A Definition of Poetry

A Definition of Poetry
Here, you'll find a definition of poetry based on some of its important characteristics. This is
just one of many pages on this website about poetry techniques, types of poetry, and how to
write poems. At the bottom of this page, you'll find links to related topics.
What is poetry?
The question "What is poetry" used to be easier to answer. If it rhymed and had a regular
meter (a type of rhythm), it probably was a poem. As they say, "If it walks like a duck,
quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be a duck.
These days, not all poems rhyme or fit into standard forms. And if you look for a response to
the question, "What is poetry?" you'll find lots of musings about how extremely important
and meaningful poetry is, how it's the true essence of our world, the oxygen that keeps us
alive, etc. Some of this is interesting, but most of it isn't very helpful if what you're looking
for is an actual explanation. One reason why it's so hard to get a straight answer on the
subject is that people disagree about what should and shouldn't be considered poetry.
But here are some general differences between poetry and prose (prose is writing that's not
poetry), that you can use as a practical definition of poetry.
Definition of poetry - line structure: The easiest way to recognize poetry is that it usually
looks like poetry (remember what they say about ducks). While prose is organized with
sentences and paragraphs, poetry is normally organized into lines.
Here's part of a poem by Robert Herrick (15911674). See how it looks like poetry?
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying. The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he 's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he 's to setting.
Now here's the same part of the poem, organized in a paragraph as if it were prose.
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying: and this same flower that smiles
to-day to-morrow will be dying. The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, the higher he 's a-
getting, the sooner will his race be run, and nearer he 's to setting.
If you print a page in prose, the ends of the lines depend on where the margin is. With a
bigger font size or a bigger margin, the lines are shorter. But in poetry, the poet decides
where the lines end. This choice is an essential part of how we hear and see a poem. It affects
how fast or slowly we read, and where we pause when we're reading. It causes certain words
to stand out more or less. It affects the way the poem looks to us on the page; for example, is
there a lot of white space, giving us a feeling of lightness and air, or are the words packed
solidly together? Read more about poetic lines here.
Definition of poetry - importance of physical aspects of language: Poetry, more than

prose, communicates through the way the words sound and way the poem looks on the page.
Think of how music can make us feel things - angry, irritable, peaceful, sad, triumphant.
Poems work in the same way, but instead of sound and rhythm created by instruments, they
use the sound and rhythm of words. In songs with good lyrics, the melody combines with the
words to create an intense feeling. Similarly, in poetry, the sound of the words works together
with their meaning for more emotional impact.
The look of the poem on the page adds still another dimension. Some poems have smooth
shapes, some have delicate shapes, some have heavy, dense shapes. The breaks in the lines
lead our eyes to certain areas. There are even poems with shapes that intentionally imitate
what the poem is about, for example, a poem about a waterfall could have lines that trickle
down the page.
Definition of Poetry - concentrated language: The words in poems are doing several jobs at
the same time. They do one thing with their meaning, and another thing with their sound.
Even their meaning may be working on more than one level. An important characteristic of
poetry is compression, or concentrated language. I don't mean "concentrated" in the sense of
paying close attention. I mean it in the sense of concentrated laundry detergent, or
concentrated orange juice. A half-cup of concentrated laundry detergent does the same work
as a cup of regular detergent; a poem typically gets across as much meaning as a larger
amount of prose. Concentrated orange juice has the water taken out; a good poem has
similarly been intensified by removing the non-essential words. This is one reason why
poems are often short.
Definition of poetry - emotional or irrational connection: Prose normally talks to the

logical part of the reader's mind. It explains and describes things; it makes sense. Poetry does
all this too, but it also tends to work at an emotional or irrational level at the same time.
Often, some part of a poem seems to speak directly to the readers' emotions. It gives readers a
peaceful feeling or an eerie feeling, goosebumps, or it makes them want to cry, even though
they may not be sure why they are reacting this way.
One way that poems do this is through the use of sound. Poems also tend to suggest things
beyond what they actually say; often what causes the strongest emotions is not what the poem
describes, but what it make the reader imagine. Some parts of poems come like dreams from
deep places in the mind that even the poet may not understand, and they touch something
similarly deep in the reader.
A few quotes on the definition of poetry
Percy Bysshe Shelley: "Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and
makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar." Here, Shelley points out an
important aspect of poetry, which is to find fresh ways of looking at things we think
we know well."
Sir Philip Sidney: "Poetry is a speaking picture..." This idea emphasizes the physical
aspect of a poem, that it's a piece of artwork made out of words.
Adrienne Rich: "Poetry is above all a concentration of the power of language, which
is the power of our ultimate relationship to everything in the universe...." She means
"concentrated" in the sense of concentrated laundry detergent. Language, she says, is
our way of relating to the universe. So by strengthening language, poetry strengthens
our relationship with the universe.
Jean Cocteau: "Poetry is indispensible - if I only knew what for."
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/definition-of-poetry.html
Poem Structure - Lines and Stanzas

This page is an introduction to poem structure and poetry techniques. Whats the best way to
divide your poetry into lines? (Hint: "at random" is not the right answer!) Learn more below.
This is just one of many pages on this website about how to write poetry. At the bottom of the
page, you'll find links to related poetry topics.
Poem structure - the line is a building block
The basic building-block of prose (writing that isn't poetry) is the sentence. But poetry has
something else -- the poetic line. Poets decide how long each line is going to be and where it
will break off. That's why poetry often has a shape like this:

To-morrow will be dying.
That's the beginning of a poem by Robert Herrick. No matter where it is printed, the first line
always ends with the word "may" and the second line with the word "a-flying" because the
poet has written it this way. If you print a piece of prose such as a short story, the length of
the lines will depend on the font size, the paper size, margins, etc. But in poetry, the line is
part of the work of art you have created. The length of the lines and the line breaks are
important choices that will affect many aspects of the reader's experience:
The sound of the poem - When people read your poem out loud, or in their heads,
they will pause slightly at the end of each line.
The speed of reading - Shortening or lengthening the lines can speed up or slow down
the way people read.
How the poem looks on the page - Does the poem look light, delicate, with a lot of
white space around the lines? Or are the lines packed solidly together?
Emphasis - Words at the end of a line seem more important than words in the middle.
Poem structure - types of lines
If you are writing a poem in a standard form such as a sonnet, your choices about line length
are somewhat restricted by the rules of the form. But you still have to decide how to fit the
ideas and sentences of your poem over the lines. When you fit natural stopping points in a
sentence to the end of your line, the reader takes a little pause. When a sentence or phrase
continues from one line to the next, the reader feels pulled along. If your line break interrupts
a sentence or idea in a surprising place, the effect can be startling, suspenseful, or can
highlight a certain phrase or double-meaning.
Lines that finish at ends of sentences or at natural stopping points (for example, at a comma)
are called end-stopped lines. Here's an example:

Lines that in the middle of the natural flow of a sentence are called run-on or enjambed lines.
Here's an example:
But being spent, the worse, and worst

Times still succeed the former.
Here, Herrick interrupts the phrase "worst times" with a line break between "worst" and
"times," focusing extra attention on the word "worst."
If you are writing in free verse, you have even more decisions to make than a poet writing in
a traditional form. You can decide to use short lines or long lines, or to vary the length. You
can decide to stack your lines evenly along the left margin, or to use a looser or more
graphical form. Some poets even write poems that are in the shape of the thing they are
writing about, for example, a circular poem about the moon. You have many options, but
these choices should never be made randomly.
Poem structure - stanzas
In prose, ideas are usually grouped together in paragraphs. In poems, lines are often grouped
together into what are called stanzas. Like paragraphs, stanzas are often used to organize
ideas.
For example, here are the two final stanzas of the Robert Herrick's poem. In the first of these
stanzas, he is explaining that being young is great, but life just gets worse and worse as you
get older. In the second one, he is saying: "So get married before you're too old and have lost
your chance."
That age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.
For a more detailed explanation of poem structure, I recommend the book Writing Poems by
Boisseau, Wallace, and Mann. (This page makes use of some ideas from the book's third
edition, by Robert Wallace, HarperCollins 1991.)
Our online course, Essentials of Poetry Writing, will show you essential techniques for
writing both free verse and traditional forms.
Poem structure - decisions about form
So many decisions to make -- line length, line breaks, arrangement, speed, rhythm. How
should you choose? The right form for your poem depends on, and works with, the poem's
content, or what it's about. If the poem is about flying, you probably don't want lines that feel
slow and heavy. If you're writing a sad poem, short bouncy lines might not be the way to go.
You may feel overwhelmed by so many issues to think about. How can your inspiration flow
freely if you have to keep track of all of these aspects of a poem? The answer is to do the
work in two stages.
1. First, let your ideas flow.

2. Then, go back to the poem later and work on improving the poem structure and form.
In the second stage, it's a good idea to experiment a lot. Try breaking the lines and different
ways and compare the effects. Try changing the order of things. Try reorganizing things to
move different words to the end of the lines so that the reader's attention goes to them.
You've got nothing to lose -- you can always go back to an earlier version.
As you go through this process, ask yourself:
What is my poem about?

What feeling or mood do I want the reader to have?
Do I want the poem to move quickly or slowly? Are there places I want it to speed up
or slow down?
What words or phrases do I want to highlight?
There are a lot of things to consider. But the more poetry you write -- and read, the more
natural and instinctive some of these decisions about poem structure will become to you.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/poem-structure.html
Poetry Meter
This page explains what poetry meter is... and why you should care. This is just one of many pages on
the CWN website about poetry techniques and how to write poetry. At the bottom of the page, you'll
find links to related topics such as poem structure and rhyme schemes.
Poetry meter - so what?
Meter is a way of measuring a line of poetry based on the rhythm of the words. But why should you
care?
As a reader, knowing about meter helps you understand how a poem is put together. You
can see what rules the poet was following and how he or she used or went outside those
rules. This lets you guess what was going through the poet's mind.
If you want to write poetry, knowing about meter will make you a better poet. First, it helps
you understand what poets have done in the past, so that you can learn from them. It allows
you to use traditional forms such as sonnets. Even if you prefer to write in free verse, you
should learn about traditional forms. Being aware of traditions gives you more flexibility to
use aspects of them when you want to, or to "break the rules" in a more interesting way.
Poetry meter - stressed syllables and the iambic foot
Meter measures lines of poetry based on stressed and unstressed syllables. I'll explain. When
we speak, we put the stress on a certain part of each word. For example, take the words
"apple" and "fantastic."
When we say the word "apple," we stress the first syllable, the "ap" part. We say "AP-
ple," how not "ap-PLE."
When we say the word "fantastic," we stress the second syllable. We say, "fan-TAS-
tic," not "FAN-tas-tic" or "fan-tas-TIC."
In poetry, a unit of stressed and unstressed syllables is called a foot. For example, look at this
line from Shakespeare: "No longer mourn for me when I am dead." The rhythm is, "bah-BAH
bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH. We read it like this: "no LON-ger MOURN for ME
when I am DEAD." The type of foot Shakespeare used here is called an iamb. An iamb or an
iambic foot has the rhythm bah-BAH. An unstressed syllable, then a stressed one. The iamb is
the most common kind of foot in English poetry.
Here are three examples of words that have an iambic rhythm (bah-BAH).
above (we say, "a-BOVE")

support (we say, "sup-PORT")
hurray (we say, "hur-RAY").
Here's a sentence written in iambic meter: "His noisy snoring woke the neighbors' dog." Bah-
BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.
Poetry meter - other types of foot:

