The Loss of Originality in Poetry
Letter to the Editor
by Jarrius Smith
What happened to the days where I could put down a thought and not be judged by the format? Great projects get pushed out of the way in favor of following guidelines and get swept under the doormat. Rhyming poetry went down the drain in a heartbeat because they hate the fact that we can rhyme the latter ending of a sentence with Warmack. I’ve seen writers get kicked out of the door that they built themselves. They get struck down by top officials and judges who implore that the poem wasn’t deep enough.
Now, we deal with poets telling us a million ways of how the sky is blue using different words to create the same picture. It’s like explaining different ways to tie a shoe. Indoctrinated ways of placing words on paper are applied to you. I’ve watched people comply and rely on rules like this in route to getting rejected and denied. The common reaction is crying and thinking that your talent is a lie. I’ve been there. Writers are drowning in a sea of question marks surrounding their passion. I’ve exposed rules and regulations like swimwear.
But, that’s beside the point.
Popular poetic subjects are all becoming the same like today’s fashion. Those who try to break away and unfasten the buttons holding back breakthrough wordplay see their dreams killed like an assassin. Today’s generation just aims to spread the legs of literature instead of trying something different in the pursuit of success and satisfaction.
And....
Forget it.
Signed,
Jarrius Smith
The Last Great Rhyming Poet