Poems For Your Sprog?

National Poetry Month, what the heck is poetic prose, and a Nobel Prize winner for literature explains why writers should read poetry.

Last week I had a fun conversation in Discord about what poetic prose is. You want to have some geeky fun, ask a bunch of writers the same thing.

First thing you’ll notice is they mix up poetic prose and prose poetry. They’re not the same. First word is the descriptor, second word is the noun being described.

This is probably not going where you think, so humor me okay? :)

Prose poetry goes back to seventeenth-century Japan, where Matsuo Bashō invented a poetic style known as haibun, melding prose with haiku.

Not sure how far back the idea of poetic prose goes, but Charles Baudelaire thought it’s how prose should be written. A French poet in the mid 1800s, he worked as an essayist, art critic and translator who translated the work of Edgar Allan Poe. Tomorrow would be his 203rd birthday.

What Baudelaire said was “always be a poet, even in prose.”

Then Ray Bradbury riffed off that idea in Zen in the Art of Writing. Told writers they should read poetry every day, because it will make them a better writer. Even took a stab at trying to explain why. Honestly, it wasn’t the best part of his advice.

Read poetry every day of your life. Poetry is good because it flexes muscles you don’t use often enough. Poetry expands the senses and keeps them in prime condition. It keeps you aware of your nose, your eye, your ear, your tongue, your hand. And, above all, poetry is compacted metaphor or simile
—Ray Bradbury, Zen In The Art of Writing

Best explanation, I think, comes from a Nobel Prize winner for literature. Because, of course. Anyone who wins the Nobel for writing maybe knows a thing or two.

Joseph Brodsky was a Russian emigree poet (1940-1996) who won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1987 and was named US poet laureate in 1991.

"The way to develop good taste in literature is to read poetry. It is not only the most concise, the most condensed way of conveying the human experience; it also offers the highest possible standards for any linguistic operation -- especially one on paper…The more one reads poetry, the less tolerant one becomes of any sort of verbosity… 

Joseph Brodsky, On Grief and Reason

He goes on to say poetry teaches not just the value of concise writing, it also teaches the knack of omitting everything the self-evident, and removing the tendency to focus on irrelevant detail. That, I think, is wildly profound. Because as Zinsser said, clutter is the disease of American writing. People don’t know which details aren’t necessary.

Back to Bradbury. I don’t think he gave the best description about why poetry makes us better writers. It’s not to learn metaphor or simile. It’s to learn to condense our thoughts to the core. Here’s his best gem…

What poetry? Any poetry that makes your hair stand up along your arms. Don’t force yourself too hard. Take it easy. —Ray Bradbury, Zen In The Art of Writing

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And with that, I give you Sprog.

Sam Garland started posting poems on Reddit over a decade ago. At least 2012…

For a long time, no one knew who he was. Just posted funny little poems in response to Reddit posts. Called himself poems_for_your_sprog

So many people think of poetry and their mind tiptoes down the back alley into pain and angst. The tortured poet. But if you think of poetry as the ability to condense words down to their leanest, suddenly poetry can be fun, too.

I will warn you, a lot of his poems are profane. Hilarious if you’re not offended easily. And from such humble beginnings, making people laugh on Reddit — he has two books out. Solid 5-star ratings on both. Without ever once running around social media saying buy my book, buy my book. That delights me.

In celebration of National Poetry month I’d love to know your favorite poet or your favorite poem, or both. Share in comments!

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