|
Poetry Is A Process  Of Conscious Recording __________________ ________________________________________________________ In writing a letter to a friend, you might say "The drive was lovely". In writing poetry, the senses should ping through the thoughts so there's immediacy with an ear to sonics and pulse, a feel for rhythm, a precise attention to the colors of language and their impact. Take assonance, for instance: an instrument of tremendous power. It's not for naught that the line, "The rains in Spain stay mainly in the plain"- silly as that is, one remembers it because of the way it sings. The repeating long 'a'- as well as iambic meter, allow the pound on every other beat. These devices never go out of style. In an age of anything goes in poetry, it is nonetheless true that everything does not succeed. Throw out alliterative skills- assonance, consonance, simile and metaphor at your peril- because these are the components that make poetic language so very different from everyday speech. Think of yourself in a recording studio. Think of what would happen without all those little knobs and dials being adjusted. Think of throwing balance between base and treble out the window, and permitting anything and everything to record just as it is without adjustment. That is what you will get by allowing writing to simply go with the flow. You will have 'notes to self'...not music...not poetry. There is a precision and a crispness-- and a selectiveness that is essential to writing memorably and forcefully. Pay attention to beat-- become enamored of 'like sounds'-- and especially the ability of metaphor to show a thing that's simply not possible with a string of adjectives, and you will be recording consciously with a discipline that marks truly memorable writing. Compare the phrase 'the day muled' with 'nothing went my my way today'-- and you can see the power of the visual. Make nouns into verbs. You have permission in writing poetry to think outside any boxes imposed by expository writing. Be bold. See the thing described. Take your time, and always always be mindful of beat. Do these things, and lines begin to flow in ways that can bring a brook to life....in ways that allow us to taste the water... don't tell us it's hydrogen and oxygen and supportive of life .... be the brook! Main Page 
|