why is poetry so addicting?

why is it we turn to poetry? why is it that this is the one thing for us in life thta makes sense? the one thing that helps us release our feelings?

why is this addicting not in the bad sense; but I mean it makes us feel so safe. please comment thnxs.

Lissa

If that be the definition of a poet, I am quite confident I am one...

I think you are very right there, Bob...at least some poets are like that. And probably a lot of other people too, people that never seek comfort in a pen/keyboard...

For me poetry is addictive because I am very afraid of telling people what I truly feel and think about myself and others...

It has become my place to find strength and meaning...the only place, I am afraid...

and yes, I do consider myself a poet by bob`s defintion, although I know my poetry pales compared to the works of many other poets on this site.

personaly I find it really addictive because it is the only time that I can really express myself without having to actually admit to my shortcommings or owning up to my sadness.. (yeah I know that sounds weird) but when I write I feel that I can express exactally how I feel without having to say anything out loud.. if that makes any sence 2 u

Yes, there's some kind of serene freedom that allows us write down our thoughts and emotions without following the laws of complete sentences

im not sure... but it sure helps me let it out... also, ive been keeping up with my LA grades because I'm into art and this kind of art keeps me motivated... I spend hours on this site, lol...

and same thing as u, EOB, i don't tell people what i really think/feel inside... i express myself this way because i feel great knowing i can be secure even when no one can feel the same. i have... privacy issues... lol... i would probably die if the entire public read my stuff and just said little comments...
one time a friend snuck up on me in the lab, stole the mouse and read it as if it was perfectly okay... i went loony in the head for a couple minutes lol...

but that inspired me to write a poem (could-be series) about my so-called "secret life" ... a poet at age 12 who frequently writes, an experienced artist who grew from paper and crayon to acrylics and canvas.. a potential singer who lost their voice due to a fever... to think it's real is strange!

Poetry's like a very good friend... i can always let out how i feel and it will never strike back...

and thank u Sluvious! that was well said. I feel secure with a pen and paper... I don't need anything else in the world when I have those 2 things...

I just realized. I think I had a habit for words after I lost my voice... o_O i better end this post before i start up again lmao...

but this topic's made me think lol. thnx everyone for posting ur thoughts/experiences.. and thanks, shiningstar, for creating this...

my teacher in church asked us what our passions were and she said that a passion is an intense desire that we couldn't live without in the future. i have 2 things i've been longing for:

1) to be 4 (very innocent)
2) to create... and i love creating... it always feels so new...

wow.. interesting question.. im not sure.. hehe..but i definetely am addicted! :P tell me if you find out! lol.. xox

Poets are definitely NOT cursed. If someone is a poet, it so does not make them a loner, or anything like that.

A poet is someone who writes poem. THat's all a poet is. honestly.
but us poets are BLESSED. we have the ability to put our thoughts and views, different or the same as they may be from the rest of the world, into amazing phrases and rhymes and-poetry.

For poets, yes, we turn to poetry. Lol, you've answered a question with a question. For us poetry is the one thing that makes sense in life, that helps us release our feelings. So we rely on it and allow it to help us along ( why are these discussion boards so addicting?????:P). We've given ourselfves a way to freely and publicly word how we feel. It's amazing.

But other people choose other things to help release how they feel, other things that are the only sens-ful things in life. Some people rely on sports, some on music, or writing/journalling or reading, or things of the sort.

Also, yes, poetry often reassures us that we are sane, at least sane enough to write.

Yes, we are blessed with words and feelings that no one else can grasp, but we are cursed with being sensitive to the smallest things, even if we don't show it.

We are changed by words... they make our feelings turn in a different direction. We are turned deeper than deep, falling into a huge ocean of murmurs and sounds, swallowing us up.

We are both sane and insane, us poets. People wonder why we have the nerve to write 24/7 in their opinion. Our loved ones understand and cherish our special gift.

And us, as humans, stand up to prove others wrong when they say we can't do something.

It's not a curse, truly, but it's more like an inner birthmark/scar. It will stay in us for our entire lives
and never leave.

We do different things to relieve stress or to have fun, and you're right.If I'm really mad, I'll try to kill some inanimate object or run for an hour. But I mostly write. It comforts me. Singing music helps, too.

We are blessed and cursed with writing things down... people that we don't want looking through our things will find some writing and think they know us. Our close ones admire and cherish the poems.

Good Luck. Don't worry, because all poets are different and our lives are always neutral, even when you can't see the other side.

