Poetry: The Movie

Poetry is a 2010 South Korean drama by writer/director Lee Chang-dong. The movie is about an elderly Korean woman, Mija, who takes up poetry writing in an attempt to stave off symptoms of her early-onset Alzeimer's disease. Though that sounds depressing enough, the film's two subplots--involving her ne'er-do-well grandson and the stroke patient she takes care of--are even sadder. But to speak further of them would ruin some of the film's bleak surprises.

What was most interesting to me--poetry-wise--was to see a depiction of someone engaging with the act of writing poetry with almost no concern for her audience. Mija wrote only for herself. She was often captivated by the beauty of nature and hoped that expressing that beauty in words would heighten her appreciation of it.

As someone who has also taken poetry classes, the idea of not being concerned with my audience was almost revelatory. I have not only been concerned about my audience--what they will think of my work; whether the will understand it; whether it will resonate with them--I sometimes find myself driven to distraction while writing as I imagine the reception a poem will get.

While I do think considering your audience can be helpful--in moderation--watching Mija write a poem for herself reminded me that poetry need not be created for the benefit of others. Writing poetry can be a way to self-reflect that produces a poem which can--or perhaps should--be appreciated by the author far more than anyone else.