As I've mentioned before, poetry is as much an art form of spoken words as of written words.  Poetry has its roots in oral tradition, though, like many art forms, it has become better known in modern times for how it reads than for how it sounds.

And maybe that modern way of looking at poetry is part of the reason that so many readers must struggle to appreciate poems.  Perhaps poetry should really be heard, rather than, or at least as well as, read.  I know that whenever I'm trying to help people write poetry, I suggest that they read their work, as well as that of others, aloud. Hearing a poem gives a type of access to its musicality, meter, and flow that reading just can't manage.  Many poetic tools, such as alliteration and rhyme, are much stronger when heard than when seen typed on a page.

When I do public readings of my poetry, I often notice people sitting with their eyes closed while I read.  I might be tempted to think that they find my work nap-inspiring if not for the questions they ask when I finish, questions which show that they've heard not only the bare bones of my poems, but the rhythms and emotions which are poetry's heart's blood.

Unfortunately, while public readings are great, they take time and mobility to attend.  Many of us still find that we access poetry in written form far more often than any other.

And yet, perhaps this is changing.  Recently, as computer technology has advanced, more and more publications have been utilizing media types other than text.  Ezines have sprung up which ask poets to submit not only written versions of their poems, but audio versions.  The Science Fiction Poetry Association has even put up a page of  Halloween Poetry Readings at http://www.sfpoetry.com/halloween.html such that people can hear the spookiness of the poems as they would at a more traditional, in person reading.

Should spoken poetry take the place of written?  I don't think so.  Both certainly have their places, and offer different types of enjoyment and even entrancement.  But given the option, I, greedily, would gladly take both.