My poetic manifesto

 
Poetry must be relevant for the circumstances in which it arises.



1. Poetry is most alive when spoken and/or performed. Performance poetry seems a better way to reach audiences than page poetry though it is not either/or. Page poetry can and infact has different aims and purposes and works by different means.


  

2. All literature is inherently and by its very nature, political. It is political because it uses language which is also by its very nature inherently philosophical and political.  Writing itself, publication, distribution.. every aspect of literature is philosophical/political. It cannot be otherwise. Literature cannot avoid making philosophical and/or political commentary. It is WRONG to argue that doing so should be taboo in literature. It is WRONG for writers to wish to exist in a vacuum removed from the moral, philosophical and  political questions,debates and discussions of the times in which they live. Literature can either function in defense of existing society or criticise it in hopes of improving society. It cannot be neutral!


  

3.  However with that in mind, not all literature needs to be explicitly political. It is enough to have political work as part of your body of work. The problem is either failure to make political commentary or worse, outright refusal to comment. Writers are not, cannot and even should not be neutral!

  

4. Performance poetry is the future of poetry. And yet page poetry is not completely irrelevant.

Since Performance poetry is where poetry is headed it requires a change in how poetry is viewed. It requires a change in how poetry is done, the audience we aim to reach, its content, its form and how poets act.  


5. Good writing fulfils many purposes. I enjoy writing that entertains and makes you think.

  

6. The personal is political.

  

7.  Good writing is honest, relevant to everyday life, political, philosophical.. it should be a mixture of life. Writing can and should comment on the whole spectrum of experience and emotion. Writing especially poetry should challenge power, it should encourage critical thinking.. Literature should open up possibilities. It should be eloquent with simplicity. It should be accessible and inclusive not elitist. Casting off the worst that poetry  and poets have been. We need poetry for the masses, not the ruling classes!  


8. Poetry by itself cannot change the world. It only spreads the ideas which must be acted upon which will change the world.


  

(Open to later explanation at a later date)