As Dr. Phil would say, "You cannot change what you will not acknowledge."
Certainly, the english language clearly permits a broad use of the terms poem, Poet and Poetry. "Spoken like a true poet..." "Those words were so poetic..." "The poetry of her words..." I myself have referred to Joni's "poetry." Often in fact. She writes with imagination, guile, wit, intelligence, command, beauty. -All of the things that make for poetry. Good poetry even. But there's a subtle distinction I've been arguing here. That at some point there IS a separation from the broad term and conception we have, to the Art form so many great minds have devoted their lives to. I respect my boyfriend's take on poetry out of a respect for his lifelong devotion to learning and understanding the craft. If you have a tumor on your back, you're better off asking a professional. You may not always get the correct diagnosis, but your odds are far greater than asking a grease monkey down the block. As an artist who has devoted his life to the study and craft of Art, my opinions on Joni's art has a bit more informed weight than my boyfriend. You give a kid a lovely imported French goat cheese, a bottle of Cline wine, and sourdough bread and you're likely to be faced with a squenched up nose in disapproval. They'd pick kool-aid and pbj's instead. -Some tastes are developed, refined and informed . Certainly there is no need to define Poetry. It will live on as happily as a lark if you do or don't. In fact the definition any of us would offer will more likely say something about us and what we believe than it might say about poetry. I do believe, even if you refuse to play the game and define the term, there is a logic structure somewhere within you that dictates your reaction to the things you read around you... When you walk into a bookstore and pick something off the shelf, that internal logic system is kicking into gear. All I'm suggesting is to examine it. You may say you have no definition of Poetry but I don't believe that's true. You do believe something on the subject, otherwise how you feel about things would sway and vary from day today. Today Joni is Poetry. Tomorrow, Joni is not. -I don't think your mind works that way. There is a consistency to your thought process. (Logical or not.) So, what is that thing? Ok, so you pick up a book and some of the lines are beautiful and poetic. Does that make it Poetry? And if on page fifty you are fearful for the hero life, does it suddenly become a Horror Novel as well? And if there's some spectulative sentences, is the whole transformed into a Science Fiction novel? "What are you reading?" "It's a poem, Horror Novel, Western, Science fiction Romance Epic with a touch of..." Ok, so the book has some poetic passages. Spoken like a true poet. -That doesn't make it 'Poetry': Art form. See section B9 in your local Barnes and Nobel. So the book has a LOT of poetic passages. It might win it a Pulitzer, but it's still prose. At some point blurring the line blurs the meaning of the form it is and the form you're comparing it to. OK, this thread is about cooked. Pass the plates and let's serve this baby up! -Happy Thanksgiving.
