.