A poet is an intermediary who works on the border between the visible and the invisible.  The poet’s job is to put the visible world in synch with the invisible world by bringing poems across the border.  A poem is a living organism made of language.  It uses all aspects of the language:  image, idea, sound, history, and the way language feels in the body when spoken or heard.

The invisible world has three territories:  the past, the future, and the parallel reality (which has been called the spirit world, the other side, the noöosphere, and the ontos on).  Though the poem comes from that world, it seeks to live and propagate in this world, and thus it must be attractive to human minds and hearts, which is where it lives.  It needs to be “meaningful” to people.
 
It also needs to both follow and break rules of communication, and it is the poet’s job to help the poem do this.  This is what we mean when we talk about craft. Craft is the poet’s ability to take the invisible impulse of the poem and help it form an entity of words.  Craft is a very conscious occupation, which means that the poet spends more time on this side of the borderline than would, say, a shaman, a channeler, or a meditator.

What draws a poet to the borderland between the visible and the invisible is some kind of psychic wound.   A beginning writer of poems first seeks healing and comfort in the making of poems.  If the wound is not deep and heals quickly (as in the case of many adolescents), the writer will drift away.  If the wound is deep but the writer does not have a facility for language, then the writer will remain there, churning out bad poems, poems that can’t make their way into the cultural ecology.

If the writer finds healing while at the same time producing living work, then that person is a poet.

The type of benefit poets bring to their society depends on the invisible territory in which the poets work and the needs of their society at any given time.  Poets who work with past wrongs help their society re-think itself and deal with problems that it has ignored.  Poets who deal with the future write prophetic work that helps their society see where it is going and possibly change course.  Poets who work with the alternate reality help their society widen itself and become less constrictive.

What do poets need to do their work? 

Eventually the psychic wound will heal (unless the poet purposely keeps it open).  Then the poet needs another reason to be there.  This is usually supplied by some kind of vision of what her profession actually means and what good she is doing with it.  The vision will change as the poet matures.
 
The poet also needs a sense of craft that is comprehensive enough to handle very wild inspirations and detailed enough to make articulate, articulated poems.  The details are vital down to commas and capital letters.

The poet needs courage.  Some of these inspirations come howling out of the other side, fangs agleam, and they almost always deal with painful subjects because that is where the adjusting needs to be done.   The poet has to believe that for some reason he can handle the wild inspiration without being thrown or torn apart by it.  This belief comes from experience, study, and personal contact with master poets who know the trick.  It can also come from religious faith.  A poet who stands completely alone might well get torn apart.  Pick your favorite tragic bio in evidence of this.

The poet needs the ability to create silence.  Without silence, the poetic impulse is distorted or blocked.   In this silence nothing matters but the poem itself.  Thoughts of outcome can’t intrude.  To the extent that they do, they will cripple the poem and make it smell of ego.  This poetic silence comes from an act of will independent of circumstances.  It can form in the middle of a battlefield.  it can form as a last act before dying.  The poet has to know it’s possible, and she has to have practice in constructing it.  This is something she can learn from a master.

Poets need masters who can stand on the borderline in silence and without being overwhelmed by thoughts of fear or reward.  The teacher of a poet needs to be able to communicate this attitude one way or another.  The best way is just by having done it.  The act leaves its mark. 
Poets need masters who can show them how to usher their work into the world without being overwhelmed by resistance or indifference from others.  It’s sad to know that the vast majority of poems will die without reaching the heart of even a single reader, but it’s true.  And so what?  How many flowers bloom unseen?  That’s how things are.

Poets need teachers who can show them the importance of craft without making a fetish of any one style or set of rules.  The impulse is always the most important thing.

Poets need to receive energyfrom, rather than give it to, their masters.  The adoring little coterie is destructive to both poet and teacher.  The master needs to be aware that he is the passing phase and that the new phase stands before him, poems in hand.

It’s a lot to do, but then that makes it worth doing.

