JOY OF poetry
Writing poems can help us in difficult times. We asked writer Victoria Field why it’s the new trend of 2021
When was the last time you read a poem? Was it when you battled to understand TS Eliot at school, or have you turned to poetry in a tough 2020?
Poetry was initially developed to help people memorise stories and history. The ancient Greeks and Romans were known for their great epics, telling tales of gods and heroic deeds – Homer’s Iliad has 15,693 verses! Today’s modern ‘Insta-poets’, who post their work – sometimes as short as a couple of lines – on social media, help capture the human experience. During lockdown, the popularity of poetry soared. The number of Instagram posts using the hashtag #poetry grew to 48m between April and September 2020.* ‘Poetry can give us the sensation that we’re not alone in the world,’ explains Victoria Field. ‘It can feel like looking in a mirror and seeing our emotions reflected back.’ With a degree in psychology, Victoria is a poetry therapist who uses the written and spoken word for healing and personal growth. She leads poetry workshops with everyone from students to adults with learning disabilities, and the elderly, reading and writing poems to help them dig a little deeper into their minds and understand their feelings.
‘Poetry is a way of capturing life in a direct, concise and beautiful way,’ she says. ‘It’s a means to connect, both with each other and bigger things, such as the natural world and love. In my workshops, we read a poem together and talk it through. There are no right or wrong answers; it’s about exploring feelings and memories. Then, everyone will write something in response. People describe feeling calm, having more clarity and self-confidence, as well as enjoying being creative.’
RECOMMENDATIONS
Chatting about her favourite poets, Victoria recommends American Mary Oliver for her work inspired by nature, and Charles Causley, a Cornish poet known for his ballads about people. Victoria also likes the contemporary work of Penelope Shuttle and Louise Glück, the 2020 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, who writes about the universal themes of love, loss, grief and ageing. One final poet Victoria highlights is Jane Hirshfield, who combines daily observations with a deeper philosophical insight.
‘During lockdown, the popularity of poetry soared’