The trochee or trochaic foot. This is the opposite of an iamb -- the rhythm is BAH-
bah, like the words "apple," and "father."
The anapest or anapestic foot. This sounds like bah-bah-BAH, like the words
"underneath" and "seventeen."
The dactyl or dactylic foot. This is the opposite of an anapest -- the rhythm is BAH-
bah-bah," like the the words "elephant" and "stepmother."
Poetry meter - counting the feet
When we think about the meter of poem, in addition to looking at the kind of foot, we count
the number of feet in each line.
If there's one foot per line, it's monometer. Poetry written in monometer is very rare.
If there are are two feet per line, it's called dimeter. Here's a sentence in trochaic
dimeter: "Eat your dinner." BAH-bah (1) BAH-bah (2).
Three feet per line = trimeter. Here's a sentence in iambic trimeter: "I eat the bread
and cheese." Bah-BAH (1) bah-BAH (2) bah-BAH (3).
Four feet per line = tetrameter. Here's a sentence in trochaic tetrameter: "Father
ordered extra pizza." BAH-bah (1) BAh-bah (2) BAH-bah (3) BAh-bah (4).
Five feet per line = pentameter. Here's a sentence in iambic pentameter: "I'll toast the
bread and melt a piece of cheese." Bah-BAH (1) bah-BAH (2) bah-BAH (3) bah-
BAH (4) bah-BAH (5).
Six feet per line = hexameter or Alexandrine. A sentence in iambic hexameter: "I'll
toast the bread and melt a piece of cheese, okay?" Bah-BAH (1) bah-BAH (2) bah-
BAH (3) bah-BAH (4) bah-BAH (5) bah-BAH (6).
Seven feet per line = heptameter. You get the idea...
Poetry meter - meter and rhythm
When you read metered poetry, such as a sonnet in iambic pentameter, you may notice that
the meter is sometimes sounds uneven or is hard to hear. Meter is just a form of
measurement. The real rhythm of a poem is more complicated than that:
None of us talk like robots. We give certain words and sounds more emphasis than
others in a sentence, depending on a number of factors including the meaning of the
words and our own personal speaking style. So not all of the stressed syllables have
the same amount of stress, etc.
We pause at the ends of ideas or the ends of sentences, even if these occur partway
through a poetic line. So this creates a rhythmically variation. When the sentence ends
or has a natural pause in the middle of a line of poetry, that's called a caesura.
Poets vary meter or make exceptions in order to create desired rhythmic effects.
All of these elements combine to give each poem a unique music.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/poetry-meter.html
Rhyme Schemes
This page is an introduction to rhyme schemes. Do you know the pattern of a limerick, a sonnet? How
to write a poem with special sound effects? More below! This is just one of many pages on this
website about poetry techniques. At the bottom, you'll find links to more pages about how to write
poetry.
Rhyme schemes and sound effects
Rhyme is an important tool in the poet's toolbox. Traditional poetry forms such as sonnets often use
rhyme in specific patterns. But even if you are writing free verse, you can use rhyme to when it helps
you create desired effects.
Why rhyme
There are many reasons why you might choose to use rhyme:
To give pleasure. Rhyme, done well, is pleasing to the ear. It adds a musical element to the
poem, and creates a feeling of "rightness," of pieces fitting together. It also makes a poem
easier to memorize, since the rhyme echoes in the reader's mind afterward, like a melody.
To deepen meaning. Rhyming two or more words draws attention to them and connects
them in the reader's mind.
To strengthen form. In many traditional forms, a regular pattern of rhymes are at the ends of
the lines. This means that even if the poem is being read out loud, listeners can easily hear
where the lines end, can hear the shape of the poem.
Internal rhymes and end rhymes
When the last word in a line of poetry rhymes with the last word in another line, this is called
an end rhyme. Many traditional poetry forms use end rhymes.
When words in the middle of a line of poetry rhyme with each other, this is called an internal
rhyme. Below is part of a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Can you find the internal
rhymes and end rhymes?
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,

The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.
In this example, "blew"-"flew," and "first"-"burst" are internal rhymes. "Free" and "sea" are
end rhymes.
True rhymes and off-rhymes
"Smart" and "art"; "fellow" and "yellow"; "surgery" and perjury" -- these are all examples of
true rhymes, or exact rhymes because the final vowel and consonant sounds (or the final
syllables in the longer words) are exact matches to the ear.
"Fate" and "saint"; "work" and "spark"; are examples of off-rhymes, or slant-rhymes. In each
case, part of the sound matches exactly, but part of it doesn't. Off-rhymes use assonance and
consonance:
Assonance is a similarity between vowel sounds (the sounds made by your breath,
written with the letters a,e,i,o,u,and sometimes y) "Sing,"lean", and "beet" are an
example of assonance because they all have a similar "e" sound. Another example is
"boat,"bone", and "mole," which all have a similiar "o" sound.
Consonance is a similarity between consonant sounds (consonants are the letters that
you pronounce with your lips or tongue, not with your breath:
b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s,t,v,w,x,z and sometimes y). "Lake,"book", and "back" are
an example of consonance because they all have the same "K" sounds, even though
the vowel sounds in these words are different. When the same consonants are used at
the beginning of the word (for example, the words "sing" and "sell"), that is called
alliteration.
You might choose to use off-rhymes instead of true rhymes, or in addition to them, to create a
subtler effect.
Using off-rhymes also gives you more choices of words to rhyme. This often makes it
possible to create more original or surprising rhymes. How many pop songs can you think of
that rhyme "heart" with "apart?" And when you hear the words "heaven above" in a song, you
can bet that the word "love" is lurking nearby. There are only a few words that rhyme with
"love," so they are used over and over again. Off-rhymes can help to remove some of that
predictability so that you can come up with more interesting rhyme.
Learn to write both rhymed and unrhymed poems in our online course, Essentials of Poetry
Writing.
Rhyme schemes
The pattern of rhymes in a poem is written with the letters a, b, c, d, etc. The first set of lines
that rhyme at the end are marked with a. The second set are marked with b. So, in a poem
with the rhyme scheme abab, the first line rhymes with the third line, and the second line
rhymes with the fourth line. In a poem with the rhyme scheme abcb, the second line rhymes
with the fourth line, but the first and third lines don't rhyme with each other.
Here's an example of an abab rhyme scheme from a poem by Robert Herrick:
GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,

To-morrow will be dying.
Here's an example of an abcb rhyme scheme.
The itsy bitsy spider (a)

Went up the water spout (b)
Down came the rain (c)
And washed the spider out (b)
This one's aabccb:
Little Miss Muffet

Sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider
And sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffett away.
Here's a sonnet by Shakespeare. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg.
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; (a)

Coral is far more red than her lips' red; (b)
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;(a)
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.(b)
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,(c)
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;(d)
And in some perfumes is there more delight(c)
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.(d)
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know (e)
That music hath a far more pleasing sound; (f)
I grant I never saw a goddess go; (e)
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground: (f)
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare (g)
As any she belied with false compare. (g)
Can you figure out the rhyme scheme in this limerick by Edward Lear (1812-1888)? (Answer
below):
There was an old man of the coast

Who placidly sat on a post
But when it was cold
He relinquished his hold
And called for some hot buttered toast.
(Answer: aabba)
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/rhyme-schemes.html
How to Write a Poem - Poetry Techniques 1
Here are some tips that can help you write better poetry.
How to write a poem - what to write about?
The first step in any poem is coming up with something to write about. Don't feel that you
have to choose profound or "poetic" material. Anything can be the subject for a poem. Great
poems have been written about such topics as a gas station (Elizabeth Bishop,"The Filling
Station"), a clothesline full of laundry (Richard Wilbur, "Love Calls Us to the Things of the
World"), and pieces of broken glass on the beach ("Amy Clampitt, "Beach Glass").
It's easiest to write a good poem about something you know well, that you have experienced
first-hand, or that you have nearby so that you can observe it carefully. This is because what
makes the poem profound and interesting will be the hidden details or qualities you discover,
or what the subject reminds you of, your unique perspective. With poems, as with other
things (or so I hear), it's not the size that matters, it's what you do with it.
If you're stuck for inspiration, check out the CWN poetry prompts for lots of poetry ideas.
How to write a poem - getting outside yourself
In his book Poetry in the Making, the poet Ted Hughes talks about how to write a poem about
an animal. The key, he says, is to concentrate hard enough on the animal, to choose the words
that best capture the animal you have in your mind. You can use this approach with any
subject matter.
In the beginning, you don't have to worry about "style," about writing in a "beautiful" or a
"poetic" way. In fact, if you start to think about "being poetic," it can distract you from what
you're actually writing about and hurt your poem. Have you ever tried to have a conversation
with someone who was trying to impress you? Then you know how boring this can be. The
person is really thinking about himself or herself, not about the conversation. Similarly, if
your attention is focused on "being poetic," if you are worrying about what impression your
poem will make, then that takes your attention away from the animal or weather or whatever
the subject of your poem is.
Even if the poem's about you or your life, try to take the perspective of a careful reporter
when you write it down. You should focus on accurately communicating an aspect of your
experience, instead of focusing on what impression you are making when you do it.
How to write a poem - expressing your insights
So far, I've talked about paying careful attention to your subject matter. But paying attention
is obviously not enough - you also have to communicate your insights to the reader. Here are
some tips that will help:
1. Don't state the obvious. Everyone knows that grass is green, and that snow is cold. If
you mention grass, readers will suppose it is green unless you inform them otherwise.
It's not necessary to mention the color of the grass unless you have something to say
about it that the reader doesn't already know.
2. But don't force originality. If the grass is actually green, you don't have rack your
brain for another way to express the color just to be "different." Keep looking, focus
on your subject matter, to find the real details that make it unique, the hidden
meaning.
3. Choose the right words. I'm not talking about words that are "poetic" or "impressive,"
I'm talking about words that express your subject matter. In his essay about animal
poems, Hughes talks about words as if they themselves were living animals, each with
a certain appearance and sound and way of moving.
Think of the words "glow" and "glitter." Both describe light, but different kinds of
light. When I see the word "glow," I think of a gentle warm light coming from inside
of something. When I see the word "glitter," I think of many tiny pieces of light
reflecting off of a hard surface. The word "glitter" gives me more of an idea of
motion. The sounds of the words also create different feelings. "Glow" has a soft,
round sound; "Glitter" has a hard sound and is broken into two parts, like light that is
fragmented or moving.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-a-poem.html
How to Write a Poem - Poetry Techniques 2

