Poets and Performers in the Sea of Stars (A to Z)

Poetry is a popular pastime in the Sea of Stars no matter where one travels.  The varieties of poetry are almost limitless with many of the elven traditions extending back millennia, tough the main draconic traditions claim such antiquity they were only properly formalized after the Sundering, many cultures have poetical traditions of great lineage and many new ones have sprung up with the blending and bending of cultures under dragonrule.

The Dragon Empress herself is an accomplished poetess, and this is not just flattery, her epic piece on the final battle against the Giantish armies is taught to students of the Draconic language across the Empires and is a favorite piece to recite.  It remains a moving tribute to a mighty foe even across the years.  Many of her other poems have been collected as well but it is known that there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of poems that she has given as gifts that are only known to her and the recipient, each year a few of these come to light and are added to the official canon.  It is rumored,

Many courts, royal and noble, and even some Republics and citizen assemblies, maintain their own poets (Court, Royal, Official, or other such titles proliferate).  Competition for such spots is fierce, bribery, seduction and other dirty tricks are . . . not unknown when such a job is in play.  Even roles as assistants or apprentices to these official poets is sought after and occasionally demanded as a price for supporting someone for the post.

Public reading or declaiming of poetry is a common and popular entertainment, not quite as popular as music and song, but close.  Poetry is occasionally mixed with philosophical declaration and debate and those that can master both arts are highly regarded.  While philosophical works written in verse wax and wane in popularity they are far from rare.

Music and poetry go hand in hand and the lack of gods and goddesses to act as muses do not seem to have slowed down the creation of such.  There are rumors of secret cults of poets and artist trying to restore the muses and patrons to their rightful place but it seems that they have not succeeded.

Notes: It is always fun to explore the forms of entertainment in a world and the Empress was already established as a poetess so poetry was a fun corner to look at.

Images “”As an exquisite embodiment of the Poet’s visions…'” by Biblioteca Rector Machado y Nuñez is marked with CC PDM 1.0.