Poetry Packet

I greatly enjoyed the poetry packet - there was so much variety, so many different types of poems - there was no strict guideline. I like that about poetry - everyone thinks that poetry has to follow the rules, but it doesn't.

One of Ted Berrigan's sonnets illustrates this perfectly - sonnet XV in the packet. It is a fascinating piece of work - and when you first read it, it makes absolutely no sense. That is, until you read a little closer and realize that the poem is like a mirror; the first line corresponds to the last, and on from there. In the middle of the poem, the "last line", Berrigan says "and the sonnet is not dead". This may illustrate the idea that poetry doesn't necessarily have to follow a strict set of rules - it can be whatever you want it to be.