This is Part 2 of the CWN series on how to write a poem. (Click here to go to part 1).
Poetry techniques - expressing the invisible
In Part 1 of this series, I talked about how to choose something to write about, and how to
start turning your subject into the poem. The poetry techniques I've recommended all have to
do with careful observation of your subject matter. But what if you're not writing about a
person, place, animal, plant, or thing, but about a feeling or an abstract concept such as Love
or Death? How can you observe and describe something that can't actually be seen or heard?
Here are some suggestions:
1) Think of like looking at the wind through a window. You can't see the wind, right? The
wind is invisible. But at the same time, you can see the wind because of its impact on the
things that are visible. You see the leaves flapping. You see the surface of a puddle ripple.
You see a girl hunched inside her coat, her hair blowing into her face. You see someone try to
light a cigarette and the match go out. Abstractions like Love and Death don't look, sound, or
smell like anything. But they affect everything around them. And you can describe the places
they've touched.
2) Make it specific. Instead of Love, for example, write about "the love between my parents."
Then try making it even more specific: "the love between my parents and the silent ways it
shows itself when they are eating dinner together." Try relating it to a certain person, place,
event. Love, Death, Anger, Beauty -- these concepts do not occur in a vacuum. They are not
grown in test tubes. They are experienced by individual people, in particular situations. And
our deepest understanding of these concepts is at the human level, through the ways they
touch us personally and the people around us. Creating this human connection will give your
poem a stronger emotional power for your reader. And it puts your idea in a form where you
can observe it carefully and discover aspects of it that have never been described before.
Poetry techniques - meaning and form
I've talked about different kinds of poem content. But what about form?
For very experienced poets, formal aspects of poetry can become second nature, so that they
sometimes know right away what form they want to use for a poem. This is probably not your
situation. My suggestion is to focus first on your subject and get all your ideas down on
paper. Then, once you've written down your ideas, start experimenting with the shape. You
can read about poem structure here. Try organizing your poem in different ways and see what
happens. Try shorter lines and longer ones; try breaking the lines in various places and
observe the effects.
The best form for your poem will depend on what it's about and the mood and feelings you
want to create in the reader. The length of the line can make the reader go faster or slower,
change the look of the poem on the page, focus attention on certain words. You may decide
to incorporate other structural elements such as a certain number of syllables per line, a
regular meter, or a rhyme scheme. All of this should work with, and contribute to, the poem's
meaning.
Write different versions, then look them over and compare. How do they look on the page?
Dense and heavy, or light and delicate? How well does their appearance fit your poem? What
about the sound? Try reading them out loud. What is the rhythm like, for example, short and
choppy, bouncy, smooth? Are there places where your eye or voice pauses? Are these the
right places? Which versions are most interesting to read? Are there any places where the
look or sound becomes distracting (for example, if you have one very long line that sticks out
too much)?
Poetry techniques - writing and rewriting
Behind most successful poems, there's a huge amount of rewriting. According to Robert
Wallace in the book Writing Poems (HarperCollins, 1991), one seemingly simple poem by
E.E. Cummings went through more than 175 versions.
Every poet has his or her own way of working -- there's no right or wrong method. But here's
one idea for a process that you might find helpful:
1) In the first stage, as I've suggested, you might want to focus your attention on the poem's
subject, considering it from different angles, developing strong ideas about it.
2) Then, you can look for the best words to bring it to life on the page, to create a mental
picture for the reader that matches the ideas in your own mind. Don't start correcting yourself
or editing too soon. That can stop the ideas from flowing. Give yourself time to get
everything on paper. Maybe sleep on it, then write some new ideas. When you feel that
you've gotten everything down, then take a look at what you've got:
Are there words that don't seem quite right for what they're describing? Are there
words that don't serve a purpose? If you can remove something without hurting the
poem, it's usually a good idea to remove it.
Is there anything there that doesn't feel genuine, that's only there because it seems
"poetic," to impress the reader? Remove or replace anything that is just "showing off."
Are there parts of the poem that you like better than others? Are there parts you
should delete? Are there parts that don't quite fit, that should be cut out or integrated
better? Is there a particularly interesting part that might suggest taking the poem in a
new direction?
3) Experiment like crazy. Try different forms, different angles. Try putting the ideas in a
different order. Try everything that you think might improve the poem. You've got nothing to
lose -- you can always go back to a previous draft. Compare versions; see what works better
and worse. You might decide to combine parts of one version with parts of another. Work to
come up with the ideal version of your poem.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/poetry-techniques.html
How to Write Poems - Poetry Techniques 3

This is Part 3 of the CWN series on How to Write Poems. To go to Part 1, click here.
How to write poems - poetry problems you can avoid
Here are some common problems that often hurt the poetry of new writers. Of course, there is
no law against doing any of these things; you can try to get away with them if you want. But
you have a better chance of writing a good poem if you can avoid them.
Top poetry pitfalls:
1) Thinking beautiful things make a beautiful poem. Roses and jewels, we can agree, are
beautiful. Including them in your poem does not make it more beautiful. You can write just as
beautiful a poem about rotting fish or the gunk under my refrigerator (not beautiful). The
beauty of a poem comes from how it's made and what it does, not from what it's about.
2) Sentimentality. Sentimentality is false or excessive emotion. Have you ever had to listen to
someone repeatedly saying, "Isn't that nice?" or "Isn't that lovely?" or "Isn't this fun?" about
something you didn't honestly think was all that nice, lovely, or fun? You may have noticed that the
more the other person insisted, the less nice/lovely/fun whatever it was began to seem to you. In
general, we don't like to have emotions rammed down our throats. We all like to decide for
ourselves how we feel about things.
When I was about twelve, I wote to my Turkish penpal that I felt like a prisoner because my parents
didn't let me (I don't remember what, although I do remember writing the letter from my "jail cell").
This is an example of an emotional response totally out of proportion to the situation. It could have
been the beginning of a very bad poem.
Sentimentality in a poem can end up feeling whiney, self-pitying, insincere, or sickeningly sweet,
depending on which emotions the poet is overdoing. So how to write poems with the right amount
of emotion? What's the right amount of emotion to feel about a subject? The best practice is usually
to let the readers decide for themselves. Instead of telling them that something is sad, show them
the aspects of it that make you feel sad. Chances are readers will come to the same conclusion. And
whatever conclusion they come to will be genuinely felt.
3) Archaic or "poetic language". Yes, a lot of the great English poets used words like "thou," "doth,"
and said things like "O! Beauteous moon..." They also lived in times when this was a normal way of
writing. If they had lived during the 21st century, they would have written in 21st century English, as
should we.
4) Clichs. Sparkling like diamonds," "pure as snow," "fiery hot," "a warm heart," "silent as the
grave," - these are examples of clichs. They are phrases or ideas that have been used so many times
that they have lost all freshness.
When I say that someone is "as sweet as sugar," the "as sugar" part is a waste of words. It doesn't
provide any additional information about this person. And it doesn't offer a new perspective on
sweetness -- you've heard it before. It waters down a poem because it takes up space without
adding any power. It also gives the reader the impression that I, the poet, don't have anything
original to say. This is a pity, because every poet does have something original to say. If I am writing
about someone's sweetness, I should think harder about what exactly makes this particular person
sweet, and what this person's particular sweetness is like. Instead of using ready-made phrases, I
should choose words that express the unique qualities of my subject.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-poems.html
How to Write a Sonnet
This page talks about how to write a sonnet and offers some poem starters for writing your
own. This is just one of many pages on this website about poetry types and techniques. At the
bottom of this page, you'll find links to other CWN poetry resources.
What's a sonnet?
Sonnets are a kind of rhymed poem written in iambic pentameter. That's a rhythm that sounds
like this: bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.
An iamb is a rhythmic unit that includes an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. It
has the rhythm bah-BAH, as in the words "about," or "predict," or "parade." Iambic
pentameter is a line of poetry consisting of five iambs. Here are two sentences in iambic
pentameter:
The book explained another way to write.
I think I'll take a walk around the block.
Hear it? bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.
There are different kinds of sonnets, but I'm going to talk about the Shakespearian sonnet,
also called the English sonnet. The Shakespearian sonnet has fourteen lines in iambic
pentameter that are divided into three groups of four lines and one group of two lines. The
rhyme scheme looks like this: abab cdcd efef gg. I'll explain.
When a rhyme scheme is written in this way, each of the letters stands for one line. An "a"
line rhymes with another "a" line, a "d" line rhymes with another "d" line, etc. So in a
Shakespearian sonnet, the first line (a) rhymes with the third line (also called "a"). The
second line (b) rhymes with the fourth line (also called "b"). The final two lines of the poem
(gg) rhyme with each other.
Here's an example of a sonnet by Shakespeare written in this form. I'll mark each end rhyme
with a letter:
Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck, (a)

And yet methinks I have astronomy, (b)
But not to tell of good, or evil luck, (a)
Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality,(b)
Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell; (c)
Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind, (d)
Or say with princes if it shall go well (c)
By oft predict that I in heaven find. (d)
But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive, (e)
And constant stars in them I read such art (f)
As truth and beauty shall together thrive (e)
If from thy self, to store thou wouldst convert: (f)
Or else of thee this I prognosticate, (g)
Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date. (g)
You may notice that some of the rhymes are not exact. For example, "art" and "convert" have
the same final sound, but the vowel sounds ("a" in art and "e" in convert) are different. This is
an example of what is called off-rhyme, or slant-rhyme. You can read more about different
kinds of rhymes here.
How to write a sonnet - poetry prompts
Now that you know how to write a sonnet, ready to try one of your own? Below are some six
sentences in iambic pentameter. If you want, use them as starting points for your own poetry.
For example, you could use one as the first line of a sonnet. You might even find a way to
combine several of them in the same poem.
1. The night was icy but I didn't mind.

2. Your fingerprints were all around the room.
3. My father never tells me what he thinks.
4. There's something hiding underneath my bed.
5. You changed your name but couldn't change your face.
6. I couldn't think of anything to say.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-a-sonnet.html
Types of Poems
Here you'll find explanations of different types of poems, with poetry ideas and creative
writing prompts to try them yourself! At the bottom of the page, you'll find links to read about
more poem types and techniques.
Types of poems - how to write an acrostic poem
An acrostic poem is one where the first letters of the lines spell out a word or words if you
read them vertically. For example, here is an acrostic poem by Edgar Allan Poe. You can see
that if you read the first letters of the lines from top to bottom, they spell out the name
"Elizabeth."
Elizabeth it is in vain you say

"Love not" thou sayest it in so sweet a way:
In vain those words from thee or L. E. L.
Zantippe's talents had enforced so well:
Ah! if that language from thy heart arise,
Breathe it less gently forth and veil thine eyes.
Endymion, recollect, when Luna tried
To cure his love was cured of all beside
His folly pride and passion for he died.
Try it! Write your own acrostic poem.
Choose a word to be your poem's topic, and write it vertically, from top to bottom. Then turn
each letter into a line of poetry about that topic.
Ideas:
Write an acrostic using your own name, or the name of someone you love.
Write an acrostic about a month of the year, with the lines spelling out that month.
Types of poems - how to write blank verse
Blank verse is unrhymed poetry written in a regular meter, usually iambic pentameter. Iambic
pentameter is a rhythm that sounds like: bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.
An iamb is a rhythmic unit made of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. An

iamb has the rhythm bah-BAH, as in the words "forget," or "begin." Iambic pentameter is a
line of poetry that consists of five iambs. Here are examples of two sentences written in
iambic pentameter:
Forget the car, I'll take the train to work.
At school today, he caught a nasty cold.
Do you hear the rhythm? bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.
Much of Shakespeare's dramatic work is written in blank verse. Here's an example, taken
from Hamlet. (You will see that Shakespeare's use of iambic pentameter is not mechanical --
he varies the rhythm for effect).
Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that knows,

Why this same strict and most observant watch
So nightly toils the subject of the land,
And why such daily cast of brazen cannon,
And foreign mart for implements of war;
Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task
Does not divide the Sunday from the week;
What might be toward, that this sweaty haste
Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day:
Who is't that can inform me?
Try it! Write your own blank verse.
Below are some lines written in iambic pentameter that you can use in your own poem, if you
want, to start you off or give you ideas.
Last night I had a dream about a girl

Before today I didn't know your name
The leaves were dark against the glowing sky
My mother always lied about her age
Types of poems - how to write a sestina
A sestina is a poem with 39 lines. The final words of the first six lines are repeated in the
other lines, in a specific pattern. For an example of a sestina, look for Elizabeth Bishop's
famous poem called just "Sestina." Sestinas can be very haunting to read. The same words
keep coming back like echoes. And they are a lot of fun to write, like working out a puzzle.
The easiest way to write your own sestina is to use the CWN Sestina Tool. You have to use it
on your computer (it won't work if you print it). The way the tool works is that you choose
the main words for your sestina, and the Excel sheet will tell you where you should use them
in order to follow the sestina form.
But in case you prefer to read an explanation: here goes. A sestina is divided into six six-line
stanzas, or sections, plus one final stanza of three lines. We'll call the last word of the first
line a, the last word of the second line b, etc. The order of these words in the first six stanzas
is like this: abcdef faebdc cfdabe ecbfad deacfb bdfeca. In other words, the last word in Line
1 is also the last word in Line 8. The last word in Line 2 is also the last word in Line 10. Etc.
The final stanza, or section of the poem has three lines. Each of these uses two of the words,
one somewhere in the middle of the line and one at the end. The pattern of this section is: be
dc fa.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/types-of-poems.html
Poem Types
This "Poem Types" page explains several poetry forms and includes poetry starters that you
can use to try writing them yourself. At the bottom, you'll find links to CWN pages about
more types of poems and other pages about how to write poetry.
Poem types - how to write a narrative poem

A narrative poem is one that tells a story, true or imagined. It can have all of the elements of
fiction, including:
A character or characters. The main character may be the same or different from the
narrator, the voice that tells the story.
A setting - the place where the story happens.
A plot - what happens in the story.
Dialogue - conversations between the characters.
An example of a famous narrative poem is Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. This poem is a kind
of horror story. Here is the beginning of the poem:
The Raven
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"Tis some visiter," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door
Only this and nothing more."
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow sorrow for the lost Lenore
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
"Tis some visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door
Some late visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door;
This it is and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you" here I opened wide the door...
The main character in this poem is a man who has lost a woman he loved named Lenore. This
character is also the narrator or the speaker of the poem, so he tells his own story using the
word "I." The setting of the poem is the man's room on a bleak December night. As the poem
continues, a raven, a type of black bird, comes into the man's room, settles on top of the door
frame, and refuses to leave. No matter what the man says, the bird answers with the word
"Nevermore," and the meaning becomes more and more horrifying until the man sinks into
despair. This is the plot of the poem's narrative.
Poem types - write a narrative poem!

