the place of poetry among discourses

[Leanne]

Poetry, I think, should first be well-written and considered. If it is a tool for understanding or experiencing your spirit, as distinct from mythology and psychology, it is one which should be used well, like any tool. Randomly chucking a hammer at some rubble doesn't make a house, and noting your first thoughts in any form or order doesn't make a poem. That's why I've come to dislike writers who don't edit, and those with silly ideas about the greatest self-expression being spontaneous. Horseshit. Nothing produced by man is great unless it is considered. Whether free verse or sonnet, if a poem is to connect with humans other than yourself, to convey and explore the spirit, it must be crafted with care.

This is why we've missed you, Jack. Well said indeed (especially the "horseshit" bit).