| Author | Message | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 30533 Registered: 11-1998 |
. Dearest Membership -- Here is the fourth in The Poet's Note Card series. These Note Cards come from a book entitled The Mind's Eye: A Guide to Writing Poetry, by Kevin Clark. Mr. Clark is a winner of the Distinguished Teaching Award, is a university professor at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, and a widely published poet. This book on the teaching of poetry writing is concise, practical, and has been designed specifically for a college-level term. It includes a progression of lessons, example poems, and stimulating exercises. While most advanced poets already know these things, it doesn't hurt to review them. Or to learn them if you are a beginner to the craft of poetry making. I'll try to bring you a Poet's Note Card every so often. While you might not agree with every point Mr. Clark makes, I do hope these note cards serve to help those who are new to poetry by providing some basic foundation of information on which to build. Oh, and I do recommend that you acquire the book. It's an excellent textbook, especially if you would like to attend a college-level poetry writing course, but cannot for whatever reason. The link above (click on the book's title) will take you to the WPF BookShop and the Amazon description of the book. Thanks for reading! Love, M (Administrator) ------------------------------------------------- The Poet's Note Card -- #4 from The Mind's Eye: A Guide to Writing Poetry by Kevin Clark The Sound of Sense 1. The musicality of a poem enhances the impact it has on the reader. 2. Some poets are “talkers”; others are “singers.” 3. Once poets find just the right sound or melody in the poem they’re writing, they often become inspired to create more imaginatively. 4. It’s a good idea to become attuned to the varied pacing of different but equally successful poems. 5. Most poems contain “lyric” moments, i.e., expressions about the interior life. 6. Be cognizant of line breaks, that point at which the line ends. 7. Modern English language is hard to end-rhyme. Rhyme-led is a term describing poems that suffer because the poet cares too much about achieving the end rhyme rather than the overall effect or meaning of the poem. 8. Slant rhyme and internal rhyme often offer a pleasing lyric density. 9. Lines have velocity; their speed is primarily influenced by alliteration, line length, repetition, punctuation, and meaning. 10. Repetition can be a good technique in a poem if the repetition doesn’t seem redundant. 11. Sometimes it’s best for beginning poets to keep their lines relatively short in order to prevent sounding prosaic. 12. Good poets end each line on strong words rather than on articles or prepositions. 13. As Louise Glûck says, a poem’s ending should be both inevitable and surprising. 14. It’s not a bad idea to read aloud to revise for sound. . | ||
| Mariah Wilson
Intermediate Member Username: mariahwilson43 Post Number: 767 Registered: 11-2007 |
M, what a wonderful thing you have done for us. Thank you for taking the time to put together these poet's note cards. I think a lot of us, even the more experienced ones can learn something from these. I especailly like points 7-14. Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility~James Thurber~ | ||
| Lazarus
Senior Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 3508 Registered: 10-2005 |
9. Lines have velocity; their speed is primarily influenced by alliteration, line length, repetition, punctuation, and meaning. I love this idea of line velocity. There are poets who can write a line that slows down the read but does not lead to a loss of clarity. I admire poets that can do this. I wonder if there is a way to measure the velocity of a line. I suppose if you want to make a line go slower you should add a few of the above mentioned items. This is so true: 3. Once poets find just the right sound or melody in the poem they’re writing, they often become inspired to create more imaginatively. I've been paying close attention to the first few lines as suggested in the challenge: Lead, follow or get out of the way, as described by Bob Hicok: "I write three to five lines, until I feel a sense of momentum and integrity, by which I mean that I have something which is compelling and holds together. By this point the poems does or doesn’t have a motor. I read back and change what I must and only then move on to the next line or group of lines." -Hicok Thanks for taking the time with these M, I'm learning a lot until I can get the book. -Laz | ||
| Rania S. Watts
Intermediate Member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 784 Registered: 04-2008 |
Dear M, Thank you for continuing this series, I really enjoy reading it. Especially number 11: "Sometimes it’s best for beginning poets to keep their lines relatively short in order to prevent sounding prosaic." Love, (Message edited by Cementcoveredcherries on June 28, 2008) Rania S. Watts "You will hardly know who I am or what I mean" ~ Walt Whitman Cement Covered Cherries | ||
| Ann Metlay
Senior Member Username: wordsrworthy Post Number: 4417 Registered: 08-2007 |
Dear M, Thank you so much for posting these. Each of them have reminded me of techniques and ideas I know, but just forget in my busy life. This one I found particularly helpful. I know that it is alliteration, assonance and internal rhyme that makes free verse work, but sometimes when I write a poem, then come back to it those sounds are just not there. Maybe that is one reason why I come across as prosaic and narrative. Ann I am paying attention to small beauties, whatever I have--as if it were our duty to find things to love, to bind ourselves to this world. (Sharon Olds) |