Want to try writing a narrative poem of your own? Here are some tips:
1) For there to be a story, something has to happen or change between the beginning and the
end. A happy situation is not a story. It becomes a story when a problem arises that interrupts
the main character's happiness. Similarly, a depressed character moping around his room is
not a story. It becomes a story when the character decides to improve his situation... or when
something happens that threatens to make his situation even worse.
2) Help readers imagine the story. Give details related to the five senses - sight, sound, touch,
smell, and even taste. Be specific. Did Maria seem angry at Jeff? Instead of just saying, "she
seemed angry at him," think about what, exactly, this was like. Consider showing the
evidence of Maria's anger, instead of the conclusion. If you say, "Her jaw tightened, and she
refused to look at him," this gives the reader a stronger picture.
Poem starter:
Think of an upsetting fight or argument you had with a family member, friend, or romantic
partner. What was it about? Write a poem that tells the story of whatever caused the
argument.
If the argument was over a particular event, then you're all set. You have a characters, a
setting, action. If the argument was over an ongoing situation (for example, your partner
didn't participate enough in child-care), then think of or invent a particular instance of this
and write about that. Hint: try not to tell readers your opinion or feelings about the situation
or the other person. Instead, show all the details (the "evidence") that will let readers figure
this out on their own.
(Safety tip: if the fight was with someone you are currently living with, you might not want to
leave the poem lying around the house. Just thought I'd mention this).
Poem types - How to write a ballad
A ballad is a rhyming narrative poem written in a form that can be sung to music. Ballads
most often use the rhyme scheme abcb. This means that in a group of four lines, the second
line rhymes with the fourth one. The first and third line do not rhyme.
Here's part of a ballad by William Blake (1757-1827). I have written the letters a, b, and c to
mark the end rhymes.
The Maiden caught me in the Wild,(a)

Where I was dancing merrily;(b)
She put me into her Cabinet,(c)
And Lockd me up with a golden key.(b)
Poem types - write a ballad!
Topic ideas:
A time you fell in love at first sight... or thought you did.

A car accident.
A time you received bad news. Don't tell the reader how you felt about the news.
Instead, show the details of the place and situation where you heard the news, doing
this in a way that expresses your feelings. Think of how, in movies, the camera zooms
in on objects to create a mood. See if you can do the same thing in the poem.
Poem challenge:
Here are the last words for eight lines of a ballad. If you are up for a challenge, fill in the
blanks however you like to create your own poem. (Hint: you can cheat and change some of
the words below if that makes your poem better).
__________________ whispering
__________________ mistake
__________________ branches
__________________ lake.
__________________ remember
__________________veins
__________________ silvery
__________________ remains.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/poem-types.html
How to Write a Limerick

This page talks about how to write a limerick and offers some poem starters to help you write
your own. This is just one of many pages on this website about how to write different types of
poems. At the bottom of this page, you'll find links to more CWN poetry pages.
What's a limerick?
A limerick is a poetic form that can be particularly fun to read and to write. Limericks are
often humorous, mean-spirited, or pornographic. I'll explain the form, and you can decide
how down and dirty you want to get.
Limericks consist of five lines. The rhyme scheme is aabba. In other words, Lines One, Two,
and Five all rhyme with each other, and Lines Three and Four rhyme with each other (in
some limericks, Lines One and Five end with the same word and rhyme with Line Two).
Here's an example of a classic limerick by Edward Lear, where the first and last lines rhyme:
There was a Young Lady whose eyes,

Were unique as to colour and size;
When she opened them wide,
People all turned aside,
And started away in surprise.
Here's another example by Lear, where the first and last lines end with the same word:
There was an Old Person of Dover,

Who rushed through a field of blue Clover;
But some very large bees,
Stung his nose and his knees,
So he very soon went back to Dover.
The typical rhythm of a limerick is like this:
bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH

bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH
bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH
How to write a limerick - poetry prompts
Ready to try some limericks of your own? Here are some first lines you can use to get you
started if you want.
He was an unusual boy

There once was a very old dog
A beautiful girl in my town
There was a young woman whose head
Two poets who couldn't agree
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-a-limerick.html
How to Write a Haiku Poem:

Haiku Examples and Tips
This page explains how to write a haiku poem, and offers haiku examples and prompts to
inspire you. At the bottom of this page, you'll find links to more CWN pages about poetry.
At the bottom of the page, you'll find haiku examples from our visitors.
Due to a large number of poetry submissions which we are still reviewing, we are temporarily
unable to accept new submissions.
What is haiku?
Haiku is a Japanese poetry form. A haiku uses just a few words to capture a moment and
create a picture in the reader's mind. It is like a tiny window into a scene much larger than
itself.
Traditionally, haiku is written in three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven
syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line.
Haiku examples
Here's a haiku poem written by a poetry student:
The last winter leaves

Clinging to the black branches
Explode into birds.
You can find haiku examples by our visitors at the bottom of this page.
Characteristics of haiku
The following are typical of haiku:
A focus on nature.
A "season word" such as "snow" which tells the reader what time of year it is.
A division somewhere in the poem, which focuses first on one thing, than on another.
The relationship between these two parts is sometimes surprising.
Instead of saying how a scene makes him or her feel, the poet shows the details that
caused that emotion. If the sight of an empty winter sky made the poet feel lonely,
describing that sky can give the same feeling to the reader.
Below, you'll find some ideas for writing haiku. If you're interested in other kinds of poetry,
you might also like our online writing course, Essentials of Poetry Writing.
How to write a haiku - try it!
You can use the pictures lower down on this page to give you ideas. In your haiku, try to use
details related to the senses -- sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste.
Or look out your window, and describe what you see. Try to "zoom in" on a small detail that
contains the feeling of the larger scene.
Or follow the steps below to write a "surprise-ending haiku." This is based on an exercise
from the poet Ron Patchett which is described in The Haiku Handbook by William J.
Higginson:
1. Write two lines about something beautiful in nature. You can use the pictures below
to give you ideas. Don't worry about counting syllables yet.
2. Write a third line that is a complete surprise, that is about something completely
different from the first two lines.
3. Look at the three lines together. Does the combination of these two seemingly
unrelated parts suggest any surprising relationships? Does it give you any interesting
ideas?
4. Now rewrite the poem, using the 5-syllable, 7-syllable, 5-syllable format and
experimenting with the new ideas or perspectives that have occurred to you.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-a-haiku.html
example of Haiku
Crane Rising
by Patricia Rogers
(Glendale, CA)
Slowly, graceful wings

Lift skyward; as you lift me
Friends always, grateful
Comments for Crane Rising
Click here to add your own comments
Nov 11, 2013 sweet NEW

by: Anonymous
sweet!
Return to Haiku Examples.
Seasons Inside of a Season

by Emma Gamble
(Alaska)
Leaves are transforming
Slowly covering the ground
Shimmering from frost
Comments for Seasons Inside of a Season
Dec 01, 2014 interesting NEW

by: Anonymous
interesting
Nov 29, 2014 awesome NEW

by: Anonymous
love this. My next poetry project to try
Nov 24, 2014 good NEW

by: Anonymous
nice
Nov 24, 2014 good NEW

by: Anonymous
nice
Oct 24, 2013 wow NEW

by: Anonymous
love it
Oct 24, 2013 wow NEW
by: Anonymous
love it
Snow
by bob
(england)
upon my roof top

gliding freely from above
making white blankets
Click here to post comments
Devastation
by Ayaz Araf
(New Jersey)
Rolling through the East

Wrecking lives and razing homes
Windy days forever
Stars
by patty
(manila)
Stars shining brightly

out there in the deep blue sky
Wish i could reach you

Veins of the Earth

by thomas phipps
Large mountain landscapes

A maze of lush green forest
Mother natures child
Migration of Autumn
by Constance
(In the Land of the Midnight Sun)
South, 'V' formation

Following the next in line
Snow geese fly away
_______________
About the author: "The author of this poem loves to write, read sitting on roof tops, and
watch the Aurora Borealis."
Haiku
by Udesh
(Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa)
All dead and quiet

Remnants of a Once proud city
The stench of Napalm
Music Beyond Infinity

by Kelly
(Cambodia)
Walking down the street.

Sweet sound coming from nowhere.
Harmony and peace.
Spring Time
by Anonymous
Flower smiles at me
As it dances with the wind
Yes! It is spring time!
Snow
by Darnetta
(Jacksonville, Fl. USA)
White and thick

Covering the ground like a blanket
Yet crushes when walk
_______________
About the author: "I am a mother of ten. Will be graduating soon from College."
Falling Nature
by Samantha
(Grand Rapids)
Light eerie fog

Stormy day breeze
Natural Paints
by Esha Garg
(Chandigarh, India)
nature is always creating

birds ,flowers ,hills and rain
pictures of infinite beauty.
Dove
by Ann
(Aberdeenshire)
unfold the wise wings

of the cooing dove
wireless message wishfully brings
Purple!
by Elizabeth
(Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA)
heliotrope hills
where bear and deer make their homes
radiate purple
Fall
by Al McCartan
(Bathurst, NSW, Australia)
Its fall, leaves tumble
Colorful kaleidoscope
Bonfire time again
Joyful Arising
by Elizabeth Bollinger
(Winston_Salem, North Carolina, USA)
my heart's true delight

is your voice in the morning
it kisses the sun
Yacht
by Ann Copland
(Aberdeenshire)
A Yacht with white sails

Wild ducks and quails
Mild waters still in the wild
Fall Activity
Leaves slip through the wind,
Children catch the fallen as
They wander round town.
Water
by judy west
(London)
Water in our hands
Like the early morning dew
Pure pearls of delight
_______________
About the author: "I am a teacher and I write a bit. I like the haiku form."
Spring Time in the Hills

by Michael Dietrich
(Great Cacapon, WV, USA)
Hook is razor sharp-

mist rising at break of day
line tight with a fight!
_______________
About the author: "Trying to balance a busy life. A father of three beautiful girls, a fortunate
husband, and a student at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV."
Summer
by shawn
(Knox IN)
the early summer breeze

pushing away the cold
letting summer in
Guide
by Elizabeth
(Winston-Salem,North Carolina,USA)
the early sunrise
fills my soul with heaven's light
and directs my path
Autumn Sun
by David Stockhouse
(Eagle River, AK)
Rays of autumn sun,

Weak through many leaves of red,
Leave Earth for winter
I am a 9th grader at Chugiak High School in Alaska. In my Honors World Literature class,
we are studying ancient Asian poetry. Submitting a haiku on this website gives us extra
credit! :)
Comments for Autumn Sun
Jul 26, 2014 Wonderful NEW

by: Anonymous
I love your haiku
Love
by leslie allison c acuzar
(philiphines)
When inlove it hurts.

