how to get started writing poetry

[Tony_P]

ok, so I want to write some poems.
I've been going through some wierd [censored] in my life, and I usually get myself through [censored] by writing about it. I write either streaming thoughts about how I feel or sometimes semi-fictional short stories to help me look at my problem from an outsiders perspective.

The thing is, I've always kept all my writing private, as it reveals a lot of details about what I think. I want to share work with friends, and I think poetry might be a form where I can sufficiently express my emotions without revealing details.

I've been reading a lot and trying to figure out what style I want to use. naratives tend to just flow for me, but I cannot get a poem down on paper that doesn't seem stupid after I read it. if anyone here has written poetry, I'd appreicate some pointers on how to get started.

[Tron]

Hey I found this for you. Seriously. I just saw this and was going to dig up that thread, but now I don't have to.

I'm pretty sure wearing that hat would help with writing poetry.

EDIT: Uhm, so I just followed the link inside the link and learned that the fedora costs $750... Good luck!

[Tony_P]

tron,

tight. a little out of my budget though.

[mikech]

[ QUOTE ]
but I cannot get a poem down on paper that doesn't seem stupid after I read it.

[/ QUOTE ]
that's a common problem. writing a good poem is exceedingly difficult; in my life i've written maybe half a dozen poems that i didn't hate. remember that poetry isn't just a confessional: you may have certain feelings you want to express, but an emotional expression rarely makes a good poem on its own; in fact it often drags a poem down.

w.h. auden once asked a young aspiring poet who came to him for advice why he wanted to write poetry; the young writer replied, "because i have something to say." auden's response was something to the effect of, "then you won't write any good poetry."

poetry is more about a love of language, the joy in manipulating words, the musical cadences of certain words strung together, etc etc. the emotional and/or intellectual content of a poem is almost a by-product. (not that i'm dismissing that content: my favorite poet, wallace stevens, wrote some of the densest, most "intellectualized" poetry ever; another of my faves, w.b. yeats, wrote some of the most heart-rendingly emotional poems, particularly concerning the great unrequited love of his life, maud gonne.)

anyway, none of this is probably of much help, but once upon a time poetry was the thing in the world i was most passionate about, so i figured i'd share a few thoughts.

[britspin]

The most important thing is to read poems, then write, then edit.

If you worry to much about what you're writing as you write, you strangle the good ideas and the bad, so let your writing happen, then worry at it later. No-one will see it unless you show it, so don't be afraid to write badly.

There's some fantastic advice from the North-East poet basil Bunting, that I try to remember but constantly forget when I write- it's true, I think, for all writing, not just poetry.

I'd also suggest a basic understanding of main poetic forms (blank verse, iambic pentameter, scansion and so on)- though this helps really with understanding how poems work-I find it more helpful to actually read poems of a type, rather than an academic explanation of type.

ADVICE TO YOUNG POETS- BASIL BUNTING

I SUGGEST
1. Compose aloud; poetry is a sound.
2. Vary rhythm enough to stir the emotion you want but not so as to lose impetus.
3. Use spoken words and syntax.
4. Fear adjective; they bleed nouns. Hate the passive.
5. Jettison ornament gaily but keep shape

Put your poem away till you forget it, then:
6. Cut out every word you dare.
7. Do it again a week later, and again.

Never explain - your reader is as smart as you.

[_TKO_]

Read more poetry.
Write more poetry.
Don't fall into the trap of needing your reader to understand.

[CopTHIS]

Someone told me once that poetry doesn't actually need to rhyme. Maybe they were kidding me.

[Kratzer]

can't go wrong with a limerick

There once was a man named Tony
Who felt his poems were quite phony
He went to OOT
And cried out "help me!"
then he went and had sex with a pony

i couldnt think of a good last line, but what a masterpiece!

[britspin]

I'd prefer the old stanby heroic couplets.

OOT once did hear in post a cry
for help with Pal'dino's poetry,
His verse was poor, his words were rank
his friends and lovers said they stank.
he pled for help - the chaps said fine
and told him "please just make it rhyme".
Dont be stressed about the scansion,
'cos writing verse begets no mansion,
There's no fortune to be got from verse,
just impressed girls- and they're a curse.
So Tony went to write some lines,
about (perhaps) some boy who pines,
for a pretty girl that he had-
but lost forever and now he's sad,
or about some blow that did him low
(or luck so good- for who's to know?)
If this be flamed and I get toasted,
Tony never writ, nor no replies were posted.

[econophile]

find this book in your local library