Writing Poetry

As I was reading through Retellings I decided to look into some of the authors a little bit more. I noticed that many of them had one thing in common, they let somewhat tragic lives. There stories may not have all ended the same, but they seemed to be headed down the same path. This leads me to my question: in order to create such beautiful poetry does one need to be depressed?

I came across an article where one poet was arguing the issue saying that he was nowhere near depressed, in fact he was impressed. Dennis Domrzalski took offense when people would say that the only good poetry comes from depressed individual. He seemed to think that humor in poetry is something to be just as familiar with. He writes about the fact that he is in a good place in his life, and that not all poetry needs to be so intense. There is no telling what one will be inspired by. What moves one person can have no effect on another. For me I think that some of the "depressing" poetry that I read doesn't do much for me. I find myself looking for something positive in it so that I can focus on something other than the reality that the poet is bringing to the poem. I think that there are some things better left unsaid, and some poetry crosses that line for me. This is not to say that all poetry and all poetry is depressing though.

I have read a number of poems that have a positive aspect brought to them. These poems still have something about them that catches my attention and really makes me think. They put me at ease by bringing me to a place in my life where I am really happy, and where I am free from distractions. I like to read all forms of poetry, because I like to shine my own light on some of the things that I take out of the poem that maybe not everyone else can see. I really think that to really enjoy a poem one must make it their own, and take away from it something that will make them happy.