Words, Words, Words

As regular readers of this blog know, my writing style is nothing if not prosaic, often employing half a dozen words where others might use fewer than half that number. My tendency toward long-windedness and fondness for run-on sentences aside, I would like to hereby declare my deep, enduring appreciation of the art of poetry.

You may not immediately appreciate the extraordinary power of poetry, especially if you've been preconditioned by long exposure to dusty selections from The Norton Anthology of Literature or other such abominations.

To fully appreciate the pervasiveness of poetry in your everyday life, consider how much poorer life would be without the following:

• Song lyrics
• Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, et. al
• That birthday/anniversary/etc. card you still cherish
• The King James Bible
• Gravestone epitaphs
• Dirty limericks
• The Odyssey (and its attendant film treatments)
• Where the Sidewalk Ends and Shel Silverstein's other books
• Dr. Seuss's books (as well as any animated versions thereof)
• The musical CATS (Well... you can't win them all...)
• Sam Shepard (Win!)
• All of the really clever bar bathroom graffiti
• The inscription mounted inside the pedestal of The Statue of Liberty

April isn't over yet.

National Poetry Writing Month: http://www.napowrimo.net/

National Poetry Month: http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41

Don't forget to share your poems on the !

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Addendum from Jim Strider Senior Council Member:

"As regular readers of this blog know, my writing style is nothing if not prosaic, often employing half a dozen words where others might use fewer than half that number." (30 words)

"I write using six words where merely two will do." (10 words)

Less than half of six is two at most (sticking to integers).

30/6 = 5

5*2 = 10

;-)