Primo Levi on Rhyme

Jodie Reyes, that once king of the defunct Haring Makata blog brings our attention to an essay on verse forms by David Caplan in Poetry Daily. I like this:

Rejecting the notion that metrical verse cannot express contemporary existence, crucial figures in the development of postmodernity specifically advocated metrical technique. In a 1985 article devoted to the subject, Primo Levi promoted rhyme's "spontaneous return." As Levi argued, rhyme inspires, not hinders, formal experimentation. "The restriction of rhyme," Levi asserted, "obliges the poet to resort to the unpredictable: compels him to invent, to 'find'; and to enrich his lexicon with unusual terms; bend his syntax; in short, to innovate

I couldn't agree more. It's a good tool that shouldn't be thrown out because the next door neighbor uses one and he's a cranky old bahstahd. Oh, I don't mean you Mike.