First the taster, then the paperback
Poetry - handy guide to getting started
A lot of people say they can't write poetry. That is nonsense. If you can write, you can write poetry. Another thing is writing good poetry, but let's cross that bridge if we ever come to it.
OK, here's a quick guide to getting started:
1) Select a random paragraph (or page if you're a masochist)
... from your writing, a car manual, Night contract, whatever. It *really* doesn't matter.
OK, here's mine:
"It was one of those breaks. Too short to do anything or go anywhere, yet too long to do nothing or go nowhere without feeling that you had wasted a golden opportunity to do something or go somewhere."
2) Sit back and gloat (tumbler of whisky optional).
What a great paragraph! Why can't I write like that? Hang on a minute, I do write like that, etc.
3) Prepare to butcher your prose (it's all in a good cause, remember)
4) Count the words
Hint: the quick way to do this in Word is to use the "Count words" function.
OK, mine comes to 38 (words, not inches).
5) Divide that number by 5 (easier than 6 or 7; well, for most people)
This gives you the number of lines your masterpiece should have
So mine will have 7 or 8 lines. I'll go for 8, I think. Can't stand odd numbers.
6) Choose a few random numbers
In my case, 8 random numbers if you've been paying attention
The way I do this is to jot down 8 numbers between 1 and 38. These are my choices:
3, 7, 11, 15, 22, 28, 36, 38
Hint: the last number should coincide with the number of words in your text.
7) Destroy your text at selected breakpoints (This is the fun bit)
Here's what mine looks like:
It was one
of those breaks. Too
short to do anything
or go anywhere, yet
too long to do nothing or go
nowhere without feeling that you had
wasted a golden opportunity to do something or
go somewhere.
8) Ask yourself, Does my opus *look* OK?
(Don't worry about the content, nobody will read it anyway)
Not really. I don't like that "Too" hanging there at the end of line 2.
9) Make those last-second changes, (and smile smugly - you're a poet now!).
It was one
of those breaks.
Too short to do anything
or go anywhere, yet
too long to do nothing or go
nowhere without feeling that you had
wasted a golden opportunity to do something or
go somewhere.
10) Post your poem on the bog section of Night Poets.
And for a more serious appreciation of poetry...
An absolute must-read is The Ode Travelled by Stephen Fry. Superb book.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Teresa Geering on -
It's being so barking mad that makes you so sane Mike. :-) LOL
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Permalink Reply by Richard Rhys Jones on -
Brilliant Mike, I bet you're an ace teacher, that really had me smiling into my tortellinis!
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Permalink Reply by Richard Rhys Jones on
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Oh, awful John, absolutely awful... but it really made me laugh :-D
John Holt said:It just gets verse and verse
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Permalink Reply by Tim Roux on
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Genius, Mike, or you can do what David Bowie did, cut up phrases and re-arrange at random / will.
Or, as I once said:
A judicious snipping of the scissors
Turns a thought into poetry
By leaving the essence of its meaning
Discarded cynically on the floor,
While its ghost is evoked to rise up
And haunt sensitive tissues
Struggling to define
What is missing and what are lies.
Which reminds me …..
Must get a haircut!
Think I'll go and post that on Night Poets. Got to keep the tumbrills rolling.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Church on -
I'm nominating that line for "Pun of the Year", John!
We'll have to wait 11+ months to see if you win, but my money's definitely on you at this stage.
John Holt said:It just gets verse and verse
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Permalink Reply by Jessica L. Degarmo on -
I once knew a guy named Mike
Who wrote prose like his drink had been spiked
He spun a good verse which only got worse
and ended with something about a truck
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Permalink Reply by Richard Rhys Jones on
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Just thought I'd write here to put this back at the top. Thank you for reading this.
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Permalink Reply by Jessica L. Degarmo on
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I beat you to it...
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Permalink Reply by Richard Rhys Jones on
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Now THAT'S art!
Jessica L. Degarmo said:I once knew a guy named Mike
Who wrote prose like his drink had been spiked
He spun a good verse which only got worse
and ended with something about a truck
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Permalink Reply by Mike Church on
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Brilliant, Jess!
See what I mean? We all of us
have a poem in us,
don't we!
Jessica L. Degarmo said:I once knew a guy named Mike
Who wrote prose like his drink had been spiked
He spun a good verse which only got worse
and ended with something about a truck
-
Permalink Reply by Mike Church on
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Brilliant, Tim. Such talent. Are you a fellow Bowie fan? I spent most of November listening to all his old 60s and 70s stuff.
A cynic once said, "Poetry is
the ultimate victory of
form over content."
Discuss.
Tim Roux said:
Genius, Mike, or you can do what David Bowie did, cut up phrases and re-arrange at random / will.
Or, as I once said:
A judicious snipping of the scissors
Turns a thought into poetry
By leaving the essence of its meaning
Discarded cynically on the floor,
While its ghost is evoked to rise up
And haunt sensitive tissues
Struggling to define
What is missing and what are lies.
Which reminds me …..
Must get a haircut!
Think I'll go and post that on Night Poets. Got to keep the tumbrills rolling.
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