To all the poets here:
Well, here we go with the "one man's ______ is another man's ______." For me as a reader, I used to always bypass the Preface, Foreword, Introduction, Prologue, Editor's Notes, Translator's Notes, even Table of Contents at the beginning of writings, just wanting to get to the writing itself. Then, for whatever reason, with a particular book, I opted to read every word from the very beginning. For me the discovery was like, "Geez. They actually put these here for a reason [duh ~ surprize, surprize!] and it adds a
lot to what follows, with a larger frame/structure and "overview" for more enhanced viewing."
That's how I see the poets here who have done this....making the reader aware of what their inspiration was, or what they were privy to when either their inspiration for their poem occurred, or when they wrote the poem. It adds [for me] nuances and significance to what I read. I feel I get more out of it as I result.
With Babz's poem, knowing it was written in the Adirondacks allows me to appreciate even more by seeing the night sky, the smell of the air, and the visuals of the morning. I know how these add to magic and they add to the poem, without her having to describe these particular things.
With Pete's poem, knowing the approximate age of the students, tells me much about the intensity of the attitudes that can accompany those placed in exclusion for behavioural issues. Knowing that he wrote it as a way to bide his time productively, and minimize the possibility of outright confrontation, gives me insight to the poet, as well as puts me in his place with those children.
With Andrew's poem, knowing the particulars of the statue, and that it was based on a statue and written virtually immediately due to having been deeply moved by it [and then to find out that what he had written correlated so closely with the vision of the person who created the statue], only lends more historical significance and underscores that combination of inanimate/animate that can be so effective.
With SongKathy's poem, knowing that it was written in response to one of Leonard's and being able to read Leonard's first, lends the gentle point-counterpoint pattern that makes it so touching.
Knowing that Emily Dickinson lived in relative isolation and how she died, adds poignancy to her writings. There are many etc.'s to this, with other writers.
With Leonard's songs, we appreciate his short intros, when he gives them, for the subtleties they bring to the song as we listen. When he doesn't give them, we still tend to want them.
The details that precede don't necessarily have to be in the same format as the poem itself, yet they can add [for me] and not detract from the poem itself. Covering up the introduction after its been read, the poem may seem more powerful [and for a particular reader may be], yet the benefit has already been gleaned from that introduction for the reader, as well as for the writer, who was in the situation himself and didn't
need to read it before writing. Putting things in context helps me to appreciate more fully what I'm reading, and still doesn't rob me of identifying with it in the context of my own life.
For those of you who feel compelled to omit any explanatory words preceding your poem, it would be great if you could at least do a follow-up in the same or additional post, to give the background, so that some of us [at least me] can read that for even deeper appreciation, and then go back and re-read the poem in its original and "proper" context.
Thanks.
~Lizzytysh
)
I do numbers 
In doing so you can often achieve a better sense of clarity about what you are really trying to say.
