I don’t think there is a “have to” when it comes to poetry other than this-does it work? However, there is nothing wrong with experimenting with traditional forms as for some, it helps them find a mode of expression. For some writers, writing in meter and rhyme is “easier” because it provides boundaries. For others, it is prison. Playing around with form and formlessness is all about getting your voice. If you can’t write the perfect Italian sonnet, that doesn’t mean you aren’t a poet. I like Bernadette’s ideas on the sonnet, and I agree with the idea that some will need that form to conclude their thought and perhaps still write a great poem. Like her, I think it goes deeper than form, but people should be able to fool around with what works for them as writer.

I love Bernadette Mayer calling it direct and hard and honest, not kowtowing to pre modern restrictions. C.J.