The Poetry Writing Lifestyle
Dictionary.com defines lifestyle as follows:
the habits, attitudes, tastes, moral standards, economic level, etc., that together constitute the mode of living of an individual or group.
A lifestyle is something you build for yourself from all the elements that make up your daily life: your thoughts, dreams, actions, routine, work, family, friends, food, hobbies, habits, and interests.
So, is poetry writing a lifestyle?
Examining the Writer’s Life
The writer’s life is unique. We spend a lot of time alone, with only our words and ideas to keep us company. We are immersed in word counts and submissions, manuscripts and notebooks. We work under tight deadlines and live in fear of typos. When other people are enjoying their favorite television shows or a day at the beach, we’re busy at our keyboards, doing our writerly work.
We are idea seekers — always looking for the next topic, poem, or plot. Every moment is an experience that could lead to a masterpiece, so every moment is a masterpiece. We live as observers, taking in the world around us so that we can share the best parts of it with our readers.
We are communicators, using words to forge connections. It’s not enough to tell a story. We want to show readers what it was like to be there, to live it.
And the most ambitious writers, those who are driven to make writing not just a way of life but a career, must also look at themselves in a way few other people do. We must see ourselves as authors and learn how to brand and market ourselves. We have to be self-promoters, and we have to be brave enough to put our work, which can be highly personal, out there for all the world to see.
Poetic Living
Writers are, in many ways, a subculture. That means poets are a subculture within a subculture. Poetry is not the most popular pastime (for readers or writers), so it’s a micro-niche. The downside of poetry’s lack of popularity is that poets don’t get a lot of accolades and it’s nearly impossible to be a career poet. The upside is that the poetry community is a tight one. Outside of literary circles, when two people who both read or write poetry bump into each other, they’re sure to forge an instant bond because such a person is a rare treasure.
Poets breathe language. It’s the most essential component to poetry writing. Language is the poet’s musical instrument, paintbrush, camera, and voice. Poets must find ways to make language achieve acrobatic feats. When a poet learns a new word, discover a new way to use an old word, or figures out how to string words together in unexpected ways that still make sense, it’s like she’s just sprouted wings and flown.
Poets get excited over things that put regular people to sleep — an unusual rhyme, a passionate reading, a book of poetry. We go through life the way other writers do — living each moment as an experience that could become a masterpiece. But the poet’s masterpiece is somewhere between a short story and a song. It’s not enough to simply tell a tale. A poet has to make a story sing and dance. And while all creative writers strive to make their readers feel and engage on an emotional level, poets must accomplish this in a very short space, usually less than one page.
Poetry Writing as a Lifestyle
It’s National Poetry Month, and for my part, I’m working on two projects. The first one is watching and listening to performance poetry. I have a big archive of performances to get through, and I’ve been chipping away at it for about an hour a day since the end of March.
The other big project is going through my own poetry archives and organizing my work. I have folders for drafts and discards, work in progress, and completed poems. Once I get those folders straightened out, I’ll dig into about a decade worth of journals and freewrites that have been piling up.
I don’t think this is the way the average human being spends her free time, so I’ve come to view poetry writing as a lifestyle. The more you engage with poetry by reading or listening to it and the more you write poetry, the more it becomes ingrained in your daily thoughts, actions, and reactions. A moment that would otherwise become a lost memory is instead shaped into a work of art — a poem. When people speak, I listen to what they’re saying, but I find myself paying closer attention to their words and cadence. The same is true with my reading.
In short, poetry writing becomes an adventure in word craft, and it’s an adventure that is threaded throughout every minute of a poet’s day. That’s my experience, anyway. How does poetry writing affect your daily life? Do you consider it a lifestyle? A hobby? A habit?
36 Poetry Writing Tips
Poetry is the most artistic and form of creative writing. You can write in the abstract or the concrete. Images can be vague or subtle, brilliant or dull. Write in form, using patterns, or write freely, letting your conscience (or subconscious) be your guide.
You can do just about anything in a poem. That’s why poetry is so wild; there are no rules. Poets have complete liberty to build something out of nothing simply by stringing words together.
All of this makes poetry writing alluring to writers who are burning with creativity. A poet’s process is magical and mesmerizing. But all that freedom and creativity can be a little overwhelming. If you can travel in any direction, which way should you go? Where are the guideposts?
The truth is that there are no real guideposts, but there are ideas that a poet can follow, and they might lead to poetry writing breakthroughs. Below, you’ll find thirty-six tips for traveling through the realms of word craft. See which ones appeal to you, give them a whirl, and they will lead you on a fantastic journey.
36 Poetry Writing Tips
- Read lots of poetry. In fact, read a lot of anything if you want to produce better writing.
- Write poetry as often as you can.
