ROUTE OVER

London        Watford         Northampton
You              Leicester        Sheffield
Bradford       Me                Skipton
Penrith          Lo
                      c        ke
           r
                          b  i
                                         e 













THREE WORD SUICIDE POEM

                                                         
                                                         h
                                                                   
                                 e
 Bang                                          bullet
                                   a            d













BANG BAN

Leg                             Leg                            Leg                          Leg
Foot                           Foot                          Foot                                   f
Ground                      Ground                     Landmine             o
                                                                                       t
                                                                                                        o













NORTHERN IRELAND ( A PEACE MOVEMENT )


THEM                                                                                   US
               THEM                                                            US
                              THEM                                    US
                                            THEM              US
                                                      THEMUS
                                                          THUS
                                                             US

Commentary:

Poetry like the above hopefully works because it startles - it is not what people have come to expect - it grabs the attention. Some poems (I think) are only written for fellow poets to read and appreciate. Graphic or picture poetry can be read and enjoyed by people who have not even considered that poetry has anything to offer them. In fact, some may not consider it poetry at all. This kind of poetry finds a willing audience nowadays because people are used to posters, graphics and clever wordplay when used in advertising, et cetera. Also, whether we like it or not, graphic poetry is usually easy to understand and therefore accessible to the reader. That is the crux of the matter to me - that the poems can be easily and quickly understood, hopefully provoking some thought, emotion or an idea. Some poetry is SO difficult, and although some people enjoy difficult work, many readers, especially people not used to regular poetry reading, would certainly be put off by it.

Read the first two lines of this poem :

Because the pleasure bird whistles after the hot wires,
Shall the blind horse sing sweeter,

This poem is by the brilliant Dylan Thomas. One must really persevere and read carefully, to appreciate the theme, structure, and imagery of his poetry. My point: many people, not really interested in poetry, would never give the great Mr Thomas a chance! And that goes for far, far less difficult poems and poets. By using lineation and margination a poem like Bang Ban is quickly read and understood. You can see the damage done graphically to the FOOT. It, like all these poems, is a picture. So, poetry for lazy people? Maybe. But in today's world, with people used to graphics and wordplay when used in advertising, on posters or television, perhaps graphic/picture poems are one way of reaching this instantaneous 'don't like poetry' nation.