But the others are happy,
why does it hurt us?
Rain
A small raindrop falls
Many droplets follow it
a black car rolls by
Autumn Sky
by Donna
(Florida)
Blue so deep it hurts

Dazzling, dazzling clear cool light
Still I look skyward
Spring Time
by Crystal
(Florida)
The blue spring sky swirls

And the herons graze the grass,
While the water flows.
Warm Me Up!
by denise
(Iowa)
warm, inviting hot chocolate

deliciously floating marshmallows
hits the spot!
Winter
by kamal
(Atlanta GA 30021)
nice,unique,pretty
as beautiful as the sky
as white as the snow
The Pond
by Heather Chloe
(Philippines)
The pond is filled with

water; It is filled with trees
Frogs lives on the pond
One Thing
by Andre Halim
(Surabaya)
Smell like flower

Feeling of infinity happiness
it is One thing that called love

The Town
Screams heard all around
the people ran in chaos
nothing left in town
Swirling Leaves
by Katie Bozone
(Chugiak, Alaska)
Leaves swirling downward

Dancing around bitter air
Exploding colors
Green
by S.R.Faber
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Green rushing water

Draining into the seaside
Reflects in my eyes.
_______________
About the author: "Susan Rochelle Faber lives in Toronto, and, has happily decided to put
herself 'out there'. Offering her writing, on life, love, and mystery, both from long-ago, and
freshly - pressed."
School
by Herman Johnson
(Chicago )
In the coming year
I will make my family proud
And be successful
Captured It
by Selena A. Rodriguez
(Oak)
without any force

he seems to have captured it
even though i closed it
Click here to read or post comments
Waves
by Kira
(New Zealand)
Waves crashing around

They look like angry monsters
Ready to eat us
Tranquility
by prema
(india)
tranquil, lies that silent lake

lush green surroundings soothen
unknown dangers lurk, hidden !!
Hope
by larrybruks
(manchester uk)
Trusting my spirit
To the summer soaring birds
- winter is gone
Windy Day
by B. Lang
(Oklahoma)
Winds blowing today

From the south comes lusty gales
With luck rain follows.
Snow
by mary grace franque rago
(pasay city philippines)
crystal clear snow

caught in this lethargic palm
melts, but freezes vein
Open to Journey
by Carolynn Thomas Jones
(Birmingham AL USA)
Open to journey.
Shedding fears hold on the sun.
Stepping forth to sheen.
_______________
About the author: "Carolynn Thomas Jones is an artist, nurse and clinical researcher who is
beginning a personal 12 month SABBATH toward evolution and mindfulness in the midst of
daily living."
Spicy Rules!
by Ellen
(Edmonton, AB, CA)
Black, orange and cream,

Like a beautiful dessert,
Spicy the cat rules!
Water Reminds This Age

by Austin Dan
(Jos,Plateau State,Nigeria)
Flood is still searching

Through river, seas and ocean
For lost Noah's Ark
New Beginning
by patricia
(new jersey)
Summers warmth ended,
Autumns foreign winds commence
Excitement begins
Death is Just a Deep Sleep

by Angel McGlone
( cahokia IL )
Slowly his eyes close

Daddy please don't leave us now
Death, just a deep sleep.
_______________
About the author: "My dad died when I was a young one, but mother reassured, he had no
sickness or no pain, he was just resting."
The Old Oak Tree

by Madeleine Devos
(Christchurch, New Zealand )
Rough wrinkly bark

Spiky dark brown branches
Warm sun peeping through
Overcome the Doubts

by Marilena Gartiez
(Owyhee, Nevada, USA)
Stands a leader proud

Catching the wave now, triumphs
Narrow mind at loss
_______________
About the author: "I am a Native American writer and I love what I do."
Ocean
by tess
(sydney nsw australia)
the ocean was deep

it smashed over the rocks
the cold night swept over
Daydream #1
(Tampa, Florida)
Summer's light blue sky

Soft white sand beneath my feet
Daydreaming at work
Ashes to Ashes
by Abigail Vera
(Florida)
Smoke blocks my senses,

as my paws pound the ground.
I just can't get away...
From this burning feeling inside,

All I can do is watch.
Colors soon fade to gray...
Life as I know it,

Is soon fading to ash,
Ashes to Ashes...
_______________
About the author: "Abigail Vera has multiple talents. She haunts the state of Florida, with
her pet chickens. She animates and draws under the name ShadowFury. Sometimes writing
poems."
War
by lizbeth rose agullo
(philippines)
in eerie silence
someone drop their pretenses
blood sheds in darkness
New Beginning
by shiela mae Tanquerido
(honolulu, HI)
old leaves are gone

they all withered in the sun
new ones have come
Summer
by Jude Dowell
(Oregon)
Short blades of brown grass

blowing in the summer wind
A red and white barn.
A Woman's Woe
by Pradip Saha
(India)
A tear drop falls now,

Rolling down to her bosom.
Sorrow's cause unknown.
Liberal Arts
by Malita
(Romulus, Michigan U.S)
It's cold- rules of law

loop wholes, I'm destined to find
Learn, between the lines.
As Columbus Would Sail

by Dominic Sylvester
(UK)
Veins would cut through skin

As a river would through land
And this leaves us where?
_______________
About the author: " Just a father of 3 living in Huddersfield (UK). I'm an author in the same
way that everyone is. We all have a best seller inside us. It's just getting it out!"

Team
by david
My friends play football

They score touchdowns every game
They are champions
Rain
by Megan
(Coconut Creek, FL,USA)
skies are never blue

clouds are never far away
keeping away fun
_______________
About the author: "I started writing three or four years ago. I got more serious about it last
year. I like to write short stories also."
Little Waves
by Christopher M. Davis
(Evansville, IN)
Rippling water
Obfuscated portrayal
A reflection of mind
The Blind Saw the Dusk

by Artchil C. Daug
(Iligan City, Philippines)
Red shade of sunset
The waves splashing by the shore
God went blindly by
_______________
About the author: "Artchil C. Daug is an assistant professor of history. He writes essays and
likes to philosophize."
Reality
by Nella
(St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
floating among the clouds

wisp to an early dawn
the dreamscape vanishes
Autumn Days
by jessica
(louise)
leaves dry
the wind sings and blows
everything goes wrong
The Nature of Fire

by Sean
(Marlow)
Flames
Flickering Flames
Dancing on wood and coal
Turn fools to thinkers
_______________
Embers
Glowing wood and coal

A small flame inside, I see
Like a beating heart
_______________
Sparks
Up jumps a fairy
From flames not fire it comes
Pop, look another
Rainforest
by Melati H
Green leaves hang from trees

still and damp, moss starts to grow
delicate and fresh.

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How to Write Found Poetry

This page explains found poetry and how to write a poem using this exciting technique. At the
bottom of the page, you'll find links to more creative writing lessons and tips.
How to write a found poem
A found poem uses language from non-poetic contexts and turns it into poetry. Think of a
collage -- visual artists take scraps of newspaper, cloth, feathers, bottle caps, and create
magic. You can do the same with language and poems.
Writing this type of poetry is a kind of treasure hunt. Search for interesting scraps of
language, then put them together in different ways and see what comes out. Putting
seemingly unrelated things together can create a kind of chemical spark, leading to surprising
results.
You might end up rewriting the poem in the end and taking all the found language out, or you
might keep the found scraps of language almost in their original form. Either way, found
language is a great way to jolt your imagination.
There are no rules for found poetry, as long as you are careful to respect copyright.
Here are some potential sources of "treasure":
instruction books, recipes

horoscopes, fortune cookies
bulletin boards
science, math, or social science textbooks
dictionaries
graffiti
pieces of letters, post cards, phone messages, notes you've written for yourself
grocery lists, lists of all kinds
spam e-mails (Well, they've got to be good for something. But be careful not to click
on any suspicious links!)
Click here for found poem examples by the poet Al Fogel.
Try it! Found poem ideas

Here are some ideas you can use to write your own found poetry:
1) Take parts of instructions for some appliance such as a microwave. Replace some of the
words that refer to the appliance, using that words that talk about something else. For
example: "Lift the memory carefully. Caution: edges may be sharp..."
Suggested poem topics:
parenthood
falling in love
trying to forget something painful
2) Try writing a love poem that quotes various graffiti from a public restroom. Or one that
quotes personal ads in a newspaper. This could be very sad love poem, or a funny one,
depending on how you decide to write it.
3) Write a poem called "Possible Side Effects." Use phrases from the instructions for some
medication in your house, and combine these with language from another source, such as
newspaper headlines, advertisements, a TV guide, or a mail-order catalogue. Put these two
very different elements together and see what happens.
Michael Klam on Poetry Slams and Translating

Poetry
We asked Michael Klam about poetry slams, poetry translation, and

his advice for beginning poets.
Michael Klam is Poet in Residence at Balboa Park's Museum of the

Living Artist. He organizes the museum's Poetry & Art Series,
including the 3 for $300 Poetry & Art Slam, and teaches for the Page
to Canvas to Stage program funded by the California Arts Council. Michael's book Emma
and the Buddha Frog is currently available from Puna Press.
A Conversation with Michael Klam
Q: Could you talk about what poetry slams are and how poets
can find or organize poetry slams in their areas?
A: Poetry slam is generally a competition where writer-performers go

head to head, earning points for engaging, entertaining and moving
the audience. Five judges are picked randomly from the crowd. The
slam host asks them to score on a scale of zero to ten -- a ten being a
work of staggering genius, and a zero being the worst intellectual
masturbation the judge has ever heard. This is all very subjective, of
course. However, winning poets tend to be serious about their work
and their messages, and their confidence (or bravado), along with their writing and
performing skills, turn on both audiences and judges. The host encourages the audience to
influence the judges (by applause, laughter, discord in the event of an injustice [Boo!], etc.)
Often, there is a cash prize. To organize a slam, all one needs to do is invite the audience and
the poets through social media and word of mouth. The slam requires a host, a scorekeeper
and timekeeper, five judges, audience and poets. Check the Internet for whats happening in
your area.
Q: What qualities make a poem particularly suitable for performance? How can
performance add a new dimension to a written poem?
A: Slam poems, by the rules, must be under three minutes and ten seconds. Spoken (or read
out loud) poems are the only criteria, which means that everything is game. Poems that flow
tend to score well, yet over-rhyming for three minutes can be a painful thing to launch on an
audience. Subject matter is wide-open, free speech. Strong, unique metaphors work.
Belabored or trite metaphors often score low. Writing a poem for performance pushes the
poet to really consider audience in their use of voice, inflection, pacing and content; to fine
tune the piece, edit, yet still remain true to herself or himself. I personally think the best
poems are the ones that are the most sincere.
Q: In addition to writing poetry, you have also translated poetry. Could you talk a bit
about the process of translating a poem?
A: The way I see it, the translators responsibility is to be true to the piece. Part of that
responsibility includes capturing the heart and the mind, the creative force, the art behind the
words. This is not always easy from one language to another. When I translated Miguel
Barbosas poetry, I had the luxury (and luck) of spending months with Miguel in Lisbon.
Getting to know him helped me see his playful sidehe would get crumbs in his beard and
call it a barba scone. I also translated Alberto Blancos La raz cuadrada del cielo (The
Square Root of Heaven) as part of a masters thesis, after spending time with Blanco here in
San Diego. His intellectual gravitas coupled with his inner love poet helped me understand
why he chose to use math and quantum theory to discuss love and relationships. However,
most translators rely on the poets work alone. In it, they find meaning, structure, the creative
act that all started when a real, live human being decided organize her thoughts and write
them down. Readers in a second language want to engage with those acts of creation. The
translator is both a messenger and a new voice, charged with the artistic responsibility of
remaining true to the original source.
Q: What advice can you offer to new poets just starting out?
A: Read, read, read. Go watch and listen to both developing and established writers, paying
attention to their work while coming into your own. Rely on your most honest peers, holding
dearly to their celebrations, and listening carefully to their criticisms. Be ready to try different
approaches. I hate to lay a heavy trip on you, young poets, but great poetry takes time and
work.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/poetry-slams.html
Karl Elder on Language Poetry and More
Poet Karl Elder spoke with us about language poetry, the "sense in
nonsense," poetry's metaphysical dimension, and the nature of
poetic inspiration. You can read our conversation below.
Karl Elder is the author of nine collections of poetry, including

