Jumping in with an example

Thanks, Sex and the 60 for your response! Sarcasm, yes, but what sarcasm? Is it poetry if it is plodding and predictable like, “After our recent elections, I’m certain that all our thorny problems will be solved by Christmas”? Or does it need to be punchier, or more subtle, or lyrical, or memorable?

Since I’m asking for examples, here’s one that has stayed with me for years. I used to work at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. I sold my own products and also sold for other artists, including a photographer who had developed quite a following for a photo he had taken of three lightning bolts hitting three buildings in Seattle at one stormy instant. It was gorgeous and it attracted a lot of attention. People would stand at the booth and talk about the beauty of the photo, the skill and luck it took to capture it and where they were the night the storm took place – lots of words.

One day a woman came to the booth and looked hard at the photo. She was lovely – rich, black skin and a light, summery yellow dress. She had a presence that was both serene and sparkling. She looked at the photo for a long time and then shook her head slowly with a look of wonder and said, “Lightning strike!” I thought it said everything that needed to be said about that photo, with an amazing economy of words. It seemed like a little haiku to me. I expect her demeanor, her appearance and the contrast between her statement and the more wordy comments I’d been hearing all worked together to make her words sound so perfect. Whatever the reason, I loved it and I’ve never forgotten it.

So listen for the poetry you hear all around you and send it in. I’d love to read it!

Welcome!

You've heard it.

You're in the middle of your day, in the middle of your life: working, shopping, making dinner for your kids or browsing in a bookstore or dodging your way down the street and you hear it. A phrase drifts by in language that is so spontaneous and plain and effortless and so full of meaning and beauty that you say. "Now that's poetry."

It’s all around us and sometimes we notice it. And when I notice it, I like to savor it and remember it. And it usually sets me again on the path toward a familiar and fascinating question: what is poetry? Is there a line between the powerful, beautifully crafted work of renowned poets and the simple poetry that is spoken by the rest of us every day? And if so, where is that line? Is accidental poetry really poetry, or just a nice turn of phrase?

Tell me what you think and I will do the same. Let’s have a conversation about the beauty and power of everyday language.