Poetry Slams have reduced our most elevated literary genre to the arena of Hallmark Cards. Can you imagine compelling Longfellow to extemporize on the spot, faced with one-upping a fast-rapping carnival barker? Perhaps Oscar Wilde could have risen to the challenge against a ghetto phoenix such as Eminem, but Eminem is not representative of the norm. We have to acknowledge the aberration of genius.
These days we are prepared to recognize the profound in autism. Improvised mental acuity may be the specialty of some few, but it will remain a statistical improbability that such genius resides in your neighborhood. I’d say poetry voice-offs in malls or coffee shops, with contests open to all comers, are most likely efforts in philistinism. Like all things pop, crap for crap tastes.
Poetry appreciation in common circles is for reading not writing. Poetry writing is therapy fodder, meant for no further than the support group circle.
I say more art appreciation, less gluing of noodles to paper plates painted gold. Otherwise to a passerby, unschooled like the majority have become, poetry is an abysmal cacophony of disjointed near-sighted observations, shall I compare thee to a navel on the half-gazed?
I think poetry can be appreciated on levels and in different ways. to say poetry slams is for crap taste is to say the efforts of any amateur, not just poet, are futile. Poetry, just like anything else is evolving. It’s adapting to the times and generations.
Improvisation is no lesser of an art. the entire blues and jazz genres were founded on the artist’s abilities to improvise. the song ‘hello good buy’ buy the Beatles was written on spot in a live tv interview.
I’m sorry your old white male poets couldn’t be here to appreciate what poetry has become today.