Not all poetry wants to be storytelling. And not all storytelling wants to be poetry. But great storytellers and great poets share something in common: They had something to say, and did.
Interpretation
Poetry and storytelling serve different purposes, but both require a desire to express meaningful ideas.
In her quote, Sarah Kay highlights the distinction between poetry and storytelling while acknowledging their shared essence of creative expression. Both forms of art have unique methods and intentions, yet the greatest creators in either discipline possess a profound drive to communicate their thoughts and feelings, thus reflecting the transformative power of art in conveying human experiences.
In practice
In a workshop on creative writing, to emphasize the importance of unique voice in writing.
When I hear other people's stories, I like to believe that they contribute to my 'Encyclopedia of Human Experience.' The stories I hear help me expand my definition of what love is, what pain feels like, what sacrifice means, what laughter can do.
Spoken word poetry is the art of performance poetry. I tell people it involves creating poetry that doesn't just want to sit on paper, that something about it demands it be heard out loud or witnessed in person.
Life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
But in Hiroshima, some people were wiped clean away, leaving only a wristwatch or a diary page. So no matter that I have inhibitions to fill all my pockets, I keep trying, hoping that one day I'll write a poem I can be proud to let sit in a museum exhibit as the only proof I existed.
If I should have a daughter, instead of "Mom," she's going to call me "Point B," because that way she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me.
To me, having the courage to tell your own story goes hand in hand with having the curiosity and humility to listen to others' stories.
Acting is illusion, as much illusion as magic is - and not so much a matter of being real.
I write plays not to make money, but to stop myself from going mad. Because it's my way of making the world rational to me.
Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression.
Elemental Music is never just music. It's bound up with movement, dance and speech, and so it is a form of music in which one must participate, in which one is involved not as a listener bust as a co-performer.
I have become infected, now that I see how beautifully a book is coming out of all this.
Good writing ... involves the agony of turning profoundly difficult thoughts into lucid form, then forcing them into the tight-fitting uniform of language, making them visible and clear.
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