Tzara
Continental
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2005
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- 7,609
I'm currently reading Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook for a class I'm taking this summer and she has some interesting things to say about imitation as a learning tool for poetry writing. For example:
Here's the challenge: Write a poem that imitates another poet. I'm not so much thinking of a parody of another poem, but write something that tries to imitate the style of the poet (and even a particular poem), while being your own work. Submit each entry--as many as you care to write--to me via PM along with the name of the author you are trying to imitate (as well as the text of or a link to the poem you are imitating, if you are imitating a particular poem). I will post the imitations without attribution on another thread, as has been done in the past, and everyone can try and guess not only who wrote each poem, but what poet they were trying to imitate.
You're welcome to imitate anyone--famous poets like Yeats or Eliot, or Lit poets. It will probably work best if you try to imitate someone/some poem that is very well known, as otherwise guessing who is being imitated will be too difficult.
In the next post, I'll give an example of what I have in mind, from an exercise I did several years ago.
Time frame and deadlines: Send me your submissions anytime before 12:00 PM PDT on July 17 (basically three weeks from now). I'll post the lists of who wrote what and what they were imitating after that.
So channel your inner Coleridge (or Frost or Plath) and get on it. To quote Martha and the Vandellas: Summer's here and the time is right for dancing in the street.
The responses to this challenge are in a separate thread found here.
...in the world of writing it is originality that is sought out, and praised, while imitation is the sin of sins.
Too bad. I think if imitation were encouraged much would be learned well that is now learned partially and haphazardly. Before we can be poets, we must practice; imitation is a very good way of investigating the real thing.
So considering it's about time for another challenge and that people like to guess who wrote what so much, let's try a challenge where there are two things to guess for each entry.Too bad. I think if imitation were encouraged much would be learned well that is now learned partially and haphazardly. Before we can be poets, we must practice; imitation is a very good way of investigating the real thing.
Here's the challenge: Write a poem that imitates another poet. I'm not so much thinking of a parody of another poem, but write something that tries to imitate the style of the poet (and even a particular poem), while being your own work. Submit each entry--as many as you care to write--to me via PM along with the name of the author you are trying to imitate (as well as the text of or a link to the poem you are imitating, if you are imitating a particular poem). I will post the imitations without attribution on another thread, as has been done in the past, and everyone can try and guess not only who wrote each poem, but what poet they were trying to imitate.
You're welcome to imitate anyone--famous poets like Yeats or Eliot, or Lit poets. It will probably work best if you try to imitate someone/some poem that is very well known, as otherwise guessing who is being imitated will be too difficult.
In the next post, I'll give an example of what I have in mind, from an exercise I did several years ago.
Time frame and deadlines: Send me your submissions anytime before 12:00 PM PDT on July 17 (basically three weeks from now). I'll post the lists of who wrote what and what they were imitating after that.
So channel your inner Coleridge (or Frost or Plath) and get on it. To quote Martha and the Vandellas: Summer's here and the time is right for dancing in the street.
The responses to this challenge are in a separate thread found here.
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