The Finer Points Of A Poem Commission

By Timothy Allen


There are certain things that make life a little bit sweeter. Music, art, literature. All of them are called the humanities because they are the foundation of what it means to be human. True, they are not necessary for living. But they do make living a little bit better. But not everyone has the skill for it. Everyone has to capacity to enjoy it, but not necessarily the capacity to create it. So they can them try a poem commission.

A poem is a series of words. But it is also so much more than that. The words at the end are supposed rhyme, but they do not always have to. The main thrust is the length and the emotion behind the words. They have to pack punch, they must go right through the core of the reader or the listener. They cannot just fall on unseeing eyes or deaf ears. They have to stick. They cannot just bounce off.

An art commission is a transaction of the economic variety. A client wants some art. So they find themselves an artist. The client pays the artist some money, and then the artist creates some art and then gives it to the client. This was how many of the old masters honed their skills and put food in their bellies.

There a multitude of reasons for commissions. For one, not every single person on the face of the planet is going to have an artistic inclination. They can appreciate it, yes. But they are not inclined to create it. So they hire people who are, people who may not have steady jobs because they are pursuing their art.

Poems have one purpose. That is to exist. But their existence is to be heard or read. They meant to move hearts and move minds as well.

The thing about poets, and other artists, is that they may not be readily available. The best place to find them in many cafes, but not chain cafes. Independent cafes with open mic nights are the best bet. As are college campuses. Of course, there is always the internet, where many of the younger creative types can be found.

There is such a thing as the starving artist. But no one wants to be that. When someone creates something, some form of work, they want to be paid for it. Now, a commission is explicitly about payment. A client hires someone to create something in exchange for a monetary fee. This fee can vary based on a number of factors. Chief among them will be the level of experience.

But of course, the poet should be skilled. Any person with basic linguistic skills can put words together to form a sentence. They can then put those sentences together to form a verse. But that does not mean that the verse produced will be good. It just means that it will be there. Then again, artistic talent is subjective, so maybe samples should be examined before hiring anyone.

The reality of the world is that it is not pretty. It is ugly, it is cruel, and it is wild. But not always. There are times when can be so beautiful that a person can be driven to tears.




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