Rick, thanks so much for posting this.  I found both enlightenment and enjoyment through reading this. 

Can't remember the name, but I read a book about 10 years ago on healing your pain through writing poetry.  It had exercises and questions at the end of each chapter.  The author actually walks you through writing an authentic poem and tries to bring you out of denial and into the open with your emotional and physical pain, what causes it, and attempts to teach you to walk through it.  Not around it.

Love what you say about courage -- that and what you have to say about needing master poets are so true, and it's sad when a writer finds it hard to accept help from a master;  and I don't say this in a self-righteous way.  I've been there (and probably still am in some respects).  I've been at the place where no one could help me because it hurt my feelings or because no one really 'understood' me or my writing -- which is all just poppycock, of course.  I don't feel I even began to learn until I could put away my own opinions about my writing and use the opinions of others to change.

It's harder for some writers than others not to adore those that help them.  For example, if a person is very sensitive and something is missing in your life, you might try to fill that emptiness with poetry, and I suppose this is when the relationship might become destructive, as you mentioned.

Staying realistic would be the answer for me.  Fantasy is one thing.  Reality is another.  I may feel love or adoration for another poet, but knowing it's just a feeling and not a reality keeps me safe, especially since I'm a single woman and love writing as much as I do.  However, I do allow myself to become attached to particular websites (like PoetryCircle) and many of the poets here.

It's kind of like the same type of relationship you might have with someone on the internet.  Somewhere in there, you must keep your feet planted on solid ground.

One statement you made I found interesting -- that we need to receive from rather than give to a master poet.  I agree with you, but it seems like an ideal situation.  Most people just don't have the time or energy to be giving all the time.  Or maybe I want too much.  Whatever it is, I'll work on it.

I can say this though.  I appreciate the fact that milner, John, or Tom, etc. can advise me regarding my work and not feel as though they have to protect my feelings while advising me.  This tells me I'm growing somehow.  Who knows how much?  What's important is that neither I nor my writing is standing still.

Thanks again for posting this.  There are many other things I'd like to comment on, but will cut this short in order not to ramble.

Rick, your efforts are very much appreciated.

cheryl

Oh man have I been there, too!  As bone-headed, sensitive, and arrogant as you could get.  Some of my teachers had to hit me with a Brinks truck.  A good master will do a minimum of damage, though, and use a minimum number of words.  Just ignoring the student after the master has had her say can be enough -- her silence giving her words a space to echo in.

Rick, thanks for your excellent response to my response.  Keep this type of writing up and I might actually learn something that will grow me out of all the chocolately sweet shells I've poured all over myself so that people will 'like' me.

Gets really sickening sometimes.

peace-out brotha, and thanks,
cheryl

rick -- well done! 

dear Rick

it was a quiet broken cloud covered morning
one welcoming a return for a fine read.


What draws a poet to the borderland
between the visible and the invisible is some kind of psychic wound.


silent lotus

`



If the writer finds healing while at the same time producing living work, then that person is a poet.




`

"If the writer finds healing while at the same time producing living work, then that person is a poet."

Rick - very true, and meaningfully captured.  I think that's the reason I call myself more "storyteller" than poet.  Your dissertation makes me think that I am correct in my appellation.  Rob, storyteller.  And I'm cool with that.

Thanks SL for bringing this up for me to read.  Yes, I am at times lazy with the archives.

Rob

Silent - same exact time, same exact quote!!! I ignored the warning of another post while I was typing...

Rick - further proof that you captured a "truth" right there.  And yeah, I can use the word 'truth' because I am a storyteller.  Ha!

`

Thank you Rick:  this is something to return to - several times - and I will.

Rick - very informative and helpful - my background in writing is nearly non-existent (last two years) so I am trying to catch up on what poetry is about.  I find the process fun but was uncomfortable when I posted my first poem January 7th.  I've been astounded at the willingness of unpaid mentors to help.  Interesting reference to Teilhard de Chardin's noosphere- an overlaying sphere of thought I'd like to tap in to.  Dan