- Designate a special notebook (or space in your notebook) for poetry writing.
- Try writing in form (sonnets, haiku, etc.).
- Use imagery.
- Embrace metaphors but stay away from cliches.
- Sign up for a poetry writing workshop.
- Expand your vocabulary.
- Read poems over and over (and aloud). Consider them, analyze them.
- Join a poetry forum online.
- Study musicality in writing (rhythm and meter).
- Use poetry prompts when you’re stuck.
- Be funny. Make a funny poem.
- Notice what makes others’ poetry memorable. Capture it, mix it up, and make it your own.
- Try poetry writing exercises when you’ve got writer’s block.
- Study biographies of famous (or not-so-famous) poets.
- Memorize a poem (or two, or three, or more).
- Revise and rewrite your poems to make them stronger and more compelling.
- Have fun with puns.
- Don’t be afraid to write a bad poem. You can write a better one later.
- Find unusual subject matter — a teapot, a shelf, a wall.
- Use language that people can understand.
- Meditate before writing poetry to clear your mind and gain focus.
- Keep a notebook with you at all times so you can write whenever (and wherever) inspiration strikes.
- Submit your poetry to literary magazines and journals.
- When you submit work, accept rejection and try again and again. You can do it and you will.
- Get a website or blog and publish your own poetry.
- Connect with other poets to share and discuss the craft that is poetry writing.
- Attend a poetry reading or slam poetry event.
- Subscribe to a poetry podcast and listen to poetry.
- Support poets and poetry by buying books and magazines that feature poetry.
- Write with honesty. Don’t back away from your thoughts or feelings. Express them!
- Don’t be afraid to experiment. Mix art and music with your poetry. Publish it.
- Eliminate all unnecessary words, phrases, and lines. Make every word count.
- Write a poem every single day.
- Read a poem every single day.
Have you written a poem lately?
I believe that poetry is the most exquisite form of writing. And anyone can write a poem if only they want to. In today’s world of fast, moving images, poetry has lost much of its appeal to the masses. But there are those of us who feed on language and who still appreciate a poem and its power to move us emotionally. It’s our job to keep great poetry writing alive. And it’s our job to keep writing poetry.
What? You Thought Poetry Writing Was Easy?
People have some pretty strange ideas about poetry writing: It’s supposed to be easy. Poems arrive fully formed out of thin air. Poetry doesn’t require revision. All poems should rhyme. No poems should rhyme. Writing in form is old-fashioned, lazy, or unoriginal. A poet doesn’t have to understand grammar… The list of misconceptions about poetry writing goes on and on. My personal favorite? I don’t read poetry. I just write it.
Oh what fools young writers can be.
The Truth About Poetry Writing
I remember when I was a young poet, scratching my innermost thoughts and deepest feelings into a cliché-riddled notebook, complete with heart doodles and painfully bad rhymes. I thought poetry writing was fun and easy. I thought it had nothing to do with hard work or skill and everything to do with talent. Raw, natural, unbridled and uninformed talent. Like I said, young writers can be such fools. Part of the magic of poetry writing is that poems do sometimes come completely formed, arriving out of nowhere and landing on your page in full glory. Once in awhile, a cliché belongs in a poem. And sometimes, breaching the rules of good grammar will give a poem more impact. But these are all exceptions to the rules of poetry writing. The only rule without exception? To be a good poet, you must read poetry.
Reading Poetry and Writing
When I first started writing poetry, I didn’t read it, ever. But I was only thirteen years old. Now, I can’t imagine why anyone would write something that they don’t enjoy reading. Can you imagine a jazz singer who doesn’t listen to jazz? An actor who doesn’t watch films? A writer who doesn’t read? It just doesn’t make sense. I know that poets are often filled with fears about reading. What if another poet’s style leaks into our own? What if my head becomes so filled with other poems that I lose my originality, my voice? How can I write when I’m busy reading? There’s only so much time in a day! This is all nonsense, of course. One sure way to make sure you don’t mimic the styles of other poets is to become familiar with them. And if your originality can be lost just by reading a few poems written by someone else, well, maybe you’re not as original as you thought you were. And time? Please. It only takes a few minutes to read a poem.
Why Do You Think They Call it “Work?”
