Can Poetry Be Non-fiction?

A common question is whether poetry can be a work of non-fiction. Certainly, most poetry pulls from real-life experience, but can it be truly considered non-fiction?

In his book, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, the poet Richard Long explores this question. He writes about how poetry differs from other types of writing by examining a poem by Wallace Stevens.

Stevens wrote the following lines in a poem:

“I do not know a man who ever really existed who was not at heart a failure.”

Long states that it’s not the claim that this man does not exist that is interesting but rather “the idea of a man who could not exist.”

He then explains how the words “I” and “man” in this line are used in an unusual way. This man, Long suggests, might as well be imagined—it doesn’t matter whether this character actually existed.

This idea is the point of the poem. It’s not so much the fact of a man who doesn’t exist that’s interesting; rather, it’s the fact of a man who cannot exist.

The poet is exploring the concept of this character who cannot exist. The character is the result of what the poet imagines or imagines for the reader. He or she is a character created in the imagination.

If we accept the idea of the character who cannot exist, then what would the line mean if the pronouns were changed to reflect that idea?

“I do not know a man who ever really existed who was not at heart a failure.”

In this line, “I” has been changed to “he.” This is because “he” represents this character, a man who cannot exist. So, in this line, “I” has been replaced with “he.”

In the original poem, the poet imagines this man. In the revised line, “he” represents that man.

The idea is that when we change the pronouns to create new lines, we are changing the meaning of the poem. If “he” can’t exist, then neither can the character that the poet imagines.

Poetry is the exploration of ideas. The ideas explored by the poet are not necessarily factual—they’re usually more imaginary than real. However, if you look at a poem closely enough, you can find elements of fact. These facts are there to support the exploration of the idea, but they are not what the poet is actually trying to say.

In the revised line, “he” represents this character, a man who cannot exist.

The point here is that poetry can be explored and examined as a non-fiction piece.