Fool's Rools of Poetry

Sure...why not?

Put my own scatterbrained thoughts out for everyone to laugh at. Feel free and chime in with your own...or to tell me to get fucked.

These are not going to be in any order. Take it as it comes.

Don't look for MFA talk. At least not much of it. I ain't got one.

Some of these will cross over into prose but I am not going to tell you which one.

And remember. I don't give a shit what you think..

Start with my post to Lee

The_Fool said:

One of the first rools of poetry. Post it. Take your lumps and learn. Just understand that it may take awhile to get to where you feel comfortable. There are quite a few on Lit that are much better writers than I am. So what? There are some that absolutely hate what I write. So what?

Another rool of poetry and writing in general is to grow kevlar skin. Learn from critics, but never take it personal.

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KISS Principal


Words are your friend. Words are your lovers. But don't think that you are going to be graded on your vocabulary. Remember you are wanting to write for as broad of an audience as possible. An audience that may or may not be turned on by a work that requires a dictionary.

Counterpoint: Don't be afraid of words. Say what you need to say without dumbing it down. You can help your reader grow, but do it one or two words at a time.

Less is More.

After you craft the draft of your lastest blurt, sit back and take a look at it for anything extra. Anything that does not add to the story. Then take a very sharp knife it cut it out. Poetry is spare. Poetry is condensed. It is the fine cognac distilled from wine.


Example:

The glorious day ended gracefully
as the incandescent sun
faded from the sky
yielding its bright yellow light
to shades of scarlet, orange and pink.
Then encroaching twilight
leeches color from the sky
and leaves a shading of gray


Day ends gracefully.
Incandescent sun fades.
Bright yellow yields
to scarlet, orange, pink.
Encroaching twilight
leeches colors gray.

Look for the uncommon in the common.

There are no new ideas, just new ways of looking at them. I am sure I am paraphrasing somebody there.

Okay, I am going to sometimes use my stuff as examples. This is not to say that I am the shit. It is just that these poems are some that I am comfortable with and I know what my intent was when I wrote them.

Written after following a woman part of the way down a street.

Seams

casual glance
calls for
deliberate repetition

her style flaunts
sublime sophistication
perfect posture
silk suit
immaculate manicure
rich red lips

walking away
in elegant high heels
offers finish to the view
final flash of desire
seamed stockings

-------------------

This one was a eulogy poem for a boy that lived longer than he was supposed to and not as long as he should have. The ripples in the pond are the ripples that both his life and death caused in the ones around him.

Ripples in the Pond

A small boy squats down
By the edge of the pond.
Still water at evening’s end
Reflecting dust as a mirror.

A tiny hand splashes in the water,
Snatched back at unexpected wetness.
Tentative touch with extended finger
He explores the mirror wetness.

He grasps a rock and stands,
Rocking on almost steady feet.
He throws it as far as he can
And stands, fascinated by the ripples.

Words are our friends part 2.

So…you want to be a writer. How good of a reader are you? If you aren’t reading, you will never write well. Stephen King said so, and I believe him.

One reads for style, for content, for vocabulary, for inspiration.

Just do it.

As a follow up to finding the uncommon in the common, don’t try to use the common and pass it off as something special. To be specific clichés are so over-used that they have lost their impact. The idea of poetry is to maximize impact in as little a space as possible. Remember, the ultimate impact of a poem is that the reader feels the equivalent of a physical blow. It stuns them, sets them back, forces them to review their own reference points. Most poems never get this for lots of readers, but many poems will do it for a few. But not with clichés. Obviously, the writer is not going to invent new words, but can use words in a unique way.

Editing.

I am a horrible writer when it comes to editing. I write the shit and then it's gone. Everything written needs to be edited. Put it away long enough that you forgot what the words were but not so long that you don't remember the original inspiration. When you take it out to edit, if you can, pretend someone else wrote it and critique it with honesty. The writer will save himself a lot of heartache with a fair edit. Whether or not you use someone else to help you edit depends on your skills and depends on how honest you are with yourself.

Criticism

This is especially true for the new poet.

