The most recent Poetry News from the Poetry Society arrived today and, aside from seeing that I had not won the National Poetry Competition (no surprise there – they had 13,170 entries!), there is an article suggesting that blogging is good for poets. A number of poets who blog shared their thoughts, and some said a few interesting things – blogging feeds the writing of their own poetry; other poets’ blogs have inspired them; and blogging provides a more solid alternative to social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Though this comes with the warning that blogging cannot be allowed to distract from the time spent writing actual poetry.
Perhaps this article suggests the plain truth that writing breeds more writing. The more time spent working expressively with words, the more creative we become. This reminds me of what I once heard Roger McGough say, during a reading of his poetry at Stephen Joseph Theatre: ‘The more I write —- the more I write!’.
Oh yes, and about those 13,170 entries to the National Poetry Competition. What brilliant evidence that poetry is not a dying art, but is intensely vibrant and well in the world.