Like all artists, writers refer to their material as “work.” That’s because it is. Poetry writing is a condensed form. If anything, it’s harder than writing prose. You have less space to work with and yet often a poem says more than an entire novel. Every word is precious so you must choose each one carefully. The imagery, the rhythm, the voice, and the style. The language, the emotion, and the way it looks on the page or sounds when read aloud. In poetry writing, everything matters and there is no room for error. Sure, we all get lucky. Every so often, a perfect gem rolls out of our pen and graces the page. That’s pretty random, and it’s rare, too. Usually, a poem arrives in a jumbled heap of words that need to be examined, rearranged, cut, switched around, rearranged again, and then the real revisions begin. Poetry writing is work. It’s hard work, but it’s fun work too. What is it that drives us to poetry if not a love for language, words, and the fantastic things we can construct out of them? The things we love best are rarely easy, and it’s impossible to be a poet if you don’t have love for the craft. So, let it be work. Gritty, exhausting, and hard, real work. After all, what writer doesn’t want to toil in words? How’s your poetry writing going? Do you have any tips to share? Struggles you want to discuss? Leave a comment.
How Poetry Writing Improves All Other Writing
In the world of writing, one form stands out as different from all the rest: poetry.
Poetry writing is not bound by the chains of sentence and paragraph structures, context, or even grammar.
In the magical world of poetry, you can throw all the rules out the window and create a piece of art, something that is entirely unique.
That doesn’t mean writing poetry is creatively easy. It can be much more difficult to make a poem than it is to write an essay or piece of fiction. There’s so much creative space, and without any limitations whatsoever, it can be overwhelming.
Yet poetry writing brings a great bounty of writerly skills and tools, and many of these will spill over into other writing forms, sprinkling them with just a little of the magic that is poetry. And while poetry might not be your favorite form of writing, reading poetry, working through some basic poetry writing exercises, and engaging in poetry writing, even just a little bit, will improve your overall writing skills.
What sets poetry apart from other types of writing? What is it about poetry, beyond the fact that it has less constraints, that actually makes someone a better writer in all areas, rather than just a better poet?
Mindful Imagery
While other creative writing forms may use vivid imagery to create pictures in the reader’s mind, no other form comes close to what can be achieved with imagery in poetry writing.
Most writing forms attempt to explain something – a scene, a situation, an idea, a set of instructions, an experience. Poetry doesn’t bother to explain. It shows. It paints a picture, takes a snapshot, and then pulls you into it.
In a poetry workshop, you will hear this chant over and over: show, don’t tell. When you master the art of showing readers a scene through imagery, you can easily pull it into your other writing, creating work that is alive in a reader’s mind.
Emotions and Language
Of course, language is essential to all types of writing, but in poetry, words must be plucked carefully and with great consideration. Poetry writing will launch you into the lexicon, headfirst and spinning.
In fiction, readers connect emotionally with characters. We get to know them, understand them, and come to relate to them or even think of them as our own personal friends (or enemies).
In poetry, there are rarely characters, so instead of using the emotional connection forged between people, a writer must harness emotional language and grip the reader’s heart through scenes, ideas, and images that make readers feel. This is achieved by learning how to select emotionally charged language.
Physical Rhythm
A poet must be constantly aware of meter and rhythm. Poems and song lyrics are often compared, confused, and intermingled, and with good reason. Both poetry and music must pay attention to cadence and melody.
Think about how you feel when you hear a particular piece of music. You tap your feet, shake your hips, bang your head. Our bodies respond physically to music.
Through poetry writing comes a natural ability to marry musicality with language. When this musicality, this rhythm, is infused in other forms of writing, readers feel it in their bones and muscles. They will have a physical reaction.
Poetry Writing
Writing is about connecting with readers. And poetry writing helps you develop skills for connecting with readers mentally (imagery), emotionally (language), and physically (rhythm).
Suddenly, your fiction comes alive with scenes that make people see. Your essays are woven with words that make people feel. And your blog posts make people want to jump out of their seats and start dancing.
It’s this use of imagery, language, and rhythm that keep readers turning pages, anxious to find out what they’ll experience next.
Can you think of any other ways that poetry writing improves all writing? Have you started dabbling in poetry and noticed how it affected your fiction or creative nonfiction? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
Poetry Writing and Grammar
Good writers respect grammar the way an acrobat respects the tightrope. Grammar might be intimidating and complicated, but we need it in order to perform.
Grammar lends structure and clarity to our craft and gives us common ground rules that we can use to communicate clearly and effectively.
Good Grammar in Poetry Writing
Just as the acrobat uses the tightrope to traverse great heights, writers use grammar to traverse language. But is poetry writing the exception?
Many poets demonstrate grammatical expertise, neatly parking periods and commas in their designated spaces and paying homage to proper capitalization.
Consider the following poem and how it follows the rules of grammar. Note that in poetry writing, the traditional rule is that the first letter of each line is capitalized regardless of whether or not it starts a new sentence.
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.Aunt Jennifer’s finger fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.-Adrienne Rich
Poetry Writing Without the Grammar Safety Net
Poets don’t always follow the rules, which is why poetry is attractive to writers who are extra creative and enjoy coloring outside the lines.