When you write a poem, it can become a child to the writer. It can be an extension of the writer. It is certainly a matter of pride that the writer has written about something that incredibly important to them. Then they take it out and share it with the general public and are incredibly dismayed when it is not unversally accepted and loved by all.

It's a me world. Typically, nobody cares about someones pain as much as the person in pain does. Other than those closest. Same with great victories. If you are writing something that is incredibly personal. Keep it personal and share only with close friends that can appreciate it the way you think it should.

This is harsh, this is judgemental, but it is written to save hard feelings. I have seen too many poets go down in flames because of indifference to their brianchild.

Critiquing - Criticism 2


If you ask for it, you are going to get it. But you may not like it. First of all, the writer needs to step back from the work and understand that the work is no longer a child. The work needs to stand on its own it if is going to make it. Second of all, constructive criticism is directed at the work and not the writer. Don't take it personal. Finally, remember that all criticism is nothing more than someone's opinion. If you don't like the first one, get a second one. If the two agree, then best to rethink.

All writers are going to get unsolicited opinion. Take it gracefully if given gracefully and use what you can. Throw the rest of it away.

One more time. Criticism (not talking about trolling here) is directed at the work, not at the writer.

All good, Fool and all apply to all writing, I think. Good stuff. Thanks.

Ed

The_Fool said:

Less is More.

After you craft the draft of your lastest blurt, sit back and take a look at it for anything extra. Anything that does not add to the story. Then take a very sharp knife it cut it out. Poetry is spare. Poetry is condensed. It is the fine cognac distilled from wine.


Example:

The glorious day ended gracefully
as the incandescent sun
faded from the sky
yielding its bright yellow light
to shades of scarlet, orange and pink.
Then encroaching twilight
leaches color from the sky
and leaves a shading of gray


Day ends gracefully.
Incandescent sun fades.
Bright yellow yields
to scarlet, orange, pink.
Encroaching twilight
leaches colors gray.

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I love this lesson. Except for the articles and pronouns needed to create proper sentences, this so applies to prose also, including porn. One thing I don't like is when a writer gets to a sex scene and starts adding all kinds of extra words as if to signal, "OK, this is special. See - you can tell because there's a lot more words."

The_Fool said:

Editing.

I am a horrible writer when it comes to editing. I write the shit and then it's gone. Everything written needs to be edited. Put it away long enough that you forgot what the words were but not so long that you don't remember the original inspiration. When you take it out to edit, if you can, pretend someone else wrote it and critique it with honesty. The writer will save himself a lot of heartache with a fair edit. Whether or not you use someone else to help you edit depends on your skills and depends on how honest you are with yourself.

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This is not so easy. I wish I could edit my own stuff as easily and as well as I edit for others.

ETA: Eddie was right. This is good advice for all writing.

Its a crime to rhyme...

Rhyme is no longer considered to be a requirement to create good poetry. In fact that is often a indicator of a new poet. Most of us were educated on poetry written by Byron, Keats, Shelley, Wordsworth, etc. They of course used rhyme for their poetry, so new authors think that it has be be rhyming couplets. No such thing. Most modern poets consider that to be a limitation to thought, so eschew the rhyme.

Counterpoint: Zoot and I were trading posts in another thread about reading poetry out loud. I like to write my poetry with the thought that it needs to be spoken as well as read. Therefore, I like to consider other aspects to the poetry other than what the words say. I like to consider the rhythm of the words, the sound of the words. So sometimes I will rhyme words just for the cool way that they sound. But those rhymes may not necessarily occur at the end of the lines, they may be buried within the strophes.


Example:



bent

scattered, shattered
dreams and wishes.
muttering voice
saying nothing
to nobody
but ghosts.
wrinkled hand
holding a torn,
worn coat shut.
greasy, gray,
spare hair
hanging in his eyes
hiding his despise
of what’s passed him by.
head down,
bent, limping.
fight the wind,
fight the cold.
shuffling forward,
looking back.

I wrote a poem! Now where is my Pulitzer?

