Poetry is a form of expression that exudes the author’s deep emotions and unearths raw feelings. It is an abstract of words sprawled across a blank page on which the author may talk about current concerns, life issues, or just about the steady silence of the day. Poetry literature talks about anything under the blue sky, and at times, able to move mountains.
For its impact, UNESCO celebrates World Poetry Day each year on March 21 to highlight the linguistic expression that people from all cultures can identify with. The highlight of the day also aims to preserve the endangered languages and stimulate poetic expression. Though the day was established in 1999, poetry in history goes far and beyond.
A poet, who is also a senior lecturer for Swinburne University, Dr Christina Yin explained that poetry can slow us down. “The words can evoke everything from raw emotions to thoughtful reflection on these and other issues. We just need to give the poems and ourselves the time.”
She explains further that poetry can contribute to addressing global issues, such as social justice, climate change, or mental health — in a global village, some people live in a harsh state of life — homelessness, war, and environmental issues such as climate change, global warming and in many different ways, a poet can write and relate to their surroundings based on the poet’s use of language.
Adding on to the sentiment, Emeritus Professor Malachi Edwin Vethamani from the University of Nottingham described poets as sensitive, “often concerned with both the present and the future. Some poets may address issues such as societal changes and cultural identities in their poems, so readers become more aware of these important issues. Poetry not only provides pleasurable reading and entertainment but also educates the readers.”
An old art
Once upon a time, poetry was an art seen as elitist. According to Professor Malachi, it was read by a small percentage of the population who had often studied poetry in school or university. These poems were seen on ancient tablets and scrolls during the ancient days, and later on printed on books and papers.
Today, poetry is an art accessible in terms of form, language, and themes. Free verse poetry is popular and more recently, Instagram poetry has made poetry even more available to readers who do not have to pay to read poems on the internet. Poets can now publish online through their blogs, online journals, e-books, and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. The digital age has transformed the entire writing, reading, and publishing experience for both writers and readers.
The art has also become more diverse over the centuries, offering timeless themes with poets exploring topics such as love, nature, life, death, growing up, social and political issues, suffering, resilience and anything they can write about. In today’s poetry trend, poets tend to touch more about nature, not just about its beauty but about the environment and climate change, he added.
And amid the hustle and bustle of today, the words of a poem can resist the rush, the loudness, and the stress of the fast-paced, technology-driven world, said Dr Christina.
“It helps us to be quiet and still. It helps us to focus on the now, and the important things in life that technology cannot give us — family, true friendships, nature, and love,” she said.
As an avid poet, she is often reminded of the beauty in words, images, and life: “When writing a poem, I can think about the things that help me stay calm amid the rush — a small plant on my verandah, a favourite song, my favourite people and et cetera,” she asserted.
Kuching’s poet community
In Kuching, poets unite under a shared community — Kuching Poetry Writing Month (KPoWriMo). The key activity of the group is to write one poem a day and post it on their Discord server, where other poets would provide feedback.
According to its founder Georgette Tan, the group tries to meet at least twice a year — an online gathering towards the end of the month with our overseas friends based in the UK, West Malaysia, and Singapore; and the Thank Goodness It’s Over (TGIO) party in Kuching. These gatherings became an opportunity to read out their favourite piece from the month and to meet in person.
To ensure a steady habit of creating poems amongst local poets, Tan conceded that the idea can be intimidating. Nevertheless, writing poems gets easier with time.
“You will have to unload many poems that will not proceed to the next stage, but at some point, things will start to click and the words and important stories will come. I have seen many poets go from “I don’t think I can do 30 days” to writing some of the most moving pieces. It makes us reach deep for things we don’t normally talk about,” she revealed.
When asked what is her definition of a poetry, Tan explained that the art uses few words to tell a story.
“It is a literary art form that encourages us to find creative ways of describing a moment while staying within the form of your choice.”
Poetry is also an outlet for feelings that are hard to articulate and even harder to share. During her time in the community, for over a decade, she has heard countless stories expressed through poems — from self-deprecation to anger, from generational trauma to sexual abuse.
