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July 29, 2004 What does the youth think about poetry? What does the youth know about poetry? The attitude of most youth towards poetry says it all. I did not witness one student in my entire high school life that would firmly say," I do appreciate poetry and the creativity in it". Almost everybody thought it was borimg, meaningless and too complicated that anyone that would seem to adopt an open minded approach to it would be called a wierdo. Try understanding it. You'd be made to feel like an airhead. It would be much toture if you had tried writing it, let alone allowing someone else to read it. The disinterest in their expression would leave you uninspired, so that you would degrade your writing and stop if you couldn't gather the courage to at least write-and-hide. The attitude does seem highly towards the negative. The big question though still remains:"How easy to, or probable is it that the minds of the many people that affect the lives of emerging poets,can be changed?" That would probably be one chance in a million, as a fair amount of dedicated,emerging youth poets -in one of the most highly recognised tertiary institutions in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal- conceded to their endevours to reinstate the meaning of poetry to their fellow youth. This has also been done through "Poetry Jam Sessions" at the youth development centres in Kwa-Zulu Natal; which are open for attendance to the general public. This "poetry is unintelligible attitude of most youth has contributed to the demotivation of many youngsters that are still finding their passion for poetry and creative writing. This has proved true for a group of student poets at the Durban Institute of Technology; who admitted unanimously that they once strongly beleived in writing-and- hiding, some even writing-and-tearing. Each of the members had only been too happy to have twelve other people that appreciated their peices of writing, after having almost lost their passion. "There is only thirteen of us, but I can not measure the level of inspiration that I get just by listening to one member recite their poem and having them to listen to what I have written", one student pionted out. It is clear now, that all the youngsters -in schools, tertiary institutes and on the streets- need is, an appreciating ear of their fellow youth and the change in the approach -of the masses of youth, families and friends- to poetry and the creative spirits behind it. Although poetry is being appreciated steadily -through the "campaigns" by "the youth of poetry- it hasn't trully been recognised as an important and valuable form of literary writing. It's degradation might also be contributing to the seemingly lacking enthusiasm and creativity in young poets. Moreover, the financial "rewards" of most poets are generally considered as not consolating to the hard work, intellect and creativity of a poet. Big organisations though, such as "The Writers Network", "PANSA", and "The British Counsel" are networking to create opportunities and recognition for writers of all literary forms - including poetry. These arts networks shouldn't be the the only hope of poetry gaining the recognition and appreciation it deserves. The general communities could keep open minds and ears, and listen to the voice of emerging youth- poetry. ------------ About the author Ayanda: I am a third-level accountancy student at the Durban Institute of Technology and an emerging poet. Email: yoh@webmail.co.za Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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