[stylist] the secret to writing poems

Sun Apr 5 23:26:52 UTC 2009

Punctuation is important, but it is more important to see how lines begin
and end, what lines are they next to, how are they grouped together, is
there correlation between how the groups are formed (i.e. line one of every
grouping ends in 'ly', every second line talks about nature), the line
breaks can change the meaning of certain phrases or add emphasis simply
breaking it in the middle.

There are a lot of elements to poetry that need to be broken down when
learning to write. It isn't all about following specific rules for certain
forms. The author must take all of the things into consideration. Once the
words are down on the paper from the emotion flowing out of the writer, the
real work begins. 

For example, a friend of mine had to put down his retired guide dog after a
stroke. I am not a strong poet but I knew I wanted share my sympathy for his
grief but still encourage him to seek a new guide. He had talked to me many
times about not being sure that he could get another one after retiring his
first dog.

I found a lovely poem on a grief writing site that was for the passing of a
pet. After contacting the author for permission to tweak a little to make it
relevant to a guide dog, I began putting down the elements that I had wanted
to express. After the words were on the page, I had to really look at each
line of the original poem and how thoughts were broken down. Then I had to
make changes to my word choices, where the lines would break, and alter some
of my actual thought to make it fit with the original poem. This was not
something that could readily be understood from just listening to the poem.
If one only had the use of a screenreader, they would have to be extremely
meticulous with selecting words to hear them read and moving around the poem
carefully with a super critical ear. It would be far easier to see the
connections in written form.

Okay, just some things to really think about when writing poetry. This is a
really interesting discussion and hopefully the occasional poem I write will
benefit.

Cindy

> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Angela fowler
> Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 5:29 PM
> To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [stylist] the secret to writing poems
> 
> 
> Lines and punctuation, right? 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of slery
> Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 1:59 PM
> To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [stylist] the secret to writing poems
> 
> Ben,
> 
> I would also recommend that you "read" lots of poems as 
> opposed to "listening" to them. You will gain valuable 
> knowledge when you hear poems read aloud (and in my opinion, 
> poems are meant to be heard instead of read) but there are 
> many things you will not get until you actually read the poem 
> for yourself. Since you want to write poetry, you need to see 
> the words on the page. It doesn't matter if this is via 
> computer, cctv, or braille, but you really need to see how 
> lines of poetry are used.
> 
> Cindy
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> > On Behalf Of John Lee Clark
> > Sent: Friday, April 03, 2009 1:04 AM
> > To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
> > Subject: Re: [stylist] the secret to writing poems
> > 
> > 
> > Ben:
> > 
> > Rule number one: Read tons of poetry.  You will not like everything
> > you read, but you'll find some things that are great for 
> you, and also 
> > what really impresses you may change in time as you develop.  But 
> > above all, read.  Read.  Read.  Read.
> > 
> > It will naturally rub off on you as you digest all sorts of poems.
> > 
> > The same goes for any category.  Good novelists read novels 
> endlessly.
> > Good memoirists read memoirs endlessly.  Good writers read 
> lots.  It 
> > is good to read in different categories, although only a 
> few can truly 
> > excel in multiple categories.  For example, I love reading good 
> > novels, but writing fiction doesn't suit me for some 
> reason.  Poetry, 
> > I can write.  I can also write polemics, but not as well as I write 
> > poetry, but good enough to get essays published regularly.
> > 
> > You can read some kind of textbook or take a class, but the 
> very best
> > thing is to read.
> > 
> > If you want to try poetry writing, first read a lot of it.
> > Go to NLS and borrow a ton.  Or surf the Net, poetry publications.  
> > Subscribe to the Braille edition of Poetry magazine.
> > 
> > John
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> > On Behalf Of ben micek
> > Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 8:40 PM
> > To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> > Subject: [stylist] the secret to writing poems
> > 
> > 
> > this might sound kinda dumb but i'll ask it anyhow. what is 
> the secret
> > of writing poetry? i've tried writing some when i was a tad bit 
> > younger but i don't think i did so well.
> > 
> > Benjamin micek
> > 
> > 
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