Priests Of Poetry

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Uche_Uwadinachi]Uche Uwadinachi
Poetry as therapy is reluctantly a new development in the expressive arts, however it is as old as the first chant sung around the tribal fires of the primitive people. Then it was used by some selected elders to bring healing to the sick ones. The word 'Therapy' came from the Greek 'therapia', meaning to cure through involvement in one of the expressive arts: dance, song, poetry or drama.
Poetry as a therapy uses the traditional techniques of poetry-rhythm, sound, metaphor etc but the focus is the person writing or performing the poem. When it is used for healing, expression and growth is used as a tool in the hands of the individual.
Of course every genre, civilization, forms have employed the use of the imagery, metaphor, rhythm and other literary devices to teach their stories, fable, drama, passing their information. Poetry in it condensed form, lyrical quality, and flitting thematic preoccupation is a typical evocative form of literature that can command surprising positive responses from people involved irrespective of ages, state and culture.
Poetry is very efficient in self purgation in this modern time when been conducted as a therapy in an interactive process. It releases catharsis, enhances self awakening, gives new thoughts and hope to the user.
Poetry therapy goes different ways with the so called highly intellectual and selective course of the English literature class. The essence of it process begins in reaching a poem to the facilitated discussion of the readers-response to that poem. The poem in question may be the reader's piece or someone else's own. When such poem is been talked about thoughtfully by the patient in question to the therapist (who not so necessary), the after effect is always so interesting as one realizes that the user feels more lighter and indifferent about his or her present troubling circumstance instead the attention is fixed on solving the poem which similarly relates to that of the patients. The puzzle goes around to take care of the player. The same and even more efficient result is seen when it is a poem written by the patient.
This is not using a ruler and an advance dictionary to analyze the metre and ideology of the elite poet who authors the book. This is neither an avenue to under-estimate or ignore the depth essence of the book as intended by the writer nor a total neglect of the cosmetic and historical meaning of a poem, it is instead a seeking to discover the reader's own intuitive understanding, connection with the story and application of the meaning to his or her present situation.
In present day poetry for healing, we become doctors to our sicknesses and irresolvable woes; it is a track to our own special contribution to the many recommended solutions we find in our world of lengthy prescriptions. Every tablets of drug, scripture, incantation or therapy must directly or indirectly depend on the will of a living being to be active. This thus gives us a major part to the certainty of our existence and fulfillment. The poems of our own stories, makes each and every one of us priests of our well-beings and possibilities.
�Uche Uwadinachi
A PRIEST OF POETRY-P.O.P Author of poetry collection "SCAR in the HEART of pain" and its Spoken Word audio Album. Winner of ANA Lagos (Association of Nigerian Authors) Poetry Performance Festival Prize 2006 and Pakistan June Poetrycraze contest 2009. 2nd Prize Poetry Winner of Ken Saro-Wiwa Contest, Houston(USA) 2010, won the June Loudthotz Poetry contest 2011 and directed the overall winning Poetry performance of district 5 Education Board for the Lagos State Jam Feast Competition 2011, his poems have been published in the 'Lime Jewel' collection-London 2010- a book for Haiti victims and other publications. Presently, an independent television presenter with Konto MUsic.
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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Priests-Of-Poetry&id=6553828] Priests Of Poetry