In times of turmoil and deep distress, some people are able to produce amazing art. However, turmoil, pain, and suffering aren't necessary. I know I create best when I've been given a nice cup of tea and a warm blanket to curl up under.
Between the recent protests, COVID-19 still being a threat, and any personal events that might have left your head spinning (I unfortunately have), you might want to put pen to paper to word vomit all your feelings and sort out all your emotions.
I say do it.
But what do you want to write?
Stories, fiction or non? Letters to your representative and senator? Do you want to stand up before a crowd and give them a speech on how things need to be changed?
What about writing a song or poem?
A few days ago, Lindsey Ellis released a video on YouTube regarding protest music during the 2000s. Listening to her describe the different songs as well as reading some of the lyrics reminded me of how similar song lyrics and poetry are.
Quick question, is the following quote taken from a poem or a song?
"Run, run, run away
Buy yourself another day
A cold wind's whispering secrets in your ear
So low only you can hear"
Are you not sure or are you having to think about it. Maybe you've heard the quote before and can't quite place it, but you definitely know that it has a rhythm and beat.
The answer is that it's the song "Kingdom Come" by The Civil Wars (from the Hunger Games soundtrack). If you totally knew that, congratulations you may have a virtual cookie and bragging rights.
Personally, I don't see that much difference between lyrics to a song and words written in a poem. In theory you can set music to both or speak the words out loud without a background. Some song lyrics are first written as poems and have music added at a later date. Some music compositions are used over and over again with different lyrics like the composition for "Turkey in the Straw" (which at one point had super racist lyrics) or is it "Do your Ears Hang Low?".
The songs aren't exactly the same, but on occasion I'll hear the tune and start singing along using one set of lyrics and switch over to the other set.
Even the U.S. national anthem under went this treatment. The original words were written as a poem and were later put to music (the tune is actually from British drinking song - go figure) by people hearing the poem spoken at public houses.
My point is: there's a lot in common with writing song lyrics and writing poetry.
Until there isn't.
Poetry has undergone a lot of changes. Breaking forms and discarding a rhyme scheme are only two elements that a lot of modern poems shy away from.
Lyrics to songs, however, tend to follow a formula which includes a rhyme scheme, chorus, and a bridge before the ending of a song. This form isn't set in stone and some songs break the trend, but it's hard to get a hit top 40 without these elements.
That doesn't mean that artists shouldn't experiment with their poetry or their song lyrics. Knowing the foundational rules sets the stage for which the artist and/or writer gets to play. Then they break the rules so hard it leaves their critics' heads spinning.
I'll be honest, I'm much more familiar with poetry than lyric writing (even if I do find them similar). I've loved writing poetry since I was a child in elementary school learning all the different styles and forms. When I got to college, I did have one professor tell me that my poetry was too "mathematically styled" and that "I had no soul" for poetry (*incoherent grumbling from behind my computer screen) - we were writing sonnets. I hate writing sonnets.
It wasn't until I picked up Terrance Hayes poetry collection: "American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassins" (which I totally recommend by the way) that I learned that there was more than one type of sonnet. The American sonnet in particular, throws all the rules out the window and only keeps the 14 line limit.
The more I read of other modern poets (the ones they don't make you read in school) such as Nikita Gill (my favorite), Amanda Lovelace, Hasan Namir, Danez Smith, Morgan Parker, and Rupi Kaur, the more I've learned to let words flow like emotions. A lot of the poetry I read is by LGBTQ+ and non-white authors, who write very different poems than what I read in school. I learned about most of these poets at my favorite New York book store: Bluestockings Bookstore, Cafe & Activist Center (which I hope opens up safely after the lock down there ends).
Personally, I prefer the poems and collections I've picked up from indie bookstores and zines. They're much more expressive and emotional - meant to be read out loud or preformed on stage.
I've since moved away from the more traditional forms of poetry (with the exception of the occasional limerick and haiku) and have let myself write what flows from my mind. Then I madly rewrite the poem. Then rewrite it again and again, until I'm satisfied with it.
Imagine my surprise when my first poem published was one of my more traditional in style and form.
But my publishing history isn't what's important here. It's understanding that experimenting and blending writing forms should be encouraged. Modern poems that don't have a traditional or conventional form should be taught in schools. Teach kids about the song lyric forms along side odes and sonnets.
One of the more interesting books I read (long after I left school) was For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide: When the Rainbow is Enuf which is a choreopoem by Ntozake Shange. Before picking up this book, I had no idea what a choreopoem was, but I'd taken a few dance and history of dance classes to understand how to read the stage directions. The dialogue is all poetry, some of it spoken, some of it set to music. Sometimes the women on stage are dancing and sometimes they are frozen statues.
There is a Tyler Perry movie of the work available to stream (I unfortunately haven't watched it yet) and might be easier for some people to understand instead of reading the book. If given the opportunity, I'd like to see it on stage as it was originally intended to be presented.
But now were getting into another form of writing, one which I think I'll have a blog entry on next week. So get ready for scripts: onstage, motion picture, and radio.
Until next week.
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