Was poetry ever something written for common men and women?

Maybe you are just looking in the wrong places, try:

Philip Larkin - start with This be the verse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qahT62n8tcA

Leonard Cohen - start with A thousand kisses deep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91OQaPQILZk

Maya Angelou - start with Still I Rise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqo50LSZ0

Jenny Joseph - start with Warning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cACbzanitg

Stevie Smith - start with 'Not Waving but Drowning'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZNvQXNJAcU&feature...

I could have chosen any period of history to show you there are lots of poems written for the the common man and women. Today we are even luckier as we can now hear them on Youtube, being read outloud. In my view this is how you should 'read' poetry, speak and listen to it, the words, meanings and messages then really come to life.

Um, have you bothered to turn on a radio in the past 60 years? What the hell do you think the lyrics to the songs on the radio are? Stock market reports? Weather forecasts? They're poems! Sheesh!

Oh, and yes, for most of human history, poetry was how people got the news [thanks, WCW] and entertainment. In case you children hadn't noticed, internet and TV didn't always exist.

And I have no idea what you mean by "its current state." The only thing that has a problem with "its current state" is you, not poetry. Go watch American Idol, or whatever you consider culture.

Do not look for it and you won't be disappointed, but maybe you are out of touch with poetry?

i believe its for everyone who a) can read and b) has cash. sometimes c) has a knack for poetry