Publishers, poets and poetry teachers all need to take the diminishing interest in poetry as a point of concern
LAHORE: Poetry, the highest form of expression that was once considered almost irreplaceable by the Greeks and many others, faces a terrible pick-and-choose attitude in the market. This is happening because the contemporary reader has diminishing interest in poetry and a growing interest in fiction. Publishers simply refuse to publish poetry collections and prefer fiction and prose writers. The excuse given by publishers to aspiring poets is that the readership of poetry is small.
We can see several newly-published fiction books in any bookshop while there might be three dust-layered poetry collections of either a dead poet or a contemporary poet, who has very little readership. This, perhaps, is an indication of a paradigm shift contemporary literature is going through. Many will argue that poetry has already enjoyed long-term royalty status and it is now time for fiction writers to have their day in the sun. My response would be a humble inquiry as to the reasons behind the dying interest and market reception of this genre of literature. Is the answer perhaps, rooted in the kind of lives we are living — fictitious ones?
Publishers, poets and poetry teachers all need to take the diminishing interest in poetry as a point of concern and play their parts in the revival of this art form.
Ramsha Ashraf
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2015.
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