You Can Write Poetry - Jeff Mock [12]
When you read poems, give your attention both to what they say and to how they say it. Notice e.e. cummings's use of sound, assonance and rhyme, and of such formal elements as meter and the quatrain stanza. Notice that Katherine Riegel writes in stanzas as well, but unlike cummings's metric four-line stanzas, her stanzas are dictated by units of thought (each stanza is a complete thought), and her lines vary from two syllables in length to fourteen. While these two poems are vastly different, you can learn from them equally. You can take what you see in them—in any poem—and apply it to your own poems. You can write a poem in iambic tetrameter with rhyme. You can write a poem that shifts from subject to subject and in the end returns to its initial subject. Whatever happens in the poems you read can happen in your poems.
In fact, when you find a poem that you especially enjoy, or a number of poems by the same poet, read them thoroughly, attentively, and sit down for a practice session: Imitate the unique style of that poet. "Before we can be poets," Mary Oliver said, "we must practice; imitation is a very good way of investigating the real thing." Don't copy poems, but don't be shy about imitating, either. Even the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas considered one of his finest poems, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," an imitation of William Butler Yeats's style. But that doesn't make his poem any less lovely and moving. (It's a poem you should read, along with Thomas's other fine poems.) By imitating other poets' styles, you learn more of how poems are written, and through imitation you begin to develop your own unique style.
While reading and studying poems helps you become a better writer, the main reason for reading is that poems are "Medicine for the soul." They teach and entertain. They move you and make you think. They won't give you the latest reports on international affairs or results of the local elections—no sports scores, either. But they give you just what you need, even when you don't know you need it. The American poet William Carlos Williams, one of my favorites, said it best in his poem "Asphodel, That Greeny Flower":
It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there.
Let poetry work its magic on your soul. Read, enjoy, learn and write. An hour in the company of good poems is an hour in good company.
PRACTICE SESSION
1. Read a book of poems or the poems in a few literary magazines. Don't rush. Spend time with the poems. This exercise may take from several days to several weeks. As you read, note in your journal which poems you like and why. Also note what you dislike. Copy your favorite lines. Note all words that interest you. Gather subjects and discover your personal concerns.
2. Read one of your favorite poems several times, at least once aloud. Imitate it however you see fit.
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FRAMING
THE HOUSE:
THE ART OF POETRY, PART ONE
The various aspects of poetry—imagery, figures of speech, rhyme, meter, stanza, form—all work at once in a poem. We discuss them singly, but none works by itself. Meter and stanza form help organize rhyme scheme. Figures of speech rely on imagery to make their comparisons vivid. Underlying each of these aspects is the language itself, the words poets use to create poems. English is a complex language, with its roots in German and graftings from the Romance languages, French, Italian and Spanish. Our words can be direct or subtle. They can be general or specific. They can appeal to the intellect and to the senses. As poets, we must understand how our words work, how they build phrases and evoke images that make poems memorable.
Building the Foundation: Plain Words and Exotic
A dozen thin strips of paper, makeshift bookmarks ripped from scratch