Gilgamesh at the Bellagio, Phobophobia, A Man in Pieces, The
Geocryptogrammatist's Pocket Compendium of the United States,
The Minimalist's How-to Handbook, and Mead: Twenty-six
Abecedariums. His poetry has won a Pushcart Prize and other
awards and has been featured in the Best American Poetry Series.
A Conversation with Karl Elder
Creative Writing Now: In an essay published on the Wisconsin Humanities Council website,
you have criticized language poetry and the "aesthetic of chance." To what do you attribute
the popularity of this aesthetic?
Karl Elder: Its difficult work, trying to be innovative (Ive said it elsewhere: a poem is a
poem, in part, because its unlike any other poem) and anticipating the needs of an audience
(even if the audience shall consist solely of the poets own ears), and I believe there are far
too many public displays of attempts made with half a heart, there being so much psychic
energy required. I actually had two aesthetic modes in mind when I wrote the remark to
which your question refers, and I suppose I yoked them in the essay because I view both as
passive, the poet like a weathervane, pointing without will, wherever the wind wants. It may
be that, as Wallace Stevens said, the true subject of poetry is poetry, but it sure as shot is not
simply language, nor is that noble endeavor, the poem, governed by luck. In the grand
scheme of the universe, human beings choose or die; they exercise volition, assuming theyre
grownups. On another scale, so do poets.
Now, on the other hand, when Marcel Duchamp laid a urinal on its back and called it art, it
was art. Some of what made Duchamp an important artist is that he had sense not to overdo
it, except when reinforcing for a time his divinely minimalist concept of readymades. But
for my mind theres no way that concept has the power of, for example, his painting called
Nude Descending a Staircase, which is far from self-referential, unlike language poetry.
Language poetry, in general, is like all other language poetry; its not so much abstract as it is
failure of the poet to abstract. As art, poetry is founded not upon techniquerock-solid or
notbut upon multi-layered platforms, such as human experience, role-playing, the number
of associations and depth of emotion the chosen words in the right order have the power to
evoke, etc. Theres not a whole heck of a lot of emotion induced from staring at an algebraic
formula, which is flatly a symbol of a function sans values.
Your question tempted me at first to explain my aversion to both language poetry and the
aesthetics of chance by using the analogy of the hiveworkers and queen. (Oh, the buzzing
from one direction and the drone in another!) But that trope wont soap, that picture wont
develop, except to convey that, in order to realize potential, a poet must become her own boss
as well as be industriousobsessed, in fact.
Ok, so think factory: a maker (the poet) climbs from labor to management. She needs a
variety of experiencejanitor, foreman, quality control inspector, forklift operator, sweeper,
production accountant, sayin order to be the best she can be. If she passively accepts her
station on the line, she has capitulated to chance while not having a gossamer-garbed angels
chance in hell of controlling her own fate. (Uh, by the way, Im not what one might call a
feminist; Im an egalitarian libertarian who cant stand among other ills the morally corrupt
notion that all art is equal in stature.) And if youd care for a contemporary example outside
the realm of poetry of my kind of angel, complete with a spiritual compass (that in the case of
her story wobbles, there being no true North) and of what I believe to be great art, see the
film Winters Bone. Its a heros lesson in heroism, but it speaks masterfully of an intangible
reality made realand Im not talking about the illusion of film or the magic of movie
makingthrough tangible imagery. Reality is only the base, Stevens also said. But it is
the base.
Imagine playing draw poker and standing pat with each hand. Eventually youd be saying,
What happened to my chips? Later, but not much later, you lose.
Creative Writing Now: In the same essay, you refer to the value of the irrational in poetry,
when used correctly -- when it is "the right kind of crazy." Could you talk more about this?
Could you talk about the role of play, wordplay, humor, serendipity in your poetry?
Karl Elder: So that following a mid-day trip my wife and I do not have a crabby grandchild
on our hands, in order to keep him, a three-year-old, awake in his car seat, I sing his favorite
songs, but with a twist: Old MacDonald had a farmG.I., G.I. Joe. NOOOO, he guffaws
and then giggles, meaning, of course, Thats irrational. Children seem to know intuitively
that whacky language is not crazy so much as it is craziness, and should they happen to grow
into contemplative adults, craziness may become, for instance, something as serious and
challenging as the irrationality of The Book of Job, subject the poem is to interpretation that
the divine is revealed only in questions for which there are no answers. Another thought
paradox is a form of irrationality; nevertheless, we understand it. And once upon a long
time, it was irrational to speak of the earth as round. Yet how prompt our conversion. Human
evolution has well outfitted the brain for sea change in an ocean of eons to come, we hope.
Revisiting my Poetry Daily essay, The Sense in Nonsense, I see that it speaks sparingly not
of the right kind of crazy in poems but the good kind. The difference in my mind is such
that I have little to say about the goodit being subject to tastewhile I welcome a chance
here to explore the right kind of crazy in poets themselves. Im moved (perhaps due to that
psychological phenomenon known as projection) to view said behavior as compulsive,
though hardly neurotic, especially when I think of strangeness as a common characteristic
of the finest literature Ive encountered.
Derived from my own habits, for example, is a semi-conscious refusal to break from a state
of awe, drawn to the shy mask of the universe, and Im not talking about star-gazing
necessarily, though, heaven knows, Ive spent a lot of time behind our two-story house, using
it to block a street light, with toilet paper tubes for binoculars. The cardboard works
remarkably well to impede peripheral illumination, enhancing the contrast: a studded,
concave, black pincushion overhead mostly obscured by the tops of birch, basswood, ash, and
a monstrous, hydra-like, 300-years-old oakthe trees leaves also of help as, gradually, my
dilating pupils multiply the number of stars, magnifying the depthfelt turning into velour
and, eventually, velvet.
Should I happen to have been revising on those nightsI hesitate to say composing
because I spend so little time with initial drafts relative to the ensuing workI invariably
take my cerebral toys and their backdrop of celestial afterimages to bed with me, often dead
tired, a zombies insomnia self-induced. Its quite a mild state of paranoia, I suppose, in that
the awe about which I speak previously is not that I feel diminished; no, its ongoing
ontological wonder manifest in myriad scenarios, how it is that ones consciousness, being
such a magnanimous gift, so huge relative to awareness in an owl, say, or a mouse, or a mite,
is squanderedin that a life, subjectively and objectively speaking, is but a flicker in the
dark, a tick in time.
While the edge of sleep may serve like a lab where the bare text of poetry is conjured,
serendipity, the fortuitous melding of associations, occurs in wakefulness. One does not play
well half asleep. Neither does one there willfully crack jokes, an engaging ancillary thought
being that humor (and surely wit) has come to be observed by neuroscientists as stimulating
attentiveness in others. No wonder the greatest theory of poetry out of the twentieth century
of which Im aware, The Necessary Angel, surfaced from the watchful mind of a poet with
tremendous affinity for comedy, though Stevens, even at his most jubilant moments, is hardly
what one might these days call LOL. After all, the direction he took is a path in deep shade, if
not darkness, that all serious poets must enter: the future and its name, whether it be bad or
good, for there is no poetry if there is nothing to push through or back against, and that
includes in the most fundamental sense the blank page. Remember, I sometimes address
students along with myself, poets were the original fictionists. We know all about fiction
no friction, no fictionand though it may not appear to be so on the surface, a poems
gestation being more mysterious, there is always tension (sometimes both obvious and latent)
in the poem, precipitated by tension in the mind that makes the poem, no matter how small or
how menacing or how pleasant the emotion. As an illustration of what I mean by tension,
heres one of my own very early poems, a piece in celebration, a tribute, whatever surprise
therein being, I must admit, the mildest bit of wit:
Snowplow
for W.C.W.
The blade
scrapes sparks.
How unlike
the snow.
Now, because my work has evolved through modes progressively more formal and expansive
than that of the little piece above, far be it from me to serve as a channel for reductionism in
order to echo the illustration, but while I was typing Snowplow, one of my students, Ben
Endres, as if the muses messenger, dropped off with two other pieces for next weeks
workshop his
One Line Poem
This is not
one of those
Maybe Bens been in my office when I was showing-off my inscribed copy of William
Matthewss An Oar in the Old Water. Looking like an elongated book of matches, it includes
Premature Ejaculation
Im sorry this poems already finished.
Surely at this moment even the most priggish reader of Premature Ejaculation wears, at the
very least, a residual smile. If not, one would think that among this essays audience is the
next thing to a robot. Still, there are degrees of appreciation in response to tension in poetry
and, thus, to this poem. If a reader has a vocabulary extensive enough to perceive the double
meaning in ejaculation (the word like a sterile anti-pun in the context of premature shifting
to an ante-pun when the piece is done), he or she sees and is quickly seized by even more
tautly-wound tension. Thats what wordplay can earn a poet and his or her audiencea
lingering, reserved seriousness in the midst of wonder at the power of language, for which in
the long run is a life become incrementally rich.
Suddenly Im reminded of Dorothy Parkers response in a game to use on the spot the word
horticulture, creatively, in a sentence: You can lead a horticulture, but you cant make her
think. Likewise, you, the poet, can do only so much. An editor once wrote that she was able
to discern some of the wordplay in a long poem of mine only after having proofread it several
times. Almost reflexively, perhaps in defense of the intense labor poured into that poem,
came a hint of irritation, but with an empty can of tomato soup in my hand, I experienced her
remark as a boonno bane: She understands that instead of water you prepared it with milk,
Elder. Besides, a poet must take heart; I mean, while there is no wire to trip the trigger in a
readers head, one has control over infinitely more important joy to be had, and that is the
quality act of dwelling at play itself.
Creative Writing Now: In an essay in the Beloit Poetry Journal Forum, you describe poems
as multi-dimensional art objects -- although a poem exists in two dimensions on the page, you
explain, it has another, metaphysical, dimension. Could you further describe this
metaphysical dimension? How might it differ in poetry from prose?
Karl Elder: Heres the most important portion of that to which you refer, I see:
I sometimes think of poems as possessing both an ecto- and an endo- skeletonthe latter
metaphysicalpoetry then seemingly a phenomenon as much like sculpture as painting. Oh,
its two-dimensional on paper, all right, but multi-dimensional in the formulation and in its
readers apprehension of that latent energy before them.
To conceive of the poem as a two dimensional art object, similar to a painting or

