I believe that all poetry is formal in that it exists within limits limits that are either inherited by tradition or limits that language itself imposes.
I certainly can't speak for all cultures or all societies but it's clear that in America poetry serves a very marginal purpose. It's not part of the cultural mainstream.
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And yet in a culture like ours which is given to material comforts and addicted to forms of entertainment that offer immediate gratification it is surprising that so much poetry is written.