I don't think so. I flat out disagree. People say that, but being alone or whatever has nothing to do with poetry. Look at ted kazinsky, that mofo was all alone for a long time, but he didn't write poetry. Walt Whitman wasn't alone, neither was Robert Frost, or Emily Dickinson (well, not actually alone, her family lived with and loved her for her entire life). Also for the OP, I don't feel the "we" in your sentence. Poetry is not the only place I turn to release feelings, as a matter of fact I purposely try not to release feelings in my poetry. I don't like over emotional sappy poetry, thankyou teen-angst. I think conveying an idea is more important than conveying emotion. Their maybe emotion with the idea, but the idea should be forefront. And poetry is not the only thing to me that makes sense. Actually poetry confuses the hell out of me sometimes. I think I know some sort of way about the workings of the world and life, and out of the sense that I make from the world I write, not the other way around. I don't write to understand, but think I understand and therefore write. Other times, as with all good story tellers, even Shakespeare (with few, like Poe, as exceptions), it is all just about wanting to tell a good story and not really conveying anything, emotion or idea; however, a good story teller can make up a story and people will just find those elements in the story--without the author's intent.

By the way, I did not take offense to anything you posted, I just felt like saying this because you made generalizations about poets and poetry that I don't think hold true as much as other people think.

Think about it....the first poem you ever wrote you were sceptical about letting other people read it...am I right? But the more you write the more confident you feel about your writting. You feel so safe when you write because it is something that your used to doing....it's "normal" to you. And most people don't like change so anytime you feel any kind of emotion that you just don't know what to think about it you turn to poetry because it is something that you are used to and it gives you a sense of normalsy in your perhaps hectic or uncertain life. Just a thought!
Leah

I find it addictive because I can convey thoughts and feelings into a creative outlet. They may not be the best poems, have the best rhymes, and they may not make sense, but it's what I feel, and what I write.

Good question. I am a recovering addict. Poetry is just another manifestation of my disease. But compared to the other manifestations poetry is an addiction I can work on. And just to prove it I will write a poem to prove it. LMAO

Things that make you feel good are addictive.

coz its awesome. =D!!

i think because people like it, like if some-one is brilliant at football or ove watching soe-one kick a ball around then they will do that wont they, so if you like poetry then you try to become either or both a brillant poet or an amzing reader!

I think because it is a way of expressing ourselves. Sure we can do it orally but sometimes that can get us into trouble. So I prefer writing.
Also I make goals for myself.
Write twelve or more poems this week.
and once I do that I bump it up to 13 poems.
I love writing.
And want to make it a career!!

Poetry is the original form of strytelling-dating back to the Greeks and Romans.Poetry was the major form in the earlier centuries, predating songs and stories, it is one of the oldest, if not THE oldest forms of communication of feeling, emotion, meaning..It is the basis of modern songs and storiesThough it has fallen out of favor it seems in these modern times, it is still an important and major art form, and there will always be those who appreciate it's beauty and wisdom..Nothing can touch the heart and mind of the reader as poetry can.We write poetry for ourselves and others: as a release of emotion, as cartharsis,to communicate and connect, as therapy, as a release of the emotions inside us.Poetry will alway be a major force as long as we allow and appreciate it.The art of poetry and reading of it and creating of it is born of pure passion and nothing less.

Peace, Poetry, & Power,

Gary Jurechka

I think it`s addicting cuhs` it gives us a way to express ourselves ; A way to write down our feelings and things that we don`t want to sey . It`s something yu kan do for fun, for people, and for yher`self . It`s helped me learn things about myself and it`s something I can call my passion ; That i want to keep doing, EVEN iF people may critisize . It`s something a lotta ppl come to love doing . I think itz why its so addicting .

Poetry helps us with feels I think because people might not know if it it true but it express our feeling but then no one has to see it!!

Honestly. It's addictive to me because I have a hard time telling people how I feel. Yet alone what is wrong with me and what is bothering me. It's my way to cope; I suppose you can say. I'm not good at sitting here and telling someone why I'm mad, sad, ect. It's hard for me. I feel as if I am doing something wrong when I tell them. So I write, and I write. It makes it better. Heh. I also love writing so, it works out for both ways; I suppose.

- Megan -

For me it helps because itd about how I feel about the hurt and the love I have been throughjust everything it helps. Its like cutting u start and then it helps so u keep wanting to do it. And now write helps me so much and I feel it and that is what helps the most! I like to read it to becuase it helps knowing other ppl feel the same way.

Well its better to be addicted to poetry than it is to crack =)

Oh, that reminds me. We poets have been lacing our words with coke for years.

How do you think anybody read Howl?