Evolution in form and content…that is poetry in motion

Poets are creating and owning their crafts and allowing themselves not to be deterred by the “standards” of good poetry. They are learning to find their voice and in turn, meeting a larger audience just by thinking outside the box and being them.

WHAT is it like to be “Poetry in Motion?”

Poetry in motion in a literal sense can mean poetry cutting across systems of cities throughout countries; as it’s been unearthed by a wide range of viewers. It can also mean the evolution of poetry as it goes through time.

Poetry has indeed evolved from epic poetry to the poetry of the ancient Greeks, Shakespearean, Romanian, and Victorian eras as it continues the chain of this evolution to today’s time.

In today’s time, poetry has been unearthed by a large audience as opposed to the 20th century and the time before then. This is because the way poetry was 20 years ago is not the same way it is today.

The supposed structures, styles, patterns adopted by all poets before the 21st century which made poetry quite boring for people who were not lovers of the art is no longer being adhered to as poets are finding their voice and welcoming this evolution with open arms

Those who were not in love with poetry always found it boring because of its rigidity. In 2017, a writer Mallami Adekunle wrote a book with the title “But why all these grammar”. And in the book review, a lot of people confessed that poetry indeed was so hard to understand or enjoy because it had so many technicalities around it.

They were grateful that someone had broken the chain of  “poetry is supposed to be hard to understand, must come with structures, have the kind of rhymes sonnets have, while also having ‘big’ grammars”

Why all these grammar, laws, rules, when you can be you, and evolve and fuse beautiful words and connect to a large audience who can understand, connect, and love your art?

We can see poetry in motion with the way a lot of audiences is being drawn into its beautiful cycle today, and the one reason why poetry is enjoying this wide audience unlike the centuries before the 21st, is that poets in today’s world are taking charge.

This is possible because poets in today’s world have achieved a milestone by not allowing their art to be restricted by laws governing “how poetry should be.”

They are creating and owning their crafts and allowing themselves not to be deterred by the “standards” of good poetry. They are learning to find their voice and in turn, meeting a larger audience just by thinking outside the box and being them.

Although it is no secret that all these laws and technicalities and grammar are beautiful and have helped several writers to develop their art, it is also no secret that they are quite frustrating and often choke creativity.

Because instead of a writer spreading his or her wings, they tend to not be able to; trying to fall in line with the “right way poetry should look like”

Several years ago, brands never used poetry as a means of advertisement. But today, they do happily. Brands like Diamond Bank, La Casera, Coca-Cola and so many more have used poetry to cut through the noise, convey messages; while grabbing the attention of viewers. And this evolution or motion of poetry is not just in Nigerian or African but is seen globally.

In the next five to ten years to come, poetry would still be in motion. New poets and even existing poets would create new techniques of visuals lace it with poetry, and draw more people into its unique style

What is it like to be Poetry in Motion? Evolution is here. The world is hearing poetry. Do you smell the wind?

©Juliet Nnaji