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Monday, September 7, 2020

Where There's Smoke, There's Fire


Consider your favorite poem, one that you have not written, preferably. It's really good. Why? Most of the time we just read good lines and delight in them without stopping and thinking what makes them so good.

Read the poem aloud and ask yourself these questions: is there an erratic rhyme scheme that reminds you of a bad day of traffic, or a steady beat like a waterfall of words gushing from your mouth? Is there internal rhyme, half-rhymes? (Is there any rhyme at all?) Is it mostly short words or long words, words you're comfortable with or a sparkling forest of unfamiliar terms? Is there vivid concrete imagery, or is it an abstract poem that leaves you bursting with emotion? Maybe none of the above?

Now, use everything you've gathered in your writing. Try to write a poem using some of the techniques the author of your favorite poem uses.

Looking carefully at poems, analyzing them and thinking about them, remembering our favorite parts, is a way to learn how to write better poetry.