A lot of people have the idea of what poetry is, or at least, they have the most basic knowledge what "Poems" are. To these people, Poems and poetry generally deals with texts written in a pattern in order to convey the writers expression and thoughts; This is fairly true to a large extent, but, there is need to make known to people that poetry is more than just penning thoughts down. This piece would explain what poetry is generally is, what it used to be, what it has evolved to be, and how we can appreciate poetry better.
Poetry, to start with, is by definition, the class of literature that comprises of poems. It is the composition in verse or language exhibiting conscious attention to patterns. Poetry is the third major part of literature (after prose and drama) but unfortunately, it appears to be the one enjoying the least reception amongst today's society. Evidently, people leave poetry and its appreciation to a selected few "Poets" around. The most offered reason for this is that poetry can be boring and uninteresting; which to a considerable extent is a misconception.
If I were to go back in history, a lot has happened in the way of literature, several writers have redefined what we know as literature. People like Williams Shakespeare have made literature a lot popular. But then, its development would only be complete if readers evolve as fast as the writers. In Nigeria, for example, exceptional writers such as Wole Soyinka, Niyi Osundare, have brought development to Africa poetry as well. The only drawback to their work is that few people have confined them to a selected few people who could understand them. People feel their work are too sophisticated for them. Thus, they need not bother about understanding and appreciating then. This explains why people know Wole Soyinka but haven't seen most of his works.
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of course, just that most of their works are not meant for average readers.