Grammar rules, particularly spelling and punctuation, are nothing more than a creative tool for many poets who choose to dismiss these rules altogether or use the them to decorate and add aesthetic elements to a piece.
Many poets have skirted grammar with great success. Many more have failed. E.E. Cummings is well known for giving grammar the proverbial finger, but he takes his anarchy one step further and actually alters basic sentence structure, and manages to do so quite effectively.
anyone lived in a pretty how town
anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn’t he danced his did.Women and men (both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same
sun moon stars rainchildren guessed (but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by morewhen by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone’s any was all to hersomeones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dreamstars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by wasall by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
with by spirit and if by yes.Women and men (both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain-ee cummings
Cummings has dismissed capital letters altogether and he uses punctuation seemingly at random. Yet the poem works. Imagine it with the proper grammar rules applied and you’ll quickly realize that his way is more effective for the piece.
Poetry Writing – Where Good Grammar and Creativity Meet or Collide
As the poetry canon grows beyond measure, poets increasingly reach for creative devices to make their work stand out.
Toying with grammar is one such device, but it is not something that can be approached carelessly. If you choose to forgo grammar because you don’t know it rather than as a creative method, your lack of knowledge will show and the poem will present as amateurish. Of course, that’s true for all types of writing. Learn the rules, and only after you have learned them, go ahead and break them.
I salute anyone who breaks the rules in the interest of art and great poetry writing just as much as I admire poets who craft meter and verse within the confines of good grammar. So for this poetry-loving writer and blogger, either way is the right way. Walk the tight rope or jump from it and see if you can fly.
What are your thoughts on the use of grammar in poetry writing? Are you a stickler for good grammar, even in your creative work, or do you like to bend and break the rules? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Five Tips for Better Poetry Writing
Many people write poetry. It requires no license, no education, no experience. All you need to get started is a pen and some paper. But there’s a big difference between poetry writing and good poetry writing.
There are an unlimited number of opinions about poetry, especially when one’s own approach to the craft is in question. Some people write for the simple pleasure of self expression, others do so with a clear goal in mind: getting published. Many fall in between, writing for the joy of it, but with a desire to continually improve their work in hopes of one day getting published.
Getting Serious About Poetry Writing
Here are five key elements of poetry writing, which, if taken seriously and practiced regularly, will help you improve your own poetry writing:
- Read poetry. In order to grow as a writer, and especially as a poet, it’s imperative to familiarize yourself with the canon of works that have already proven to resonate with readers. By seeking out established poets whose work you admire, you will build a roster of mentors. Try reading aloud. Keep a notebook or journal in which you can write your thoughts and responses to various works, and jot down your favorite excerpts.
- Write regularly and let yourself be bad. Writing poetry regularly almost goes without saying. However, many beginning poets have a tendency to take up the pen only when the mood strikes. By engaging your creativity on a daily basis, the very practice of poetry writing will become habitual and ingrained as part of the routine that is your life. Allowing yourself a large margin for writing poorly or below your own standards will give you a freedom in your writing and room to explore.
- Study. There are many books available that explain poetry and will explore terms and definitions such as alliteration, iambic pentameter, and trochee. Such books will provide detailed analyses and provide means for new ways to read, as well as write poetry. To get started, look for A Poetry Handbook
by Mary Oliver or try The Practice of Poetry
by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell.
- Poetry writing exercises. It’s easy to sit down and just write a poem. Writing exercises present challenges and provide new ways of thinking and being creative. I have done many writing exercises that not only helped produce some of my favorite pieces, but also taught me how to approach writing poetry in an innovative and more imaginative manner.
- Revise. Revising your work goes hand in hand with allowing yourself to write bad material. You can always go back and make changes. I have actually heard people say that once they write a poem, that’s it. They believe the art is in the original creation and it should never be altered in any way. While this is certainly one way of looking at poetry as art, there is another philosophy that believes revision is necessary for true creative freedom. In knowing that you can go back and make changes later, you will give yourself more liberty in your initial writing, opening creative channels to greater possibilities.
Poetry is an Adventure
Poetry writing will take you on an exciting adventure through language if you let it. Many fiction and nonfiction writers work with poetry to improve their language and imagery skills, even if they don’t write or publish poetry for public consumption.
Poetry teaches us how to access rich language and produce vivid images in our writing. It speaks not to the right or left brain, but to a deeper human consciousness.
When we first start writing poetry, our work is usually amateurish and awkward. We might make poems that are cute or silly, poems that don’t make much sense, or poems that drone on without compelling readers. But with practice and by putting a litle effort into our poetry writing, our poems will start to blossom and become riveting – for us as writers and for our readers.
Do you have any poetry writing tips to share? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
And keep on writing (poetry)!
