Praise poetry.

Like many male poets I often write poems praising (not just loving) women.

Is it just me, but is this `praise`poetry - from the female poet side -so depressingly scarce as to be almost non-existent?

Has anyone got any examples?

Remember it`s about praise poetry, not the love stuff.(And definitely not about dads)

Tee hee - this thread really got me laughing when I saw it go up.

I'm hoping someone else contributes to it cos I'd be in danger of taking it over.

I shall wait with baited breath though, for all the possible explanations why men aren't praised :))

Or maybe we should turn the thread on its head and ask ourselves why such praise poetry is written about women? We might find therein the answer you are looking for...

It's a very good point, Harry. It had never occurred to me before. Mind you, my poems generally praise railways and trains.

that men are generous, honest,inclusive and open with their praise, whereas women are not - perhaps Isobel? :-)
stands back with innocent look on face and waits.........

Hmmm... generous, honest, inclusive and open?
Where are they???

Seriously - I would have to think long and hard about one - anyone whom I would feel is worthy of praise (and when I think of praise - it would be of the highest degree - not superficial).

It seems to me that most men fall short in some way - they disappoint.

This coming from someone who adores men!



p.s. Though it wasn't a poem - I did do a write up and praised Billy Collins :-D

I've given this some thought. I'm not that well read, in the grand scheme of things, but when I try to recall the praise poetry for women that I've encountered, it falls into two categories - poems praising mothers and poems praising beauty. Off hand, I can't think of any poems praising a women's mind or cracking personality. And that is what I think is the main difference between men and women. Women love a good physique but it has to come with the personality - the mind is equally important - we want the whole package.

I also think it is the way of nature for men to praise women - it's all part of the courtship game - ' the look at me - I'm a man with sensitive soul' routine - yes maybe it's all an extension of the primitive hunting thing.

Or maybe it's because men like to fantasise about women more than women do men - to build the unknown woman up into something bigger than reality? I'm thinking of that James Blunt song now that he wrote on a tube about a woman he saw for all of 5 seconds 'You're beautiful'.... I think a woman would have to talk to a man for a period of time to get that worked up about him she had to write a song!

I'm not suggesting that women are perfect by any means Ian - but we do have many excellent qualities, over and beyond our short lived beauty - on the whole we tend to communicate well and we care.

Francine - I quite understand how you feel ;)

Greg - if you were to personify your trains, would they be female or masculine? :)

Ladies - perhaps you didn't notice the deliberately antagonistic irony in what I wrote - or perhaps you did. Here's where I'm at:
there are wonderful men AND women in this world - all worthy of praise. There are wonderful men and women in this world who give praise well - to both sexes. Where the world has gone arse shaped is in this 'battle of the sexes' where misogyny on one hand, and extreme feminism on the other, seems to want to rope everyone else into its battle - and make everyone take sides. I do not differentiate between 'men' and 'women' in either praise or, indeed, life - but I will not apologise for what I am and I will not be painted with some 'vanilla' idea of what some would paint all men as. I'm just me - unique, free willed and resistant to labelling. I give praise to who and where it is due irrespective of sex, colour, creed or viewpoint. I would never dream of suggesting that a woman's 'classical beauty/looks' is a trait to be praised - because it is, indeed, transient and is a different classification for each and every individual. I truly believe that beauty is not something you see - it is something you feel - I'm quite surprised, Isobel, that you would think I need to be reminded of that - because my original comment was simply reflecting that you cannot 'group' all men (or women)in such a 'one size fits all' box as your original comment seemed to suggest.
The current trend in media is to label all men as morons, idiots, shallow and aggressive - if those labels were applied in any way to women there would be an outcry and exclamations of sexism - men are expected to 'suck it up' and 'get over it'.
Perhaps someone could tell me what a woman expects from a man? maybe the variety of responses would indicate that we just cannot win :-)
good topic - good debate - interested in others views.

Trains, masculine or feminine? Good question, Isobel! The world of trainspotters and railway enthusiasts is certainly masculine, no question about that. Arguably, the people who inhabit it are trying to escape from or avoid females, for whatever reason. I don't think of trains or stations as masculine or feminine, but am very aware of their romantic potential. Just think of the way Carnforth took centre stage in Brief Encounter! Sorry, rather straying from your point, Ian ...

I'd agree with most of what you are saying there Ian and yes, I did appreciate that you were using irony in your original statement.

All people (male and female) should be appreciated for their whole personalities - I don't suppose it would make such interesting poetry though. I suppose the fascination for physical beauty will always be with us - just as we are fascinated by beautiful landscapes and beautiful art.

All I am saying is that, men are more likely to write about it than women - for the reasons I've given. I wouldn't say that I hold any resentment over it though. I've enjoyed reading Harry's tributes to Venus at the net etc

Sorry Greg - referring to your point about the trains :) I was just wondering why people seem give feminine names to cars and boats and anything they have affection for - even referring to them as 'she'.

The differences between the sexes always fascinate me. So men go fishing and train spotting to get away from their women folk, do they? Nice one - perhaps it beats trudging round B&Q or being made to do the gardening :)

Like Francine, I love men and think the world would be a much duller place without - no-one to give us a laugh :) There's really only one thing that I find highly aggravating - and that is their propensity to dodge problems rather than deal with them - their avoidance of communication when it comes to things that need to be said and resolved. You may think that I'm exaggerating, but I've found myself in situations like this many times over - and I really don't get it - don't understand what's so hard about putting things into words.