Love or Angst: What makes a better writer?

Alright, let's have a brief thread about poetry then. I know what some of you are thinking after reading the title. How the hell do you have an angst-less love?

But let's take them separately, in their purer forms. Let's think about the Romantic poets, the Beat poets. Both forms can effectively convey profound meanings.

Which inspires you to write more, which allows you to write better, and which do you enjoy reading? Inspiring and beautiful images, nature's wonder, idealistic love, God's grace, the little things in life, children at play? Or passionate, insightful messages about the turbulance within us?

Believe it or not the fear of rejection has always been at the core of my writing. I write mainly from the heart. The heart is sometimes difficult to share, and impossible to sell.

Love is the most beautiful thing I have ever bought.

I search for poems that I can relate to.
If I were to appreciate a poem entirely at the moment, it would need to be contemplative, introspective, and profound mixed with melancholy, longing and uncertainty.

When I'm really sad, I'm inspired to write more. Which explains why I haven't written in a while...

For me, angst definitely leads to more writing. When I'm too happy, I don't want to spend my time writing - I just laze around, all fat and contended and in love, going soft around all my poetic edges.

Seems that angst stirs more people into writing than happy positivity. I expected as much with the whole art-thrives-on-conflict thing, and it makes sense. I find that the content of my own poems are not generally angst-ridden, but I know that angst is what inspired them. During phases of my life that were full of confusion, indifference or hopelessness, I wanted to write something that was whimsical, wild, silly, sappy, importantly senseless, something that was meaningful in its apparent meaningless. Writing sad things whilst feeling sad always limited my writing and my outlook.

In terms of reading, I also prefer the happy, idealistic poems of perfect love and happy endings- the ones that make my heart swell warmly and my spirit soar...Yeats' "He wishes for the cloths of heaven", Shelley's humbling nature poems, Neruda's pungent love poems, Ogden's exaggerated light verse. Yet, perhaps these poems were also based on a natural sadness, a certain cruelty that quietly wrenches at the gut. I think the happiest of poems must possess this quality for it to have any power.

"the darkness defeats the light in us, poetically."

Poetically, I hope our darkness makes our light shine brighter.

Illum, your picture is possibly one of the more terrifying things I've seen lately. Please change it to a dolphin or something?

Also, darkness making the light shine brighter could be:

Our happiest moments stand clearer and brighter against a background of darkness,

or maybe

Dark times drive us to write, and those written expressions of art are reflections of our lighter nature.

Maybe.

Thanks, soul sister sibyllene. That describes it very well.

"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain...
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight."
Gibran

And Illuminati, I think your pic is very suitable for this thread. It reeks of poetry.

P.S. Dolphins make me vomit.

P.P.S. What happened to Genuine Lavender?

Psh, dolphins are awesome. Trained dolphins are kind of sad, but otherwise it's like.... they could kill you, but otherwise they might save you from a shipwreck. Plus they are so strong and fast...

I do like whales more though. WHAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHH

^(Whale noise.)

I blame my repugnance towards dolphins on the media, my lack of zoology knowledge, and fashion jewellery in the mid-90s.
Silly, smiley, splashy, kissy kissy ki ki ki ki...oooo look at me, i'm so cute and clever and i love your boat.
Where's the AAAANGST??

So yeah.

The Killer whale ( a dolphin really) smiles at you (you ever noticed that?) before snapping you in half

TYPICAL. Giving the whale a bad name. These killer orca dolphins even eat whales. Hang on, a dolphin is a whale with teeth, right? TRAITOR.

Yes a human trait.... after all we invented the word..

Well atleast you have your Angst: