Mild panic. This is what I am often met with when I mention to other grown adults that I am a poet. That I still write the stuff, with a poetry collection to my name, and another on its way. This reaction is understandable considering the typical experience people have of annotating the odious stuff at school, or trying their hand at it on the heels of heartbreak or adolescent angst. Besides, who even reads poetry these days?

As the saying goes, 'one man's garbage is another man's treasure', or my slight preference for the German version 'Des einen Freud ist des anderen Leid' (one man's joy is another man's sorrow). Reading poetry is arguably a challenging sort of reading. It demands non-passive readers. There is no light-touch skim, or a way to bullshit through (a little unfair because readers of poetry more than prose,  are likely to encounter an occasional whiff of the unsavory stuff.) This is not because the quality of poetry is measured by the use of archaic language or love poems, but because poetry is subjective to a fault. It has all the reputation of baking - with none of the mass appeal. There is an assumption of precision and craft, which is true enough - but poetry is also a living art form and thrives on serendipity and improvisation. Whether it's formulated like a fiddly, multi-step Croquembouche or treated like hastily microwaved leftovers, when delivered at the right place and time, poetry can strike like memory, sound like a song, stop time like a warning.

TLDR #1 Poetry is highly subjective to both reader and writer. Whilst it has a reputation for being a fairly prescriptive and fiddly written form, poets today might both adhere to this and ignore it in equal measure, a fact that annoyingly, has little to no bearing on the reader's actual enjoyment of the final piece

There are verses and poets that are, of course, beloved and well-known. Shared in graduation cards ('two roads diverged in a yellow wood' or 'if you can dream but not make dreams your master...'), in funeral invitations ('do not stand at my grave and weep'), read out at weddings (tread softly, for you tread on my dreams or 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds'). There is nothing wrong with this being the chief expectation of what poetry is, but it does not fully deliver one of the best things about poetry - when it stuns with the ordinary, when the temperate flies close to the sublime. When it makes you feel some type of way, or it's just very prettily arranged - words that don't pull any punches, serving insight or deliverance. As a reader and writer of poetry, I am curious about how others perceive both the minutiae and grand gestures of life. What writers choose to remember, and how they want to talk about it. This is probably why poetry in its traditional form is a reliable wing-man to add a touch of flair to what is somber or dignified. It also makes sense to me as a form of expression to turn to when the full gravitas of adult experience floods the adolescent mind. There is wisdom in how young people act - and poetry lends itself to taking something overwhelming and breaking it down to a true form, to let it steep for a while.

TLDR#2 Poetry is often used as a condiment to life events, but I argue that it is just as impactful as a lens to explore the every day, whether as a youthful attempt to triage a sudden burst of life experience, or for seasoned  writers a way to curate and preserve - a way to note what is worth remembering

What about modern poetry? There must be something between Billy da Poet and William Shakespeare, surely? Poetry collections can be found often on a single shelf in a (bigger) bookshop, with persuers in the single digits. I suspect it's because the section is seen as intimidating (bad) or thought of as irrelevant (worse.) Not helping matters is the fact that poetry in its contemporary form can be rather cavalier and unreliable. A form of storytelling that is perceived to lose its plot before it gets to the end.  I suspect the liberal use of narrative deception is to blame, or poetic license recklessly issued on the assumption that the average person does not venture down these roads. (Which is frankly true.) Trust a poet to organise a party they never turn up to. Or to have conversations more filling than the meal that occasioned it. Philisophise with psychotic abandon inside pages then appear shocked that anyone noticed. There are things we want to say, but often may peel off on a side-issue, because we are not sure if we are saying this to ourselves or want to remember a certain thing a certain way. There are sideroads and alleys and pitstops and highways, and  many of us expect you to bring your own damn sleeping bag and dictionary if you are to visit. 

TLDR#3 In which I seem to suggest modern poets being charmingly flighty, borderline distracted, and not all that literal does not help much with the PR problem of our genre (but I will always speak of this as a feature, not a bug)

I recently ordered a bounty of recent work by other fellow Hong Kong poets. Reading these have made me feel incredibly fortunate to be a member of this community. Hindsight is always 20/20, but through absense and distance, I can appreciate what an extraordinary gift it was to cut my teeth as a writer surrounded by these folk. Although I met many of them and got to know their work in an open-mic setting, the range in work - stylistic, narrative, perspective,  was as diverse as the poets themselves. What people choose to write about, and how they talk about it is something I find fascinating by default, whether I know them or not. This is why I struggle to 'rate' poetry. As with anything I read, I enjoy reviewing poetry, but find rating a collection almost impossible. At best, it's like being asked to rate several books in a series, for work that is so deeply subjective - and endearingly random in what might move a person, it seems like an odd thing to do. A single poem in a collection might stay with me well after I first encountered it, rendering the whole book a 5-star read. A book can be an atmospheric delight, without a single poem striking me on a personal level and still be a 5-star read for its transportive prowess. Then there are books that are a slow build, or leave you with something unexpected at the end. A book of poetry is not to be judged, not really. It's a privilege to visit with people's interpretative living for awhile. In short there is far too much to recommend itself, or factor in a collection of poetry to sincerely abide to a star-rating. I am much clearer on what constitutes a 3-star novel than a 3-star poetry collection. 

TLDR#5 It challenging to 'rate' poetry vs prose. With poetry, the sum of its parts can be greater than the whole, or a single poem can deliver a soul-tizzying solo. A book of poetry is not to be judged, not really. 'It's a privilege to visit with people's interpretative living for awhile.' (Bear in mind that a poet is writing this. I am fond of my bias here.) 

Sometimes I finish a book of poetry with less information than I went in with, but a greater sense of the writer and a sense of what they think is beautiful or important. It may look like light work because 60 poems is technically digestible in one sitting, but I do not recommend it. Reading poetry is work, depending on how you want to approach it. In a way, it's like listening to an album for the first time. You may hone in on the lyrics and miss something in the music. It is a bit of a dance, between poet and reader - there is often much more than meets the eye after an initial read.  For me at least,  it sometimes requires multiple re-reads of individual poems or even the entire collection. Though it appears there is less to sift through in terms of pages, don't underestimate the times a poem gives you pause, or asks something of you.

TLDR#6  Reading poetry is kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure. I have no idea where I will end up at the end of the book. Often times, I re-read poems or whole books to deepen my understanding. There is always more than an initial reading can offer. Do not judge a book's heft by the number of its pages. 

If after all of this you are not deterred and you do decide to pick up a book of poetry, know that feeling lost is a part of the experience. There are some poets who are faithful writers - who oblige every footnote, give context, stick to the damn story. There are others that will take you somewhere but won't lead you down its ruins or high-streets. It can sometimes feel as intimate as reading a letter, resonate with life right now, or feel as though you are looking at blurry film photography of someone's childhood. 

TLDR#7  Expect to be a spectator when reading poetry. Sometimes you are at sea with too much cloud cover. Other times the course is charted and followed faithfully. There is merit in both ways of experiencing a book. (If you are lucky, this could even be the same book)  

Why would anyone even read poetry? It requires a level of focus and attention asynchronous to modern life. As a poet myself I am often tempted by fiction I can casually lose myself in than the dizzying, sometimes confusing, walk by the water's edge  where somebody's barely legible subsconscious operates the tide. Still, what a marvellous companion to life,  to tap into our collective experience and proactively empathise with the business of living. If books are a way to experience a thousand lives, then poetry supplies the colour and sound effects. 

TLDR#8  Reading poetry requires mindfulness, and a bit of effort, and there are direct rewards to reap from this