U is for Universal

Rena's Universe 
Photo by Rena J. Traxel

U is for universal.  I love how poetry, and I have mentioned this before, "has the power to cut through all the crap we accumulate in our lives and touch us to the quick, to make us not only recall our childhood, but also re-experience the less complicated joys and sensations of that not always guileless time" (Gary Geddes).

How does poetry have this power over us? One of the reasons is the use of universal or common experiences such as birth/death, love/friendship, pain/loss, war/justice etc.Take a look around us. The books we read, the movies we watch all tap into universal or common experiences. Why? Because it draws us in and helps us to relate to, or understand the story therefore enjoy it. 

Why is this important? First off, I think it’s important to write what you want to write. But a savvy artist pays attention to what is happening around him/her. Using the market to his/her advantage. For example, during the Romantic period (late 1800^th century) many poems depicted nature, loss of innocents, and the industrial revolution.  Today, the arts are littered with references to technology. Since poetry helps us to understand the world around us, it makes sense to write about common experiences.

What if you write poems for children or silly poems? The same rule can be applied.  All you have to do is think about that child’s universe.  You can still write about friendship, or love or loss etc., but the approach to these poems will be different. The language used will be different. The metaphors and similes must be drawn from the child’s universe. 

Challenge

--When you write your poem today think about your audience.  You can use today’s word “universal” as prompt for your poem.  And/or

--Write a poem that depicts your universe that you think others could relate to (Are you retired? Do you have kids? Are you student? Etc.).  I did this when I wrote my sonnet about being a writer.  

Resources

--To see a list of universal themes click here.

If you liked this post please let others know with a click of button below. Tomorrow, children's poet and writer Renee LaTulippe from No Water River will be joining us. I hope you come back for that. 


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Do you want to catch up or re-visit earlier poetry posts? Here are the most recent poetry posts:

• T is for Twitter: All about Twitter poetry. 
• S is for Sonnet: How to write a sonnet. Plus interview with writer and poet Linda J. Pedley. 
• R is for Rhyme: Tips on Writing Stories in Rhyme (tips provided by author Kari-Lynn Winters). 

1. Gary Geddes: 20^th-Century Poetry & Poetics (5^th ed). Preface.