Have your literary interests been influenced more by prose or by poetry?

Prose has much wider selection and is easier to process than some poetry. But I love writing poetry when so inspired.

Prose is my thing. Poetry is frustrating. It should be performed, not read.

I’ve always had a preference for poetry. Both reading and writing it.

Definitely prose. Poetry is too subjective, I find it hard to interpret. Don’t like poetry in general.

While I like both, it is definitely prose for me.

I most especially enjoy evocative prose that reads like poetry. I can’t think of any particular examples right now, but in general my favorite books are those that have flashes or entire passages of “prosaic beauty”, which might also mean beauty simply described in the prosaic aspects of everyday living.

And I love poetry that I can understand without having to parse too much. I do not appreciate poetry that has to have meaning “interpreted” into it.

@CWOTUS I think the whole purpose of poetry is the symbolism and those hidden meanings that have to be interpreted. The beauty of it is that each person can interpret it in their own way.

I know some authors—prose & poetry—when interviewed, have said about some critic interpretation of their works that that was not their intention when they wrote it. I think authors —or any artist for that matter— are subject to any interpretation of their works once that they put it out there for the world to see.

I prefer reading poetry more than prose, but I don’t have much preference in terms of writing, just whatever works at the time.

What says the literature teacher? Aieee. choices, choices… :)

I would say poetry really shaped my interests until about early high school, where it became both. In college, prose more than poetry. Now, I would say I greatly appreciate both, but I find myself becoming more enthusiastic over poetry than prose while teaching.

Any genre that uses words gets my attention…road signs, back of cereal boxes, sky writing, I do not discriminate.

Poetry.
William Butler Yeats.

I cannot choose one over the other. From my personal academic experience (pre-University), most English courses focused far more heavily on prose than poetry. When poetry was given any attention at all, it was heavily glossed over.

Whether Emily Dickinson (poetry) or Lewis Carroll (predominately prose) has influenced me more is beyond my guess. But they influence both what I read and write.

I also write both prose and poetry. Though I must admit that I feel as though my poetry is far more personal.

I am interested in poetry and prose, but the prose I most enjoy is usually poetic.

I much prefer poetry, both for reading and writing.

Definitely prose. I hardly read ever read poetry. I’d like to read more, but it’s rare that I find a poet I really like.