photograph, as I imagine, for example, some of William Carlos Williams short work invokes
in young or inexperienced readers of poetrydespite W.C.W.s famous reference to poems
as machines made of wordsis to see what is possible in poetry (its power to affect in the
most sublime sense) sucked through a vanishing point like a trashed screen on an iPhone. A
problem I have with Williams, by the way, is his insistence upon adherence to idiom. Its not
that its impossible to make poems with common language; the trouble is that vernacular is
comparatively static. Should one dwell on that frequency, hearing how stuff is said rather
than testing how it may be said with verve, theres tendency to become a chronicler or
recorder at the expense of innovation and, from the point of view of ones audience, of the
opportunity to see in stereo. I mean, lets face it, offshoots of the mode in questionthe list
poem, for instance, though it may embody refrain as a legitimate technique that serves as a
superstructureare inherently inferior subgenres simply because they are relatively shy of
imagination. I sense irony in all of this. Williams is universally considered left of center on
the spectrum, leaning heavily toward a more democratic poem, while his nemesis, the poet
whose elitist poetry he despised, T. S. Eliot, is, aesthetically speaking, retrospectively and
in fact, the true progressive by way of craft.
The mind of the generator as well as the beholder of good poetry dwells at the center of
concentric circles, each of 360 degrees infinitely divisible. A trope more applicable to the
finest work might be that the mind operates as if it sits dead center of a sphere with an
exponentially infinite number of points encompassing it. When I think of the greatest poems
Ive encountered, I think of the poems themselves, impossible that it is to explain their effect
for as much as a nanosecond. Attempts to identify the power of such a poem by uncovering
the poets tools, thingamajigs or stratagems, are degenerative and futile, like squinting at gold
to see the atoms. On the other hand, one can capture for a time what masterpoems have in
common. We know that when the piece is read holistically, the effect is real but unstable and,
in a sense, undulating: one moment, say, a cube in a sphere and, in the next, a sphere in a
cube. Maybe a wordless poem would serve here just as well to explain what in perpetuity
cant be explained. How about one called Metaphysical Cubism?
If poetry is like chess, prose is like checkers. Now, Im not disparaging prose; never once did
I defeat my maternal grandfather, the man after whom I am named, at checkers. Yet, in the
act of composing this very sentence as well as in recollection of writing proseessays, short
stories, and two novelsI am aware that for the sake of my own satisfaction prose is a mere
anteroom to the palatial interiors, a yet-to-be uncovered cave in all its glistening
passageways. Often the initial draft of a poem is cast in prose, I concede, but the poet in me
wants more than the writer in me can deliver.
Yes, when youve been to the mountaintop, no matter how briefly, having experienced its
rarified air, poetry is like chess, prose is like checkers. Literary theorists of the early part of
the last century talked of the difference between practical language and poetic devices, both
of which are integrated into the poem. Theres an obvious difference in their function, prose
being subservient, a means to an end, while the devices serve as ends in themselves
arresting a reader, making progress difficult not for difficultys sake but to spawn new
perception. A most memorable compliment I received as a poet came only a couple of years
ago from my mentor of forty yearsLucien Stryk. Responding in a letter to my The
Minimalists How-to Handbook, he wrote, Karl, you see things no one has ever seen
before. Its not what Ive seen thats important to me ultimately; its the fact that Ive seen
them and that the will to do so potentially serves as a model and perhaps even inspiration for
others to realize their capacity for unique perception and a richer imagination. As I said in an
interview a few years ago,
Hearing [poetry], reading it, and creating it are all exercise for development of the
imagination. Now, so are other arts and endeavors. But there are none that are either as
portable or as efficient as poetry because of its inherent characteristic that requires of the
forebrain to make its own pictures in order to experience it, which partially explains poetrys
ubiquitousness among the species, especially with respect to education of the child and the
necessity of passing the batoncultural mythsfrom generation to generation. And what is
education if not an attempt to equip persons with imagination and experience for the sake of
the capacity to anticipate, to solve problems of survival on one hand and, on the other, to
make a life worth living? That which has arrived to make us the dominant species on earth,
imagination, the ability to see into the future and thereby avert threats to our existence,
comes hand in hand with the curse of the knowledge of our own demise. As for the poet, his
or her role in such a scheme is therefore adaptive, ranging from the voice of an angel to the
canary in the mine. The poets responsibility is the will to sing.
Now, I have neither the gift, skill, nor inclination to engage in the kind of observation
necessary for a direct benefit to mankind, likeallow me to be hyperbolic herecures for
disease or its psychological corollary, dis-ease. But as to the idea that poets do not directly
affect the worldand in contrast to the great prose writer and aesthetician Walter Pater, who
believes . . . art comes to you proposing frankly to give nothing but the highest quality to
your moments as they pass, and simply for those moments sake[,] and in spite of what I
believe to be Paters enormous influence not only on the likes of Wilde but, subsequently,
Pound, Eliot, Stevens (maybe even Williams [and certainly diminutive me])strikes me as
false, particularly when were talking about superlatively wrought poetry, which is positively
dependent upon observation to then join normally disparate elements to reveal the intangible
behind the veil of reality. Call me a neo-aesthete or dandy any day, but I would hope that
what is clearly evident in my work is penchant for the metaphysical.
Theres good reason why so many poets are struck by John Donne and his ilk. Those
seventeenth century English bards, with more passion than most moderns, appropriated with
a passion what the students of Aristotle hammered out as being the central quality of poetry
in The Poetics (only recently did I discover it was not Aristotle alone who produced what we
refer to as his theory)metaphor or, more specifically, thanks to the inventiveness of the old
masters in question, conceit. Whatever the trope, a seasoned reader intuitively understands
that what transports him or her to a higher plane of consciousness is wrapped in sentience.
Assuming familiarity with the language in which the art object is cast, be it that which is
material or abstract but a thing experienced in space through time, and excluding incantatory
effect via repetition, there needs be brevity, hyper efficiency of language, which by its nature
facilitates perception. Why, then, are shorter poems not more valuable than longer ones? It is
for the same reason that there is inherent in language types of tropefrom symbol or icon
(barely temporal) to conceit (temporal)meaning there are facets of reality and/or
experience which require more time to render and to apprehend than others. It is an
understanding such as this that points to the difference between poetry and prose. Both are
valuable in that they serve different temperaments and moods. Its just that the truly well-off
among the world know the human spends life not in dollars and cents but in minutes and
moments.
Back to the importance of sentience, however, effect, and the expansion of imagination and
consciousnessit is the prose writers obligation to tell, to inform, even to instruct, but it is
the poets charge to suggest. Its the difference between Ayn Rand and Howard Roark. The
poet would rather work like Roark than like Rand. The poet would rather make than talk,
addressing the right and left lobes of the brain rather than the left alone.
Creative Writing Now: In a discussion in the Beloit Poetry Journal Forum, you comment on
the nature of poetic inspiration, saying that "even sudden insight is apparent to me to be the
result of preparation." What conscious steps can poets take to prepare themselves for these
moments of insight?
Every burgeoning, serious poet wants to know how to write his or her best work. The method
is perhaps absurdly straightforward. Make ready for your gifts. Prepare. Prepare, said
TedRoethke, that is. What is not revealed by way of that brief admonition is how long and
involved the lessons can be, how arduous the labor.
Allow me to invoke the mother of all fundamentals, no matter the preferred genre: the art of
writing is inherently a moral endeavor. It is value laden; it is a product of a persons capacity
to carenot to emote as much as to coldly pay homage to the art form in its ability,
ultimately, to affect.
Granted, there are levels of caring, of this love. There is infatuation; then there is courtship.
The more mature this love, the higher the quality of writing the maker is capable of. Hence, a
lovely and entirely rational paradox is painstakingly born in the mind of the writer. The
novice slows down, becomes familiar with the tedium of learning the mechanical and
grammatical conventions of the language in order to speed up perception in anticipation of
the needs of an audience. That Frost dictum, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader, is
only the bottomrung of the ladder orshould one prefer a more romantic tropebase camp
for the climb.
What writers call sudden insight, though analogous to spontaneity, is only an illusion of it.
Yes, the fuel, a cache of language, must be present to ignite. Experience, the oxygen, appears
to be invisible in the way that the subconscious, though lurking, is cloaked. Desire is the heat,
the degree of value, energy amassing through irretrievable time.
Where from then comes the value and thereby the will? Its easier to first imagine how the
will may be sustaineda philosophers stone, a refuge of habit and reinforcement forged by
what I sometimes whimsically call a plintany: probing, praise, publication, performance,
and the prodding that comes from plenty of envy. Envy? You bet, I can think of no better
wordprides nemesis, that has its source having been exposed to greatness: Shakespeare,
Milton, Dante, Donne, Keats, Emerson, Thoreau, Poe, Twain, Hawthorne, Dickinson,
Melville, Lincoln, Eliot, Frost, Stevens (by all means Stevens with his theory of poetry), to
name idols who immediately come to mind.
Despite that as a kid I belonged to an organization for which its motto is Be prepared,
despite that the Boy Scouts of America provided me with a real-world education comparable
to none (to explain might require a memoir), despite years of writing poems, for which I had
only earnestly begun at the age of 21four decades of my life had passed before I realized
the formula for my own best work, which required from me patience and consciously
engaging in a kind of inventory. Following answers to what subsequently seemed rather
obvious questions (what do I truly have knowledge about? what is the character of that which
stirs me when I read?), I fell upon this question: besides being pretty decent with words, what
else can I do? As circumstance would have it, birth order played a role in my answer.
Heres a little riddle: how, among five siblings, is it possible for a youth to have been the
youngest, the middle child, and the oldest?
A half-brother 16 years my senior, one of three Teds ricocheting like amusement park
bumper cars in my head as I write (my father also known as a Ted) returned from the Korean
War to work on a masters degree in education on the G.I. Bill. He needed a subjectmy
half-sister being unavailable and my other two siblings too youngin order for him to gain
experience at administering two types of testsinterest inventory and spatial relationships
(the latter requiring the mind to manipulate two-dimensional patterns into 3-D objects).
The results of the interest inventory suggested that because of a liking for science and
literature, I ought to pursue becoming a technical writer. Yet, it was the spatial relationships
test that proved to be the eye opener, although I did not fully awaken to the implications for
many years.
No, no, my much older brother said when Id completed that second test and tried to hand
it to him, you dont just guess at the answers. You have to figure out which answer is right
according to the pictures. It seemed that Id completed the test in fifteen minutes, about one
third of the time allotted.
I didnt guess, I said, and I remember him staring into my eyes for about five seconds.
Well, there on the airy front porch of the big old rented house at 222 Elm Street in Leland,
Illinois, did I watch Ted convert raw score into percentile, unimpressed was I that my
performance ranked in the 99th or that I had answered nearly all items correctlynot
impressed, perhaps, because the test contained neither words nor numbers and because my
6th grade teacher, whose house I could see from where I sat, only a block away, knew better
than I that I was horrible at word problems. Algebra, I subsequently came to understand, is
not my forte. Geometry was.
All of this is to say it is an amalgamation of luck, inclination, reading, steady work, and
introspection that a map to a personal masterpiece might be drawn. Of course, I would be
totally remiss not to point specifically to the piece that launched me to a higher plane of
endeavor, so I beg from you your endurance, believing that it is best for the sake of
answering what conscious steps are possible to summon insight to first describe the
primordial soup from which the poem in question emerged.
As for luck, it can be good, bad, orperhaps more importantlyboth. Take a look at what
Im suggesting by considering this account of my early experience with haiku that appears in
the online Verse Wisconsin article "Encyclopedia of Wisconsin Forms and Formalists" edited
by Michael Kriesel.As one who has experienced first-hand Japanese culture for twenty-some
months in succession, Im not sure I or any Westerner is blessed with the perspective
necessary in order to be able to write genuine haiku. In fact, following my staycourtesy of
Uncle SamI used to write rejection letters as the editor of Seems which rather arrogantly
expressed my doubt. Then one day it hit me: while I might not be able to capture the true
spirit of haiku, whos to say a poet on this side of the Pacific cant write poems containing 17
syllables? I suppose you might call my pitiful epiphany a turning point in my career in that
Ive since composed scores of 17 syllable poems (yes, in three lines of five and seven and
five syllables)almost all bearing a title, which is a no-no to a master practitioner of haiku,
of course. On the other hand, I wonder if its reasonable to think that a Japanese poet could
make what I make in English. My good fortune at having had over the years a couple dozen
native speakers of Japanese in my poetry writing courses (Lakeland has a 2-year associate of
arts degree program in Tokyo from which native speakers of Japanese often transfer to
Wisconsin to complete a bachelors degree) reinforces my doubtnot that those students
cant write in English (many have been remarkable); its just that the idioms that surface in
their poems lend the work the indelible mark of the rising sun. Ask a Japanese student what
the rooster says or what the pig says or what the cow says, for example, and, upon hearing a
response, youre liable to conclude for the moment thatrather than different continents
you were reared on different planets.
When I think of how an artist is aesthetically inclined, I imagine a fusion of predisposition

