Origins of the Manifesto
Poetry is in decline due to lack of readers. Readers feel poetry is not accessible to them. Poems are filled with jargon, irrelevance, and academic references that most readers don’t understand. And in the rare event that a reader does actually read a poem, often it’s not enjoyable. Seldom do modern poems rhyme or follow traditional patterns of meter or structure. Even more rarely do they make a joke or say something witty.
These problems can be resolved if writers choose to see them as problems, and resolve them in the poems that they write. To that end, all the poems on this site (authored by me, and by others) should adhere to the Practical Poetry Manifesto below:
The Practical Poetry Manifesto,
Consisting of Two Big Ideas
- Poems should be accessible to everyday readers; by
a. avoiding jargon
b. being relevant to everyday experience
c. avoiding arcane references; or supporting any such references with notes when necessary
- Poems should be enjoyable; by
a. often rhyming
b. often being structured with meter & stanzas
c. often relating to everyday life
d. sometimes being humorous
e. always remaining short