Board Thread:Administration/@comment-4832646-20140401205802/@comment-1196539-20140406163019

Noothgrush wrote: Actually, yes you can. Just because you format something like a poem doesn't make it a poem. There are actually pretty strict rules about what makes poetry, poetry. It's very few and far between that an author is able to successfully break these rules. In case you're not getting what I mean: pretty much anything posted on this site will not be something so spectacular that it ought to break the basic rules of writing poetry. That's... not true in the slightest. Don't get me wrong, I wish it were true--I, personally, am only interested in poetry with structure (and preferably some form of rhyme). But it's not.

There is no single widely-accepted definition of poetry. It's conveniently vague enough that, frankly, anyone could call just about anything they write poetry. Whether it's GOOD poetry remains to be seen, but these "rules" you speak of are nonexistent when it comes to poetry as a whole. The only rules in regards to poetry are on a form-by-form basis. Sonatas, villanelles, ghazals, et cetera. And even those get fudged constantly by renowned and widely-respected professional poets (to my dismay).