Bridge

I've been thinking a lot about poetry a bit more so than usual, perhaps due to my gig as the DC Poetry Examiner for Examiner.com. Since starting at Examiner.com, I've noticed more and more where poetry sits in the world of art forms.

The thing about poetry is it isn't just an art form. Poetry has a function. It serves a purpose. You might say all art forms serve a purpose, and you would be correct. I'm not saying poetry has some sort of arrogant egoism inherent to it that other art forms don't have. I am saying I am more aware of the powers behind my own art form.

Poetry is a bridge.

I originally thought of poetry as glue, but glue suggests a substance that sticks two unrelated or arbitrary things together; bridges act as a catalyst for bringing two related or adjacent things together as a collective. I like "bridge."

So what does poetry bridge together? Fiction expresses ideas through words, without the use of music. Song writing expresses ideas through words, with the use of music as a separate but vital entity. Written poetry expresses ideas through words, with music vitally as part of the expression. Another example: written poetry and song lyrics express themselves on the printed page. Hip Hop and Rap are very poetic forms of performance music. Spoken word poetry bridges these two worlds together.

I was at a monthly performance and reading in Washington DC (Cheryl's Gone at The Big Bear Cafe) a few months ago, and there were two interesting artists who were on the program. One was a novelist and read two chapters of his book. Another was a songwriting duet, who performed with guitar, xylophone, and other instruments. These two performances would have seemed awfully weird together on the same evening, if it had not been for the poets who also performed. The evening went like this: fiction reading — poetry reading — spoken word poetry — song. And it worked — the event was seamless in its structure.

Now, I am sure poetry isn't the only art form that bridges other art forms together. I would never suggest that. But I might assert, with some strong bias to go with it, that the poetry bridge is made of stone; whether the other art form bridges are as well I'll leave up to the artists themselves.

Two other notes: 1) I had dinner with my dad a couple weeks ago, and he asserted that hip-hop/rap was the new poetry. 2) I saw Nikki Giovanni back in the days of snow, and she asserted that she welcomed Jay-Z as one of her own. Thus not only does poetry seem to be a bridge, but it may be shifting in its foundation.