To feel Poetry has died a death in modern society?

[Marmitemother]

Out of curiosity I searched MN expecting to find a topic page on poetry and literature....have I missed it somewhere?

Semi retired, children flown the nest, hubbie and I always busy with projects yet still find time to read poetry most days.

I'm wondering if others, particularly younger folk (we're in our 60's) didn't learn to appreciate poetry at school or just don't have time or the inclination to read, share and discuss compared to all else available these days (TV, phones, cinema, social media etc)

I read The Journey by Mary Oliver this morning and thought about how it spoke to many posting on the Relationship page.

“One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life you could save.”

My mum used to write a lot of poetry and used to organise poetry festivals in the 90s. I think the younger generation still appreciate poetry but now it’s just more in the form of lyrics and quote type stuff posted on Instagram. I don’t think they’d tend to pick up a poetry book and read it.

Isn't Rap just poetry at its core?

It depends where you look. I follow plenty of poets on Twitter and Instagram. Haven't picked up a poetry book in years.

I hate poetry. I doesn’t seem to be dying a death (sadly 😬)

I think you are right op, poetry is not as popular as it once one. I think there are still poetry lovers out there but its more niche, i am in some poetry groups on Facebook.
My mother read poetry to me when i was younger (born 86) but my children would not like that at all, they do read books but not poetry.
I am hoping they will enjoy it more when they are older, i used to hate the war poets as a child but enjoy it more these days.

Kar Tempest sells out huge venues. Rap and Grime is spoken word poetry. There are still rap competitions which are free flow poetry.

Personally- as an English Lit teacher - schools being restricted to heritage poetry has turned young people off poetry. 17th century romantic poems are never going to resonate with a bored teenager.

Poets still write poetry, and I read and enjoy some of it. I probably don't post about it on MN though.

I think poetry is perceived as being boring or whatever, but that's just lazy - there are lots of interesting poets out there, both young and old.

I like a range of poets - Rupi Kaur, Holly McNish, Brian Bilston, Wendy Cope, WH Auden, Dylan Thomas. I really like the Poetry pharmacy books, which include poems by lots of different poets.

I agree about rap. My teens love rap and idolise rappers and grime artists. They hate the poetry parts of their GCSE and A level English syllabuses and groan when it comes up. They are being turned off poetry at school imo.

Pops up in random places on twitter and instagram. Brian Bilston is my current favourite

I love poetry it's underrated. Kids are more than capable of understanding it they listen to lyrics all the time

Most days a poem or two pops up in my Facebook feed. More recently because of Remembrance. Same on Twitter. Depends who you follow. Social media is a great way to engage with poetry rather than simply displacing it.
Dd has poems on her bedroom wall too, along with photos, postcards, concert tickets…

Mary Oliver, eh?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

I ❤️ me some poyums.

Rap and grime is not poetry.
I dont think things have to be dumbed down to make them resonate with children, the themes of heritage poetry are still relevant today.

Well you u used to have classical music as poetry. Now we have songs with lyrics. Not much need for poetry

Those of you mentioning rap, you know it’s an acronym of Rhythm And Poetry?

Rap and grime is not poetry.

If you were to see/hear the lyrics of some of them without the backing track you would see that they are poetry.

not all of them, obviously, but there are some artists who definitely write poetry.

Of course rap is poetry! Just because it isn’t the kind of poetry some of you like doesn’t mean it isn’t poetry.

I think poetry is alive and well and there are far more ways of encountering it than there have ever been.

Would recommend the Poetry Unbound podcast for finding new modern poets to read.

There are poetry threads on MN, just not all in the same place. 'What we're reading' is probably the obvious topic but threads often get started in busier topics such as AIBU for traffic:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4508731-To-ask-what-poem-you-return-to-to-lift-your-spirits

I see poetry online every day! My daughter and I read a poem this morning. We went to a poetry reading recently.

Sorry that isnt true, do a quick google of the etymology of the word rap, it's not an acronym.

I'm a huge fan of poetry in all its forms. I like the silly irreverent stuff, the chunkier works from history, the dramatic Victorian era poets, the stuff produced now by poets using Instagram and TimTok to share their work. I keep books on my bookshelves and online collections. I like Hymns and Psalms and prayers, they are also poetry.

I agree with others - today's music stars are the poets of the modern age - from Eminem to Taylor Swift, Kate Tempest, Stormzy...

I was such a weird teenager. 😂 But yes, poetry is actually incredibly popular and current right now, it just looks a bit different.

I have been teaching English for over 20 years. Pupils used to love poetry when it was free choices - they still do in KS3. The ridiculous choices of poems in the anthologies has made poetry become a chore for pupils and teachers. I loved teaching poetry when we could choose poems that would engage the class (I have used rap, song lyrics alongside poetry). Now a bottom set year 11 class have to memorise 15 poems, the same as those in the top set.
Gone are the days of The Snowman or The Hitchhiker that they loved and here is 'Tissue' and lots of other poems chosen by people who have no experience of teaching other than having been to
School

I think it is alive and well. There are 12 live poetry events in London between now and the end of the year and loads of podcasts blog.feedspot.com/poetry_podcasts/

I also agree that artists such as Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Kae Tempest are poets who write powerful verse that resonates with younger people (and is also appreciated by old people like me)

I love this - we share poems on our family WA group too, and DS really enjoys reading them. He had an old poetry book for children when he was younger called The sausage is a cunning bird, it got a lot of laughs.