Poetry In Motion; Poetry Of Motion
Monday, June 24th, 2019
Some people get off on writing about the poetry of motion.
I was casting about for a topic for this post and I thought about motorcycle poetry. Was there something like that out there?
Turns out there definitely is. In fact there is even a Wikipedia page titled “Biker poetry.” According to whoever put up this page, “Biker poetry is a movement of poetry that grew out of the predominantly American lifestyle of the Biker and Motorcycle clubs following World War II.” Turns out there are even “notable biker poets.” I’ll let you explore those on your own if you’re interested.
So I started out doing a search for “motorcycle poetry.” That returned only, oh, about 22.5 million links. Really?
The top of the pile was allpoetry.com. This very broad site breaks out into subject matter and https://allpoetry.com/poems/about/motorcycle is where I ended up. Here’s a sampling of the titles.
- 2 wheel death machine
- Two Wheels To Heaven
- The ride
- Parade of Dog Voices
- Well, that’s what I gave you a key for, isn’t it
- Wear A Helmet
- Motorcycle Madness
There are a lot more. Are they any good?
I will say this: If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I close each post with a “Biker Quote for Today.” Reading through these poems I picked up a few lines that will be gracing that feature sooner or later.
But is the poetry good? Well, I would have to say, in my opinion, not much of it. No Pulitzer Prize winners here. But some of it is interesting, and the variety of subject matter is interesting as well.
For instance, that one I listed above, Parade of Dog Voices. The idea is of a biker going down the road and dogs in the yards he/she passes barking at the passing bike. Parade of Dog Voices–get it?
So anyway, if you’re interested to see what else is out there here are a few more links.
Hello Poetry (https://hellopoetry.com/words/motorcycle/)
Poetry Soup (https://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/short/motorcycle)
Poetry By Chuck (https://www.charlesallenjohnson.com/motorcyclepoetry.htm)
Triumph Rat (https://www.triumphrat.net/biker-hang-out/179739-best-motorcycle-poetry.html)
Biker Quote for Today
A poem is a verbal artifact which must be as skillfully and solidly constructed as a table or a motorcycle. — W H Auden
