‘m re-posting this (with edits) from my other blog because it more properly belongs in here.  I had been reading a blog about poetry called DadPoet, and a post about why we sometimes don’t like it at all. As usual, I read the comments after it too. There were many different points brought up and agreements with the points made in the post. I felt the need to reply to one of those making comments about His point of view. He mentioned having read Beowolf in school and liking it’s alliterative structure. Beowolf is an epic poem form. An Epic Poem is usually a story told in stanzas, as it were, though Beowolf was not.  The story of  Beowolf was made poetic by alliteration, and epic, by the telling of a county’s turning point with the details of its great struggle, finally overcome by heroic deeds.

I too, have read Beowolf, and other epic poems, and loved them. Epic poems are stories about great adventures and important events in nations histories. I haven’t read an epic poem that was written in Our age about Our history (though there has been a long story told in epic poem form recently, “Omertas” – see the link below regarding it).

Oh there have been songs written about important events, and they even rhyme for the most part, but they aren’t in the epic genre. They are still relatively short in form and thus short in detail as well. I think it’s about time we had some epic poetry about events in our day and age. I hearby challenge all poetry writers, or aspiring poetry writers, to read some poems that are considered in the “Epic” genre (the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, for instance), and write one of the same quality about events in our day.

No particular subject, or theme, but only that which You feel is important on a grand scale. Things that made a real difference in the course of our history. You can go back as far as WWI, because I don’t recall any epic poems being written about that subject, though perhaps I’m wrong, and I just missed it (If I have, please feel free to bring it to my attention). Pick a subject, do some research, and create a moving and evocative tale in epic poem style. It should rhyme or be alliterative, at least.

I will take up my own challenge and work on one too. There’s no real time limit on this, but wouldn’t it be nice if we saw some new epic poetry soon? Perhaps within the year?

Thank you to Nellie Vin for her the photo of  “The Path”, via Flickr

© Ellen M Story and emariaenterprises, llc 2012.

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