It takes a lot of guts to sit down and write something that captures the essence of something you feel is important. Especially when it deals with death, sorrow, love, hate or other topics that hook chains to the writer’s heart. I’m sorry. Writing a poem does not instantly make you a poet. Chances are, that poem is going to suck. So why write it? Because you have to start somewhere. To get to be considered competent, you are going to have to write that poem and a whole bunch more.

It is no different than any other craft. You learn by example. You learn by your mistakes. You learn by repetition. So put that heartfelt poem away for now and start exercising your writing. Challenge yourself with the challenges on this website. Find books that offer exercises and topics for you to write about. Let others edit your work. Read what others have to say. Take other poems and rewrite them to fit yourself. I am not saying to plagiarize, this is a writing exercise. Write lots.

One exercise that I have done is to pair up with another poet and write response poems. The first poet writes a poem. The second poet takes the words from that poem and writes a new poem that compliments or diverges from the first poem.

Good, bad or indifferent I have written thousands of poems in the last ten years and I am not that prolific. As with any other endeavor, it is the practice that hones the skill.

The_Fool said:

Its a crime to rhyme...

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No it's not. But if you do it, be very, very, very good at it.


Nice stuff, Foolster. Keep it coming.

Liar said:

No it's not. But if you do it, be very, very, very good at it.


Nice stuff, Foolster. Keep it coming.

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Exactily......Feel free to chime in anytime with your thoughts and Liar Rools.

Liar said:

No it's not. But if you do it, be very, very, very good at it.


Nice stuff, Foolster. Keep it coming.

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I want to expand on what Liar is saying here. There are very few rules that I can offer that can't be broken. But you better really know what you are doing if you are going to break them.

Poetry is meant to be a distillation. By that I mean that the writer is trying to create the essence of thought while being as sparing with words as possible. Everyone has seen the list poem:

Love is a pillow fluffed just right.
Love is a flower appearing on ones desk.
Love is a kiss offered when in darkest despair.
Love is a kitten paw batting at a face.
Love is a soulful glance from a puppy.
.
.
.
Love is…

No. Do not do this. The poem is dead before it ever lived. The point I want to make is word repetition is meant to be used sparingly. If you are repeating a word or phrase in a poem, then you are flipping up a sign and saying “Yo! Reader! This shit is important!”

In the example below, I have bolded same or similar phrases. But as you read the poem, you will find that the words mean something different:

Dim enough for shadowed faces.
Hands held tight above her head.
Seeking lips within the darkness.
Seeking darkness within her lips.
Tasting orange,
tasting rum,
tasting sunshine to light his purgatory.
Faux fight over casual kiss
turns her head just right,
offers a neck for nibbling.

Breasts move as they will beneath a cotton shirt,
his goal for them to move according to his will.
Open neckline offers temptation,
path to seek indulgence.
But to tug or taste? Which shall be his penance?
Her shirt becomes a sigh upon release.
Exposed flesh goosebumps in night air,
making targets of nipples dark on light-white skin,
lightly stroked, gently kissed,
Twisted lightly for a sudden gasp.

Dim enough for shadowed movement.
Hands held tight above her head
---by her own desire.
Seeking lips within the darkness.
Seeking darkness within the lips.
As she tastes the orange,
tastes the rum,
tastes herself from offered fingers.
She offers a path for him to seek indulgence.
Temptation offered is in its own way, a penance.


And the punch line is also a repetition:

Seeking lips within the darkness.
Seeking darkness within the lips.

Which is a major whammie for the reader.

The_Fool said:

And the punch line is also a repetition:

Seeking lips within the darkness.
Seeking darkness within the lips.

Which is a major whammie for the reader.

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Yes.

Yes, it is.

*sigh*

(I'd already bookmarked this thread. Wondrous stuff, Fool.)

Form or Formal Poetry

Form Poetry is poetry written to very specific rules. The most well known is probably the Sonnet. No, I am not going to get into the specific rules of any form poetry in this post. I may include those in other posts later, but that is yet to be determined.

