01-25-2026, 05:28 AM
I think form and meter are irrelevant. I don’t know why we persist with them. It’s like using a slide rule or an abacus because it’s tradition. Or using a drafter instead of autocad. It is a form of barely excusable barbarism. We might as well be eschewing tomatoes and avocados, because they’re new fangled. Or riding horses.
The idea that regular meter is a good idea is utterly devoid of any merit. It’s like saying that GPUs are good, as long as they are marchant calculators (something I learnt about from Feynman’s books. I wasn’t born in the 20s).
So basically, I think any form that combines metre a little irregularly is good. Regular metre is like the baby shark song, rage inducing. After that, it’s what you’re trying to say, as long as it’s interesting.
The objective of poetry is to say interesting things in a nice way, ultimately to create beauty and joy. And there are many ways of doing this, but the main thing is that you should surprise the reader. Regular form and meter is the opposite of that.
The idea that regular meter is a good idea is utterly devoid of any merit. It’s like saying that GPUs are good, as long as they are marchant calculators (something I learnt about from Feynman’s books. I wasn’t born in the 20s).
So basically, I think any form that combines metre a little irregularly is good. Regular metre is like the baby shark song, rage inducing. After that, it’s what you’re trying to say, as long as it’s interesting.
The objective of poetry is to say interesting things in a nice way, ultimately to create beauty and joy. And there are many ways of doing this, but the main thing is that you should surprise the reader. Regular form and meter is the opposite of that.