(meaning kinds of intelligence that dominant his or her mien [see Howard Gardner]),
temperament, and metabolism, all three of which are pretty much out of the makers control.
Still, it is self-awareness (intrapersonal intelligence?) of talentin my case spatial
intelligencethat allows me, I believe, to conjure pictures from stark abstractions, a twist on
Wallace Stevenss definition of poetry as making the invisible visible, and to blaze my own
path through the trees to the elevation at which Im able to glimpse the top of the mountain.
Now, what is absolutely in control of the poet, a conscious step without which having taken it
again and again I would have been thwarted on the climb, is the choice to attentively read,
open to suggestion and influence. Among thousands of periodicals, books, and manuscripts,
my jealousy at the degree of pleasure particular poems stirred in me became, if not the
catalyst, the impetus for my determinationwhether Ive accomplished it or notto add, in
whatever small measure, to the canon. I can point with some certainty to at least four
experiences in my extended career of reading that spurred in memore than mere
admirationthe envy of which I earlier speak, all moments alike with respect to the intensity
of my response: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, portions of Coleman Barkss
Body Poems that I first encountered in Geof Hewitts Quickly Aging Here (1969), James
Merrills Divine Comedies, and an image from the hand of Billy Collins.
Retrospectively, it is no wonder to me that Ive made a pilgrimage to Stevens gravesite on

the anniversary of his death [See Photo 1 below] as well as walked the Stevens Walk [Photo
2], the thirteen ways chiseled in granite markers on the route from his home to the Hartford
Insurance building [Photo 3]; that a few years ago I sought out and now own the Barks book,
The Juice (1972), containing the complete Body Poems; that I possess an inscribed first
edition of Divine Comedies [Photo 4] (with Merrills inked-in corrections!); and that,
according to Collins, who revealed the following fact to a pair of my students, I am the first
person ever to have bought him a plane ticket, back in 1992, when he served as a featured
writer at the Great Lakes Writers Festival, which I continue to coordinate [Photo 5].
What else but envy?
Yet envy alone is not enough, of course. Neither is desire become manifest in the company of
those whose work one esteems highly nor is bibliophilia. One values what poetry has to offer
to the degree of intensity at which one is moved to work, when the stars eventually align,
so to speak. Then there is that ascent toward perfection, knowing full well that, fleeting,
perfection recedes by gradually smaller fractions in the process of gaining upon it. At last
there arrives confirmation that being able to contribute to the canon is merely penultimate in
importanceafter all, ones selection for inclusion in any hall of fame is completely in the
hands the futurebut most important is that the quality of the work, achieved by having
become a devoted practitioner of the art form, stands as tribute to that which is a link to its
own lineage. Surely my parents would have been pleased to know that I understood this
principle even before I encountered it as a graduate student in Eliots Tradition and the
Individual Talent. To put it plainly, one strives to do ones best out of respect.
So here come the details of how I learned to pay homage, having paid my dues through 20
years of apprenticeship and the muse, that ungrateful tart, suddenly having lost my name on
her muster:
I heard one winter, that winter,on a PBS program that Richard Wright, whose Native Son Id
closely studied and taught, had, toward the end of his life in an artists colony, abandoned
prose for poetry, which he wrote daily, his medium being haiku. Heck, I remember saying,
sitting up, I can do that. And, despite a considerable bit of luck at maintaining the pace, hell
it became, tired as I was after months of staring at the moon.
Still, I added to the stack, an index card per day, until it appeared that Id cornered boredom
so that it was ready to bite back, and I abruptly recoiled. Shortly thereafter surfaced the three
questions identified above: What do I truly have knowledge about? What is the character of
that which stirs me when I read? Besides being pretty decent with words, what else can I do?
Id dabbled in black and white photography in my twenties, and it occurred to me now that
the most memorable images Id shot were essentially geometrical. And Id always loved
billiards, the innumerable possibilities the sport affords, those spheres on a rectangular bed of
felt stretched tight over slate from which it is heaven to create when a player, having
practiced its fundamentals, becomes proficient enough at the game, able to control where the
cue ball rests. Shape is what that is called and what I was after bent over the table. Could
writing be analogous to just staring at the object ball until stuff like where to apply English
on the cue ball, at what angle to hold the cue relative to the slate, and the speed of the stroke
became second nature?
Suddenly Im not writing a haiku a day. Id become wide-eyed at the letter A as Id scrawled
it on my 3 x 5 card. I know what A is, I said to myself. I know what it is for, but what else is
it? Well, its ink on paper, that which is used to write lines. Pictures are made of lines, too.
Images are sometimes words strung together to make a line. And lines are sometimes titles of
poems. Now, what if I had a whole bunch of minimalistic pictures with which to work, things
I could approach like I once saw Collins do with the cipher 5 and that he probably had seen
Merrill and/or predecessors to Merrill do with other symbols? What if I turned the pictures, as
if they were Chinese ideograms or hieroglyphs, into titles? What if I could imagine from airy
titles concrete images, similar to the act of assembling boxes in my head when my brother
Ted gave me that spatial relationships test when I was a kid?
Time, like a mist, evaporated: the clock quit ticking; the calendar vanished. I knew what I had
to do, living now in a lighthouse, searching through the wrong end of a telescope, which
was the right end for me. I couldnt force the poem out. It became my method, my
responsibility, to wait, to stick with it, the image, until I saw it afresh, the hope being that
through silence I could shape a new languageone that others could understand though I
was the only one to speak it. There can be no poetry without the personality of the poet,
says Stevens. And hadnt I always thought that if I couldnt write, Id like to sculpt? At last I
had arrived, ready to conjure from two-dimensional figures a third dimension, albeit
metaphysical, the tools for doing so being experience and imagination, as always, but
studying each object with a new and intense appreciation for its form to settle on a trope. I
will approach each in its natural order, I resolved. They will be like ekphrasis, art about art. I
will translate. I will interpret. But I wont explain. One cannot explain what is up to readers to
sense. I can only suggest. I can only facilitate perception. Not alone will I make the invisible
visible. And I shall try to make, when imagination allows, in tandem with the readers eye,
the inaudible audible: bpj.org/poems/elder_alphaimages.html.
Slow down for poetry, Mark Strand admonishes in a 1991 New York Times Book Review
essay (with a hilarious beginning I wont spoil here). Yes, one must become ones own
flagman. In truth, often it is wise to simply pull over and park.
1. Wallace Stevens's grave.

2. The Stevens Walk.
3. Granite marker engraved with one of the "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird."
4. First edition of Divine Comedies containing James Merrill's inked-in corrections.
5. Karl Elder with Billy Collins.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/language-poetry.html
Jessie Carty on Writing Narrative Poems
Poet and teacher Jessie Carty is author of a collection of primarily narrative

poems, Paper House, as well as two poetry chapbooks, At the A & P
Meridiem and The Wait of Atom. She is also founder and editor of the online
journal, Referential Magazine.
We asked Jessie about her poetic influences, her experiences editing a

literary journal, and her advice for beginning poets.
A Conversation with Jessie Carty
Q: How has your poetry evolved over time? What have been your most important
influences?
A: I have been writing poetry, in one form or another, even before I learned to write because I
liked to make up songs for myself. I hope my writing has changed a lot since those early
attempts at rhyme! As a high school and undergrad writer, I hated revision but Ive grown to
love the process of peeling away at a poem until the real poetry appears. What I find
interesting about my writing is how it has always tended toward the story, the narrative no
matter how much I play with free verse over form or surrealism over the everyday.
Early on, I was actually influenced more by fiction. I LOVED to read and my mother would
let my siblings and I stay up passed our bedtime if we were reading. The first poetry I
remember reading, outside of Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss, was Robert Louis Stevenson. I
still love his work. As a student, I loved poets such as Emily Dickinson and Wallace Stevens,
lots of the classical stand bys especially Yeats and Blake but as I started reading outside of
the classroom and then into the graduate classroom, I fell in love with contemporary poets
although I still have a soft spot for Elizabeth Bishop.
Q: Could you tell us something about your new collection, Paper House?
A: Paper House is my first full length poetry collection. It was released in March of 2010 by
Folded Word Press. I was thrilled to be their first full length poetry book as well. They had
previously published my 2nd chapbook in 2009. Paper House is a collection of 64, mostly
narrative poems that recount a young girl as she progresses from a childhood in a shaky home
to young adult hood in a home of her own. A better home? Have to read to decide!
Q: In addition to writing poetry, you are editor of an online literary magazine,

Referential. Has reviewing poetry submissions caused you approach your own poetry
differently in any way? Are there certain common types of flaws that cause you to reject
poems submitted to the magazine? What kinds of submissions would you like to see
more often?
A: If you are a writer and you have a chance to work as an editor: DO IT! Sometimes it is
hard for us, as writers, to see the errors and/or clichs in our own writing, but we readily
notice them in the work of others. What is that old saying: You hate most in others what you
hate about yourself? The biggest issues I see with poems I reject is that they fail to say
something new. I dont mean you cant speak about common topics like love, death or taxes
but you need to do so with a voice that is unique, with words I would never have thought to
put together.
Since our magazine has a theme, of sorts (the whole referral hook), Id really like to see more
submissions that actually appear to have read the guidelines...
Q: Could you offer some advice for new poets about publishing their work?
A: Before you start submitting your work, find someone you trust to be a reader. They dont
have to be overly cruel but you definitely dont want them to just say they love everything!
Q: What is a piece of advice that you wish you'd received when you'd started writing
poetry?
A: Develop a community. Get out there and read other poets. Meet other poets. Poetry is a
tradition: join it.
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/narrative-poems.html

A Definition of Poetry

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A Definition of Poetry

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A Definition of Poetry

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Definition of poetry - importance of physical aspects of language: Poetry, more than

Definition of poetry - emotional or irrational connection: Prose normally talks to the

A few quotes on the definition of poetry

Poem Structure - Lines and Stanzas

Poem structure - the line is a building block

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Poem structure - types of lines

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

But being spent, the worse, and worst

Poem structure - stanzas

That age is best which is the first,

Poem structure - decisions about form

1. First, let your ideas flow.

As you go through this process, ask yourself:

What is my poem about?

Poetry meter - so what?

Poetry meter - stressed syllables and the iambic foot

above (we say, "a-BOVE")

Poetry meter - other types of foot:

Poetry meter - counting the feet

Poetry meter - meter and rhythm

All of these elements combine to give each poem a unique music.

Rhyme schemes and sound effects

Internal rhymes and end rhymes

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,

True rhymes and off-rhymes

Here's an example of an abab rhyme scheme from a poem by Robert Herrick:

GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,

Here's an example of an abcb rhyme scheme.

The itsy bitsy spider (a)

This one's aabccb:

Little Miss Muffet

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; (a)

There was an old man of the coast

How to write a poem - what to write about?

How to write a poem - getting outside yourself

How to write a poem - expressing your insights

How to Write a Poem - Poetry Techniques 2

Poetry techniques - expressing the invisible

Here are some suggestions:

Poetry techniques - meaning and form

Poetry techniques - writing and rewriting

How to Write Poems - Poetry Techniques 3

How to write poems - poetry problems you can avoid

Top poetry pitfalls:

The book explained another way to write.

I think I'll take a walk around the block.

Hear it? bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.

Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck, (a)

How to write a sonnet - poetry prompts

1. The night was icy but I didn't mind.

Types of poems - how to write an acrostic poem

Elizabeth it is in vain you say

Try it! Write your own acrostic poem.

Types of poems - how to write blank verse

An iamb is a rhythmic unit made of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. An

Forget the car, I'll take the train to work.

At school today, he caught a nasty cold.

Do you hear the rhythm? bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.

Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that knows,

Try it! Write your own blank verse.

Last night I had a dream about a girl