When is Poetry not Poetry?

Hi, I've a question title today and that's because I'm writing about stuff I learned in class today, stuff which I'm against, but feel it's important to share with everyone. So, I've been doing some intense work in poetry these last few Fridays and we've been looking at poets who's poems are out of the circle of 'normal poetry.' Poets like; Lyn Hejinian and her prose poem My Life, Ron Silliman, Tom Raworth and today Tom Phillips, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Amiri Baraka and Kenneth Goldsmith. (I've posted some links below for these poets, which you can go and visit. I didn't want to post up any of their poems in case I get in trouble, so please go and check them out, 'cause then you'll see what I'm trying to show you.)

So, most of these poets sort of fall under the area of poetry for the ear, eye and mind, which means they make great use of sound and often the poets perform them so that the full benefit can be reached. The eye or visual poem often involves a sort of collage, mashed up style of words, letters and images, sometimes the poets may use other people's writers and make something out of them. There is also the idea of conceptual poetry- take Goldsmith and his poem which is in fact a newspaper typed up and turned into 900 pages worth of words. Lastly there is the experiment writing and the very Modernist view of producing something that is so fresh it has never been seen before by anyone else.

That sort of gives you a rough idea of the stuff I looked at today and the links will give you even more. It sort of is like the extreme side of poetry really or like mixing music or art with poetry, unfortunately I disagree with it, for me this is not poetry, its something caught in-between these areas and in a strange place of it's own that sort of is like marmite- you either love it or hate. Though, hate is a strong word and I don't hate the poems or poets, I just don't agree with them over this. I guess to achieve these things you must see the world and language in a different light and I guess- though I hate to use this, (irony there!) being dyslexic might be the issue here! I'm not setting it all down to that, but more of my own idea about what poetry should be and should not be!

I wanted to add another image to show you some visual poety, but scared of copyright iusses, I thought I'd try one of my own, so here's one like really quick, no editing poem, that I did about trains;

I think everyone should be able to make their mind up though, so please let me know what you think.

http://www.tomraworth.com/
http://www.tomphillips.co.uk/
http://www.geoffreyyoung.com/thefigures/day.html
http://www.ianhamiltonfinlay.com/
http://www.amiribaraka.com/
http://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/
http://mylifebylynhejinian.blogspot.com/

Here's someone who's put up their Modernism Visual poems on flicker. I think they are good.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtue_fern/3112597938/

Lastly, my friend asked me to post a link to his blog. He's a comic book writer in the making:
http://voicesofa-distantstar.blogspot.com/

here's one of his drawings that I like!

Oh and here's my personal twitter, in case you want to follow me there;
http://twitter.com/#!/ironmaidenfan9