Poetry Question
What sparked your interest in poetry? For me it was reading Rudyard Kipling's Mandalay in junior high. Being a fast reader, I had read the assignment and was reading ahead. I found the imagery of a former soldier who having returned home to England longing for Burma and a Burmese girl strangely moving.* When I got home I told my mother about it and asked her if we had the poem. My mother has a M.A. in English literature and has many poetry and literature anthologies, so the answer was yes. I proceeded to reread Mandalay, and then I read the other Kipling poems in that anthology. That's where my fondness for Kipling started. Finding Kipling congenial, I sampled the works of other poets in the book.
Other than Kipling, most poetry did not grab me immediately. With the exception of the humorous poetry of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, it wasn't until about my late teens I gained an appreciation for other, more serious forms of poetry. Poetry is an acquired taste in this day and age. Even as late as the 19th century, poetry was still part of popular culture, and so one was exposed to it as part of growing up. In late 20th century and early 21st century United States culture, poetry is an esoteric interest, and seen as "elitist". This may not be the case in other cultures, but I cannot speak of those from personal experience.
Some of you know of my interest in Japanese poetry forms. This game is just so apropos for me, I may buy it even though I no longer have a gaming group to play it with.
*(I also thought it was unfair, since he left the girl behind when he shipped out, and he expects her to be waiting for him. Even then I kind of figured that she'd get on with her life since he abandoned her. Now as an adult, I know that in some countries and/or societies, a woman who sleeps with a foreigner might well be ostracized or even killed by her family or community, so it could be a much uglier situation than our soldier narrator thinks.)
Other than Kipling, most poetry did not grab me immediately. With the exception of the humorous poetry of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, it wasn't until about my late teens I gained an appreciation for other, more serious forms of poetry. Poetry is an acquired taste in this day and age. Even as late as the 19th century, poetry was still part of popular culture, and so one was exposed to it as part of growing up. In late 20th century and early 21st century United States culture, poetry is an esoteric interest, and seen as "elitist". This may not be the case in other cultures, but I cannot speak of those from personal experience.
Some of you know of my interest in Japanese poetry forms. This game is just so apropos for me, I may buy it even though I no longer have a gaming group to play it with.
*(I also thought it was unfair, since he left the girl behind when he shipped out, and he expects her to be waiting for him. Even then I kind of figured that she'd get on with her life since he abandoned her. Now as an adult, I know that in some countries and/or societies, a woman who sleeps with a foreigner might well be ostracized or even killed by her family or community, so it could be a much uglier situation than our soldier narrator thinks.)