Truth in writing poetry

[Lizzie]

I always come to these threads late.

I remember pissing some people off once when I wrote in a poem that I tell lies. They were more pissed off at that than I thought they would be.

Hmm. You know from your comment Lizzie, it seems that you perceive poetry as confessional. That's a school I occasionally dabble in, but I'm not afraid to lie sometimes. The poem tells a truth it isn't always THE truth.

I am not always the speaker of my poem. I does not always mean me. When we use metaphor and simile and other devices they usually provide a distance to portray something real. Sometimes the speaker of my poem is a liar. Sometimes I am lying. Often times, I may not even know I'm lying in the poem--the deficiencies of memory.

I don't let it worry me.

Thanks for this Todd. Yes, all of my writer friends are confessional, and I probably am as well. It's so cliche, I know. I just find people to be the most fascinating subjects -- I can't stand writing about pheasants and waterfalls. I like portraits, not landscapes. No offense to anyone who does.

What's funny is that, of anyone here, I resonate to your work the most. So, it's good for me to know that you're letting the poem take you where it needs to and you're ok with that. I want to be ok with it, too. It's not that I'm such a literal person. That's just the box that I unconsciously fell into. I'd love to leave that behind.