April is National Poetry Month, so it is a great time to break out your notebook and start writing poems. But what makes a great poem? While poetry is often about personal interpretation and preference, here are a few general guidelines.
- Use language correctly. Poetry needs to be well written, even though there is room for ambiguity. If you are going to break the rules, make sure you are doing so intentionally.
- Make it valueable to the reader. People connect with poetry for a number of reasons. For instance, the poem might illustrate emotions that are difficult to express or reveal a reality.
- Offer hope. Poetry is a powerful medium for overcoming difficulties in life, and great poetry can offer hope to the reader.
- Be sincere. Great poetry is written from the heart. It is not forced. It is genuine.
I’d love to know, how you define great poetry?
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Poetry became this shy poets voice more than thirty years ago. I had difficulty expressing myself to others and when I was 13 my English teacher taught a segment on poetry and writing it. This is how I learned to express what is in my heart. Thank you for the reminder that it needs to come from the heart.
I feel as if the more personal a poem is the more people will read and love it. My poetry comes straight from the heart and I hope it reaches my readers.