It Doesn't Have to Rhyme, But....

I didn't set out in this life to become a writer, much less a poet. I began my adult life as a teacher. Not an English teacher, mind you, but a math teacher. I had always been drawn to math because it seemed to offer some semblance of order to the chaos in my mind. It tickled something in my left brain that gave me a framework to follow when approaching new problems. I have often found that I benefit from this same sort of framework in my writing, particularly with poetry.



In a recent post here at OctPoWriMo, Morgan mentioned Shadow Poetry, a resource that I return to frequently when I'm in the process of composing a new poem. The Shadow Poetry site provides simple, detailed descriptions of both traditional and invented poetry forms along with several examples of each. Sometimes I approach the site with an idea or an image that I want to write about and I begin sifting through the different forms until a single line emerges in my mind that happens to fit one of the forms. Other times, I'll choose a form that I've never tried before (look for a prompt on this idea soon!) and I'll challenge myself to try to write within that framework. Instead of straining my brain for words that rhyme, if the form happens to include a rhyming element, I jump to my other favorite tool - Rhyme Zone.

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I enter the last word of the first line in the Rhyme Zone engine and am given a list of multiple words that rhyme (or nearly rhyme) with it. From there, I can begin to play with rhyming lines. Sometimes I will come up with several lines that could work. I say each of them aloud with the initial line until I find the one that sounds best TO ME. (I capitalize here to remind myself that I am not writing for anyone other than myself. It takes the pressure off just a bit!) Once I have a couple of lines and the page (screen?) is no longer blank, the words begin to flow, gaining momentum as they go.



Many people are hung up on the idea that poems have to rhyme and have to follow some sort of formula. This is not the case. Poetry can be free verse. However, if you find yourself in need of a framework or if you just want to challenge yourself to try something you haven't tried before, Shadow Poetry and Rhyme Zone can quickly become two favorite tools in your poetry tool box!

~Amy McGrath

Simple Or Intricate?

One of the things I love most about poetry is its versatility. There are guidelines...sure, you could even consider them to be rules. But since poetry writing is an expressive art, it is open to interpretation and personal expression. Therefore, there will be times where anything goes. 

When writing a poem, will you choose something simple? A haiku? A sparse stanza? Or something more intricate and rich with iambic pentameter? There is a simple rule to haiku writing and a more complex set of guidelines to iambic pentameter. 

Your words can take on a playful rhyme ala Dr. Seuss or an emotive and descriptive tone, lush with introspection and imagery. From the silly to the soulful, it's all poetry and yes, you can have it both ways. 

Recently, I was thumbing through my copy of Suzanne Vega's book of poetry and lyrics. It is a collection of her work from the time of her childhood up until the 1990s and it demonstrates a wonderful example of the evolutionary path one can take with poetry as well as the beauty of both simplicity and intricacy. Vega has a way of weaving words together seemingly effortlessly in such a way that the reader is taken on a whimsical, yet thought provoking journey, and that is something I think many, if not all of us strive to accomplish in our writing; to take the reader to another place, yet provoke thought and depth of feeling, whether it be of the joyful sort or to the point of tears. 

To my mind, that is truly successful poetry. Is it simple and silly enough that you've made up a word or phrase and conjured a side splitting laugh? Or is it beautiful, even tragic - leaving the reader deep in contemplation and inspiration? 

It's all powerful. And exploring the possibilities of each mode of expression is a compelling exercise. 

The title of Suzanne Vega's book is "The Passionate Eye..." and I think that encapsulates the idea of poetry. Whether you write from a simple or a more dramatic and involved perspective - your passion for the subject of your writing as well as the medium itself is what will inspire you to get your point across in whichever way the mood strikes you.