What Is The Importance Of Poetry – Is It Still Alive Today?

How many times have I heard someone say they don’t get into poetry? My husband does not understand the importance of poetry. He is an engineer and told me just the other day that very few people read poetry.

That statement alone started me thinking. So I looked up the statistics on how many people read poetry. I was pleasantly surprised, and I think he was too.

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Poetry Statistics

When I researched the statistics on poetry, I only found a handful of articles written in 2020, and the ones written in 2020 spoke of the poetry boom in 2018. I will also relate to 2018 but take this a bit further and explain why poetry is still alive in 2021 and booming.

2018

In 2018 nearly 12% of the population were reading poetry. These numbers increased by 5% over the previous years. Now 12% doesn’t sound like many readers, but it is 28 million people reading poetry in 2018. And most of those readers were young adults and minorities.

Those were encouraging statistics to me. If you are a poet, then I am sure they are for you also. But why did the numbers increase?

Why The Increase?

  • Social media
  • A need for a deeper understanding of life

Social Media

One of the largest social media platforms globally, Instagram has become a popular place for emerging poets to air their work. But not just poets have found interest in poetry, but non-poets follow those who inspire them and help them find a deeper understanding of life. Go to Instagram and search the poetry hashtag. Here are the latest results. #poetry 60,453,130 posts. These are astounding results!

Deeper Understanding Of Life

People are finding a deeper understanding of life when they read poetry. Life has become more complicated as we move forward. The young adults and the minority are the strongest motivators in the poetry boom. They need to understand how to navigate life and feel their emotions, and poetry helps them do this. We will discuss later why poetry fulfills their needs.

2021

Statistics for 2021 are not available to the world, but let me point out some interesting facts that will impact the results when we see them.

Maya Angelou

Maya was a famous poet who depicted her struggles in poetry. Her poems are an inspiration to all today. One such poem is “And Still I Rise” and “Phenomenal Woman.”

Maya took her life and put it in poems to give you strength. Her work moves young adults to overcome and continue forward in the face of adversity. Her words give hope, and her life reflected the hope she conveys. There are many young adults who Maya inspired. One such person is:

importance of poetry amanda

Amanda Gorman

Amanda’s inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb” inspired Americans with hope and strength. And her poem “Tribute” that rocked the super bowl stadium was mesmerizing, to say the least. Maya Angelou inspired Amanda’s step into poetry.

What Is The Importance Of Poetry?

Now that we understand that poetry is still alive today and thriving, let’s see why it holds such importance and how it can help you.

  • Poetry enhances the imagination
  • Poetry helps release emotions
  • Poetry is interpreted differently through our paradigm
  • Poetry helps us explore our minds
  • Poetry helps us grow

Poetry Enhances The Imagination

Poetry helps our imagination to grow. Not just for the writer but also the reader. Do you daydream of what your life would be if you___________? That is your imagination at work. When you imagine you are tapping into new concepts that broaden your mind. You are becoming resourceful and creative. Poetry helps you build on the imagination of how things would be if________.

faces of emotion

Poetry Helps Release Emotions

The writer of a poem draws words from their emotional side. Reading those words will release new emotions and help you identify with your inner being. We all have to recognize our feelings before we can work through them. Change helps each one of us become a better person.

Poetry Is Interpreted Differently Through Our Paradigm

A paradigm is a set of ideas or the way we look at things. Our past life forms our paradigm, and we run our emotions and thoughts through our past experiences. When you read a poem, each person picks up different emotions and thoughts. They relate to it the way they see life. So a poem means different things to each person; therefore, one poem can help change many lives.

Amanda’s inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb” gave hope to many Americans, but each person who heard it found their hope in different words and parts of the words she wrote.

Poetry Helps Us Explore Our Minds

When you explore your mind, you see where your thoughts take you. Are your thoughts negative or positive? Poetry triggers a deeper thinking process and can help you see where you want to change. Or poetry can give you motivation and strength because you relate to a positive, uplifting side of yourself.

Poetry Helps Us Grow

Poetry is emotional with strong feelings. Writing a poem comes from my inner being, where my thoughts hide and my heart emerges. Words of poetry written from another person’s heart will touch your heart.

When you grasp the deeper meaning of poetry, you feel it deep in your soul. Deep soul searching will help you grow.

Is Poetry For Everyone?

My answer is yes, it is for everyone. You may not understand or get the deeper meaning the first time you read a poem, but you will draw on your inner self if you continue to read different poems.

Not all poetry is written the same, so not all poems are for you. But poetry, in general, is for everyone. Search for poems, read them, and find the ones that you can relate to. One such place that I post some of my poetry is All Poetry. It is one of the world’s largest poetry sites. I am sure you will find words that help you to imagine, release emotions, open your mind and help you grow.

Dark Horse

Dark Horse is a poem I wrote about the emotion that rises to the top when the words tumble out of my heart. The words I wrote can affect your heart differently and trigger your imagination.

the importance of poetry pin

Dark Horse

Poetry swells deep in your heart
Drive, desire, emotion of retching pain
Rides on a dark horse
Rears to action
caresses you
consoles you
brings you alive
with a want to thrive
Words to free your imagination
thoughts of the world released
Dive into young and old of
imaginary roadblocks to unleashed freedom

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