Love it or hate it, Form Poetry is definitely a type of poetry. Some poets feel restrained by the limitations place up on them, depending upon the type of form. Therefore they never consider writing form poetry.

I recommend attempting forms. This is another way of exercising your skills as a writer. Just another challenge. What it does is it influences word selection; focuses the writer on the sound of the words and how they are accented; and it sets specific limits on how long or short a poem is required to be.

You don’t have to consider a form poem to be something that you want to show your audience, just consider it to be a conditioning exercise for building your poetic muscles.

And no Ange, I am not going to write a friggin’ Sestina about poet rules…

Comparision

The writer tries to communicate with the reader. Operative word: tries. Sometimes the writer feels that the best way to illustrate a point is to make a comparison. Two of the most common comparisons are Similes and Metaphors.

Similes are a direct comparison that use words such as “like’ and “as” to create the connection. Cerisenoire has lips that are sultry red as the cherry into which she bites.

Another example:

Distant memories of each family member
like the song you can’t quite remember
play without cease through his mind.
The melody never ceases, but the words are left behind.

Metaphors are also direct comparison but without the connecting language. Many times the comparisons are of unlike objects.

I am my own fictional character.
Telling stories about me
to myself, some true, some not
some best not repeated in mixed company.

And extended example:

Poseur

How truly graceful
Is my wandering thought
As I warm up to my desire
For this woman crawling
On hands and knees
Across the bed towards me

Breathing deep and sighing
I linger glances over curves
Defined by light and shadowed
Offering only nonchalance
In response to lascivious looks
And feline stretches

Eyes wicked and alive
Pin me helpless
Yet within the fire
Is a certain sense of humor
That finds this poseur
Just a trifle amusing

My non committal pose
Breaks down when I first
Sense her elusive scent
Into mindless twining
Of arms and legs and lips
Spilling tensions of desire

So why are these things so useful for the poet? Because, once again, the idea of poetry is to take something mundane and offer it up in a new and different image. The poet is looking to surprise the reader into thinking in a way not previously used.

Or to offer clarity of the poet’s vision. Making a comparison to a common object that offers a more compelling vision than just a simple description.

For example:

Without: She curled her fingers so that she could rake his face with her nails.

With: Her hands as claws, weapons with spikes, seeing a target in his laughing eyes.

But which one to use? Some writers prefer one to the other. The simile is often seen as less graceful and more wordy than the metaphor. This can be death in poetry, but there is an extensive body of work out there that includes similes as well. Let the words flow and see what comes out. If, in editing (yes, you must edit), you decide the simile is too wordy, then change it into a metaphor.

Punctuation

Use it or lose it. Punctuation in poetry is a case of consistency. If you are going to insert commas as breaks then you need to be consistent and add periods as well as any other punctuation marks required.

That is not to say that punctuation is one of those unbreakable rules. It is also acceptable to use line breaks to indicate breaks and transitions. Just be aware of what you are writing and how the line breaks interrupt the thought and the words.

The cool think is using line breaks, punctuation and stanzas (which will be covered later), the writer can create phrasing that creates multiple meanings depending on how the reader interprets the breaks.

Read this example through, first paying attention to the punctuation, then again ignoring the punctuation and using the line breaks and stanzas as thought separators. The general gist of the poem does not change, but the word changes subtly. That is a fun write:

she shattered her clocks
yesterday.
hoping time would stand still,
since he seemed further away

as time moved forward.
calls and words seemed
increasingly distant,
both time and emotion.

for her, this break,
traumatic;
for him, inevitable
as they seemed out of sync.

yesterday, time ran away
and she had no way to catch it.
today,
she bought new clocks.

she shattered her clocks
yesterday.
hoping time would stand still,
since he seemed further away

as time moved forward.
calls and words seemed
increasingly distant,
both time and emotion.

for her, this break,
traumatic;
for him, inevitable
as they seemed out of sync.

yesterday, time ran away
and she had no way to catch it.
today,
she bought new clocks.

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I really like this.

tickledkitty said:

I really like this.

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Thanks, kind of a new approach to time getting away from you.