What inspires you to write poetry?

sadly… Pain inspires me to write poetry.

I as well, it is one of the main things I write my poetry about because I can’t really get too inspired other ways.You can really describe pain in different ways

my poems come from the emotions in my head. when I’m in distress i tend to automatically think poetically so its just my exact thoughts written down really. one time actually i had a dream with a poem in it and i remembered it somehow then i just fixed it up

pain and love

Im only inspired to write a lot of the time because of dramatic experiences I go through.

I’d echo pain & love, but I’ve been in your situation. Sometime I find just forcing myself to write (which ends up being poetry about poetry typically) until I come across a particular word or phrase I like and then it flows into sometime tangible – or not, but it is always better to stay in the habit of writing.

I’ve never been able to write poetry. I blame language confusion and the fact I’m more of a visual person.
Having said that, I always have more drive to sketch, paint, knit, sew, etc. when I’m upset, sad or frustrated. I guess when I’m jolly, I don’t feel the need to quietly express myself.

I love writing poems… I’ve even had a few published, not by me personally, but by the other person. My life experiences, whether due to sadness, happiness, new or old relationships, my daughters or other family members. So, it looks as if emotions play the biggest part in my writing.

The best poems I’ve ever written were also spur of the moment poems; that moment when lightning strikes and out comes a poem, almost fully fledged.

However, I think that for a good poem to come out, and not just an emotional gush requires a sensitivity to language and the world, which comes from a lot of creative writing groundwork beforehand. Reading lots (poetry, but also beautiful prose); writing lots (poetry, prose, journaling…).. being observant on the subway, in the cafe… watching movies… in short, developing a creative habit to nourish me, so that more of these “moments” happens.

I also flit from medium to medium – I’ll have the impulse to write for a month or two, and then I’ll have the impulse to draw, or dance.. I tend to follow those impulses, trusting that they’ll eventually cycle back and deepen.

Actually, my best writing comes when I write letters (snail, not e-mail). I think it’s because then I have a specific urgency to communicate something to someone. I journal a lot too. And sometimes there will be a turn of the phrase where suddenly, I know I’ve struck a vein of gold. Ah… it’s so satisfying when that happens..

lifeflame ..great answer. Writing poetry requires a certain sensitivity to the world, to life going on around you, to nature…...whatever inspires you creates the urge to communicate what you feel to other people. Sometimes it is something that I can’t express any other way. I think of poetry as thoughts and feelings stripped down to their bare essence. The language is condensed and so it becomes more powerful. Although many people are inspired by painful experiences to write poetry, myself included, I prefer to express what is beautiful or enlightening in my experience over what is ugly or angry. I really don’t like angry poetry unless it concerns social injustice. When I write I tend to start with a word or phrase that expresses some essential part of what I am feeling. Poetry makes great use of metaphors and the cycles of nature, growth, rebirth, seasons, water, light, air…can all be used to express the depths of human emotion and experience. Nature is where I find my richest inspiration.Obviously you feel the need to express yourself. Nurture that, develop it, try not to censor yourself too much and just let the words flow onto the page. You can write and rewrite and work on a poem until you are happy with it. There are all kinds of rules about meter and rhythm if you get serious about it, but I think poetry should be first and foremost written to please you. You need to feel happy that it expresses the thought you want it to express. Then, if it pleases other people, if you are brave enough to share it, all the better.