I asked all of my classes (about 100 students total) to name their favorite poem/poet. The results of my survey were sad but expected. Most had no idea how to respond. A few said "Poe" because they've heard of him before. The most popular was the children's poet Shel Silverstein. A few tried to argue that Dr. Seuss was a poet.
It was staggering to see how little poetry is read. These students are all adults and comprise more-or-less a typical student body of first-year college students: some exceptionally smart and engaged, some woefully struggling and apathetic, but most fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
But here's the thing: many read frequently. . .and they ALL have copious songs that they enjoy. And while I agree that song lyrics don't equal poetry, they're still similar enough to make me wonder this: Why such a fervent devotion to one and a profound distaste to the other?
Both lyrics and poetry are, generally: (1) short (2) rhythmic (3) metaphorical and (4) use imagery to depict meaning and emotion.
I offered my puzzlement to them (summarized above). The responses I got were not very articulate. The best I got was that poetry is "hard to understand". This statement was widely agreed upon. But I countered by asking if they really "understood" the lyrics to their favorite song? Most said "no"; they didn't.
Then why so much hate/apathy for poetry? Silence. . . . .