MANY believe that by not reading poetry, we are denying ourselves something very important. For writing a poetry is the natural creative expression of the human psyche.
Poems help us get in touch with ourselves. In order to grow spiritually and to discover new dimensions within your own being, poems plays an essential part. But the dilemma is, so often we consider poetry not worth our time, and we feel exhausted with the strength of natural fertility.
We often think that we are different, perhaps alien, but reading poetry and understanding them changes our opinion and reveals that there is another world of people who share our emotions and give them words and that these people are the poets.
It is in celebration of the work that these people do that the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization has declared March 21, World Poetry Day. And as part of their activities, UNESCO has put together a comprehensive web site at http://www.unesco.org/poetry/bienvenue.php?initia=english.
UNESCO encourages poetry reading in its bid to build a worldwide culture of peace and non-violence. Their web site provides links with other major web sites, presenting poetry activities within UNESCO member states, associated members and non-member states.
Here you’ll fine details about poetry festivals that take place all around the world. And it was very disappointing not to find Pakistan in the list.
Internationally recognized awards given by respective countries in poetry are also mentioned in the category of prizes, the most being awarded by France followed by the United Kingdom. We also get to know of a number of poetry organizations in different countries, for instance, there is an organization of Londoner poets that holds workshops for poets visiting London and it is open to poets and those interested to built the environment.
But if it is something different that you are in search of, say poems spanning eight centuries, then log onto Day Poems — http://www.daypoems.net/indexes/index_author.html. Over 500 poets, their brief bios and work, reside at this link. And all of these represent work done from the 13th to the 21st centuries.
A whole array of poems dot the pages here. With so much to read, it would be appropriate to quote one of Wordsworth’s tributes to the art of poetry.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch’d in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay
A major plus point at this site is that if you believe that your poetry is worth reading and vaunting your poetic talent for all to read, then you can e-mail it to the site’s administrators at poetry@daypoems.net.
Another good site that one bumps into is http://judithpordon.tripod.com/. Here, poetry is categorized in various sections and according to the famous poets. This site has a poetry anthology of world famous poems and new poetry. Titles that are linked here include famous American poets, poets who had won the Nobel prize for Literature, famous Asian, British, Latin American, French, Irish poets and Indian poets. Poems are all categorized in different sections such as nature, spirituality, anti-war and so on.
There is another section for contemporary, modern and classic women poets. Each and every section is properly linked and classified. The black and white background makes the site visually easy for the eyes. Each section is represented with a beautiful picture. You can also find different quotes on spirituality and other aspects of emotional affairs.
Another such web site for the day is www.poetrycom. There are geographical directories of poets around the world and it was heartening to see Pakistan in the list, though only one poet is there. The 100 greatest poems ever written are displayed here and if you happen to be romantic by nature 100 best loved poems ever written, await your heart romantic buds. All written by famous poets of the yesteryear, Emily Dickinson, Stephen Foster and John Keats to name a few, yet the list seems never ending.
If you want to check your power of absorbing poetry or perhaps your natural propensity towards poetry you can check your poetry IQ here as well. After looking at these web sites and reading poets of past nine centuries, you might want to write a poem of your own as well.
Although writing poems comes naturally but this talent could be acquired by making yourself more imaginative and reading poetry a lot. It doesn’t matter at all if you don’t know how to write a poem, Poetry Magic — http://www.poetrymagic.co.uk/— is a resource centre for the theory and craft of writing poetry. Whether you’re a veteran of the poetry circuit, or taking your first tentative steps, this site will assist you.
Questions like what is poetry, how does it differ from prose, why is poetry special, and so difficult to write? This site provides some answers to these and other vexing questions, plus a vast series of material to make your own poetry writing more compelling, authentic and relevant.
There is proper guidance for the amateur poets in order to get themselves started with poetry as how to select a theme and shaping the poems. However, it is more advisable to get started with the poetry from childhood. This way you could retain this natural expression of feelings forever.
I have been reading and to some extent writing poems since childhood. So I feel poems come naturally to me. For this purpose one of the web sites worth teaching your kids from is http://www.bbc.co. uk/learning/library/poetry.shtml. The section Listen and Write is for kids from 9-11 years of age.
Another site is www.veeceet.com where there are many poems, story poems and songs for children. Poetry and verse for children of all ages is a site devoted to poetry, song, and verse for young children. The site features classic poetry and songs for children.
Modern poetry is equally important as the classic poetry better be called as the poetry of renaissance. The web site http://www.uvm.edu/~sgutman/poetry.html gives us information about all the modern poets with their photographs and their works.
Discussing people around the world is what we actually do forgetting those who are so close to us belonging to our country. One such great, Faiz Ahmed Faiz holds a very important place in the hearts of both Indians and Pakistanis. He was the voice of youth and the ultimate optimist. In order to know about Faiz in grave detail log onto http://www.faiz.com. It contains Faiz’s biography, picture gallery and all his publications. The lover’s page is designed and aimed at providing visitors a distinct collection of Faiz’s beautiful verses.
There is the Best of Faiz while Yadon kay saay, by his wife Aly Faiz, gives details about the awards he has won. Another interesting section is Faiz on Faiz where Faiz talks about himself, although he hated to do that. Lastly comes the message of Faiz.
Poetry and music that soothes your ears and broadens your vision is the ultimate victory of the poet. English poetry from Pakistan must be encouraged online so as to prove the literary and aesthetic sense of Pakistanis around the globe.
MANY believe that by not reading poetry, we are denying ourselves something very important. For writing a poetry is the natural creative expression of the human psyche.
