Poetry Month: celebrating poetry in the workplace

Graphic from grammar.dictionary.com

April is Poetry month.  For many, the last time they read a poem was in school, and even after class discussion they didn't really understand it.  I went off-piste on my academic learning a couple of years ago and completed a Masters in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University. It was a great course, notable for being practical - the academic-speak and theory was kept to a minimum. The aim was to turn out writers - and better readers.

Poetry is not "my thing" when it comes to creative writing. I have recently had returned to me the book of poetry I wrote as a teenager in 1979. Sheesh - the angst!  I do occasionally get my thoughts around a poem, but like may others who scribble their thoughts in verse, it feels too personal to share.

It's this same intimacy that draws us, as readers, to a poem. There's that feeling of instant connection when you read a poem and absolutely identify with the line you've just read. It's as though someone has said what you've been feeling - not what you've been thinking. Poetry has the ability to shine a light on those feelings we didn't realise we had.

Is it appropriate to bring poetry into the workplace? I don't see why not, and there is a whole discipline on this topic. And there are poets who specialise in this - David Whyte being my poet-hero.

Throughout April, I'll be blogging about poetry in the workplace, and sharing some of the poems that have meaning to me.