In my (mere) six months blogging about bipolar, I have noticed a lot of poetry being written. Now, I am a lesbian and the song of my people is free verse, so it’s a familiar environment to me. The difference between bipolar poets and lesbian poets, is that the bipolar ones rhyme much, much more. What they have in common is that there isn’t a lot of evidence that work and editing and bleeding, sweating and tearing took place. Stephen Fry informs us that this is not a phenomenon limited to bipolar, lesbian and bipolar lesbian poets and that it is in fact, infesting the entire modern poetry scene. He wrote a book about it.
A tour of the poetry archive with Stephen Fry.
Book: The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry.
Before you beat me up, please remember that I didn’t say all – and that for all you know, you might be one of the poets I like (Alex, for example). And quite frankly you ought to have enough confidence in your work not to give a damn what I think anyway.
Haiku for the Bipolar by Roland Frye. I’m linking you to that because it exists and maybe it’s your thing. It is so not my thing.
A bipolar sonnet by Steve Huff (I do like this one, effort has gone into it). If you want a forensically diagnosed sonnet poet, try Gerald Manley Hopkins.
Here is a sonnet about Facebook by native american bipolar poet and author, Sherman Alexie. More of his poems here and here’s his official website.
Here’s a good ‘un, by Spike Milligan, that gets spread all over the net without his name on it.
It doesn’t take much google fu to get lists of famous bipolar poets; there’s lots to learn from and enjoy. By the way someone needs to write a limerick about bipolar.
that is so interesting because I’m a bipolar lesbian too and I have noticed that I rhyme a lot but to be honest I don’t consider myself much of a poet but just someone who randomly writes. I’m actually a software engineer.
What Stephen Fry informs us is actually really interesting that now I actually want to read the book. A lot is being passed by as poetry that people give in to it.
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I want to read it too. He wrote poems to demonstrate each poem type that he discusses in the book.
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I know. Me too. I wonder what he has to say in that matter.
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Very interesting! I rhyme all the time. I cannot stop, whether it hit home or fall short. Someone help me. lol
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lol.. I think rhyming is the best part of poetry. I do enjoy the non-rhyming ones I feel it takes special talent to rhyme with clever words. One of my longest poems rhymes a little too much. lol
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I’ve written a shitload of it too. Don’t tell anyone :0
;)
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lol.. your secret is safe with me.. ;)
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lips are sealed! lol
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Always love your posts!
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I am on a poetry roll lately, it must be something in the Bipolar air! Most of mine are unpublished in a sketch pad in my room. When I do poetry on my blog, they are raw like my posts. I rhyme some times. Sometimes I will start out rhyming, stop, start, then stop again, just to keep you all awake. I consider myself to be bisexual. Love your post, and hope you are doing well! ~Quiet Storm
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Interesting, I had to look at my favourite poets to realize that they do tend to rhyme (except for some translated poets where it is not clear). I always feel most attracted to content and imagery. Dylan Thomas (more of an unconventional rhymer) is brilliantly visceral and had a mood disorder. My favourite, WH Auden, captures loneliness like no one else, no mood disorder but gay. Not sure what that means. I try to avoid rhyming in speech and writing myself, but then I figured out long ago that I was not a lesbian, but seems I am still bipolar.
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Interesting … my favourite poets don’t rhyme, but I llike hip hop a lot, which usually does. I do like some poets who rhyme. Eh I’m half asleep and brai dead still :)
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Poetry takes a lot out of me, emotionally, whereas w/ writing it out as an essay I can distance myself but still convey the feelings. Interestingly enough, when I apply “rules” to poetry it does the same thing. The essay and the poem require a bit more of that side of the brain that is logical, whereas free verse, oh my goodness sometimes it hits the jugular. WAY too close for comfort. I can’t even READ it, for the most part. NONONO…
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I nodded all the way through while reading your comment. I’ve written lots I don’t ever want to see again.
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(nods) haha
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