SO YOU WANT TO WRITE POETRY

ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW HOW?

HERE ARE TEN THINGS EVERY POET SHOULD KNOW!

If you want to be taken seriously...

Poetry is a craft. To be a serious poet means you are a craftsman, you have studied and mastered the essentials of poetry. Do you know the art of Picasso? Most of us are familiar with his crazy, wonderful, modern paintings. But did you know that he could also imitate one of the old masters impeccably? Yes, there are famous poets out there that flaunt all the rules of poetry, but believe me, they were masters of the craft first. So your first step in becoming a respected poet is to know some of those rules. My purpose here is save you the embarrassment of throwing out to the public a poorly done poem, so here goes!

10 Essential Things to Know:

Here is a list of 10 of the most basic things you should know before writing any poetry you intend to share with the public. It took me hours and hours of studying to figure out where I was falling short when I started to learn to write and I am still learning after so many years, but I hope to save you a lot of time and effort by putting these things into a neat little package for you:

1.Know who you are writing to. 

If you write about the crush you have on Suzie, "Roses are red, violets are blue, Suzie has beautiful eyes, Her heart is true..." Well, this poem is for Suzie, and if you want to give it to her to read, well, please do. But why subject the rest of us to bad poetry!  If you are writing for the public to read, then you have to be able to write in a way that any stranger can understand it and want to read it.

2. Poetry is based on meter and rhythm. 

You can have poetry without rhyme, but you cannot get away without having meter, meter is the beat of the poem or rhythm. This will take some study on your part. You need to know the basics of meter, which is based on syllables, emphasized or not emphasized. The basic building block is an "iamb", a word that begins with a non emphasized and ends with an emphasized syllable, the beat reads: duh-DUH. Example: a-wake, a-buse, a-fraid, etc...I cannot go into depth here on all the acceptable forms of meter and substitutions. You must study meter to master the craft!

 3. Have a theme

 An underlying message you want to get across. Rambling on in pretty language will not leave your reader with any impression they can take away from the poem, so have a clear idea of what you want to convey to the reader, what message you want the reader to get and what emotion you want to convey.

4. Avoid clichés!

Clichés are words or phrases we have heard a million times: my heart burns for you; it is written in the stars, etc. We have heard these so many times our minds no longer stop to think about them. Try to give your message to the reader in a new, fresh way, using new or unusual phrases to carry your message.

5. A picture is worth a 1,000 words. 

OK, that's a cliché, but imagery is important to poets. Beginning poets especially, need to use word pictures in their poems to give the reader the ability to experience your poem along with you. For example: "A man with dark hair followed me." Abstract, no details. Now think about this: "A huge hulking shadow, with hair like strands of liquid coal, trailed my footsteps." This is more of a word picture and it gives the reader a way to visualize the feeling you are trying to get across. Using figurative or poetic devices helps.

6. Use a Thesaurus and a Dictionary. 

A Thesaurus gives alternate words you can use to convey the same thought. When you are searching for a new way to say something, this is invaluable to have. A Dictionary will help you with the meaning of words and also with how the word is broken into syllables and stressed. This will help you with the meter of your poem. Also, it may be worthwhile to have a rhyming dictionary.

7. Less is more. 

Poems are meant to be distilled literature. You should try to condense your poem by removing unnecessary words and lines. This makes a poem more powerful and the vision you are creating more intense. So look your poem over carefully and see what words or lines may not be needed to convey your thought. Remember to maintain your rhythm though; you don't want to remove words that will destroy the meter.

8. Grammar. 

That means spelling, punctuation and proper use of words. Oh, I know, you probably thought you left all that behind in school, but no, it is essential in writing any kind of literature. You can see how important it is in this silly example: "I helped my uncle jack off a horse" vs. "I helped my Uncle Jack, off a horse." It makes all the difference... A poorly spelled, or incorrectly punctuated poem, will cause your poem to be dismissed by the reader as if the writer did not care about it. Or get a completely different meaning. Of course, there are instances where poetic licence is used but that’s another story.

9. Rewrite. 

Do not post a poem as soon as it is written. Step away from it for a day or two, then go back and read it with a fresh mind. I guarantee you will see issues with it and things you want to change. It may take several rewrites to make a poem effective, and it may take putting it aside for weeks at a time. I have read that E. E. Cummings revised some of his poems 175 times. Get the picture? Not to mention Derrick Walcott.

10. To write good poetry you have to read good poetry. 

Read, read, read. Read some of the classics, but also spend time reading current poetry. And I don't mean just what people throw out on the internet, much of that is bad poetry. Read the published poets and read collections of poems, they will inspire you to write and help you see what makes a great poem great. Try a Grace Nichols or Martin Carter or Maya Angelo for example.

Write!

Somewhere in you lies a great poem, waiting to be written. For a poem to sprout and grow, it needs contemplation and thought. Everyone finds their inspiration in different ways, but take time to allow yourself to delve into your inner thoughts and feelings. Usually this means time alone: take a walk; work in the garden; sit somewhere quietly. Take the time to chew on different ways you can make your thoughts and feelings live. Think, study, write! Above all, write. With effort and time, you too, may become a great poet.

Learn the Craft!