“For some, it was the first time they ever spoke of it out loud. It can be cathartic not only to finally find the words for it but to realise that we are not alone in the many complicated emotional states we go through. It calls for us to treat each other with more compassion because we are privileged to witness this vulnerability.”
The Community
Sharing their love for poetry, three from KPoWriMo talk about their passion for the art. This further strengthens the idea that poetry, an age-old literary art, has evolved from its humble beginning, flowing into the digital era, and current life issues.
For Eric Taylor, Lovelyn, and Jacqueline Yong, writing poems gives them the avenue to release stress, stretch beyond their creative boundaries, and express romantics.
Exploring classical poems like haiku and ghazal formats, Eric remembered receiving a vintage clothbound hardback of Edgar Allen Poe stories and poems back in secondary school. The impact that a book could give him dwindled to this day being in the fourth decade of his life.
“It’s a lot like journaling. Poetry is a way of working my feelings out on the page and the process of writing it helps me process my experiences and emotions. I learn things about myself and my experiences as I try to assemble my disparate and disorganised thoughts into something coherent. It’s very much a process of self-discovery and coming to self-awareness on things I didn’t consciously know I was going through. Poetry surprises you sometimes like that,” said the independent copy and line editor.
Meanwhile, Lovelyn, who is always homesick — a Kuchingnite based in the United Kingdom — dives deeper into her emotions about home using poetry. An estimator by day, and a trainee counsellor by night, Lovelyn remembered being told by Tan that KPoWriMo is a safe space for emotions, filled with a community that doesn’t judge, and is kept to offer love and care.
“I took a chance, and here I am, a whole hemisphere away and joining in on a yearly event with people back home, feeling connected to home, my thoughts, my people, and most importantly myself.”
An avid poet, the 31-year-old often writes about topics that are personal to her. Often finding herself in a loop of broken records, writing about love and loss, describing her inner child in excruciating detail, immigrating to the UK, body dysmorphia, fat-shaming in our society, and just expressing her pure, raw, unbridled female rage — “all the important things; wrapped up poetically and adorned with a bow.”
She also delved into the topic of food as she found that the topic can be embroiled with emotions, especially when it touches on Kuching and the smell of food that she misses.
“I feel like writing poems becomes a healthy outlet for me to express myself, showing the group all the parts of me that bleed and with the love and support that they offer in return, I am able to display my emotions proudly – like a badge of honour for wearing my heart on my sleeve.”
“I often find myself writing about situations or emotions and thoughts that I thought only I had, only to find that somebody else in the group has had those exact thoughts and exact feelings as me; and vice versa. That kind of shared validation is very liberating for the Self, and also very bonding for members in the group, I feel,” Lovelyn added.
As for Jacqueline Yong, poems allow her to address or vent and rant creatively and talk about issues she faces, whether they’re personal experiences or something read about or watched on the news. “It helps with our mental health when we express them creatively with words instead of bottling it up.”
When she first joined the community, she was always insecure, noting that her poems were not good enough to be heard. Yong would sit through open mic sessions, quietly admiring the poet’s flair with words.
However, when the recent pandemic forces the public to restrict their movements, a new era begins for the local poetry community here as social media platforms become a new platform for open mic sessions.
“We got to share our written poems online, and this gave me the confidence to share more as I did not need to perform live. Then when we shared our poems during an online meet, I was more encouraged because my fellow poets were giving me tips on how to improve my poetry presentation and this helped me get better each time.”
Now, it’s true that poetry has evolved over the centuries — and grown within the digital era — it is here to stay, to continue shaping society.
They say that words are stronger than the slit of a knife, as with words, it is able to give a strong impact on society. Beyond the strength, the art of writing poems also evokes inner deep emotions which are often hidden behind curtains of joy.
Today, as we highlight World Poetry Day, we take pride in knowing the weight of poems to oneself, to society, to past stories, and to future generations. Sometimes, just saying a little creates a bigger impact.
