What's your poetic....thing?

[teknight]

I've started off in this sub-Forum with a bang. Apparently I can't communicate well (and the past 24 hours or so, as well as current RL outside of Lit*)...Good thing I can come up with witty rhymes**
So, by way of apology (for all the toes I've smashed to a fine powder by this point) and introduction (let bygones be bygones? ), let me ask you this:

What's your poetic muse? Why do you write? How do you write? Free-verse? Iambic pentameter? Friambic pentaverse?

So as not to re-post, I'll just leave this as my introduction.


*at least, I think there exists life outside of Life...
**or so I think

 

[Angeline]

I've started off in this sub-Forum with a bang. Apparently I can't communicate well (and the past 24 hours or so, as well as current RL outside of Lit*)...Good thing I can come up with witty rhymes**
So, by way of apology (for all the toes I've smashed to a fine powder by this point) and introduction (let bygones be bygones? ), let me ask you this:

What's your poetic muse? Why do you write? How do you write? Free-verse? Iambic pentameter? Friambic pentaverse?

So as not to re-post, I'll just leave this as my introduction.


*at least, I think there exists life outside of Life...
**or so I think

Hi and welcome to the forum. Your user name looks familiar to me though you have a recent join date. Have you been here before?

Don't worry about stepping on toes; everyone here does sometimes. Most are pretty thick-skinned and if they're not, well, they should be!

I like to write form poetry, not so much because I enjoy writing in forms (which can be effing difficult to do), but because I think it's good practice in how to put lines of words together. Imho my best poems are free verse, but informed by rhyme or repetition or other tricks I've learned from writing sonnets and terzanelles and so on.

My muse is life, things that I've seen or experienced as it is way easier to write about what I know than to speculate. And I like to be specific and not use too much abstract language--metaphor is important, but so is clarity.

I love most kinds of music and find that listening to it, especially jazz or classical, while I'm actually writing makes my poems more creative and rhythmic. Sometimes I try to communicate the sound of specific music with my word choices and line breaks. That fascinates me, and I think it can be done, that readers can "hear" a certain rhythm or even melody when they read. Overall if I can tickle readers' sense memories with my writing, I think I've written good poetry.

I've been around this forum a lonnng time, over eight years which is like ancient for online. I take breaks and I leave but I always come back because there are many good writers here, and new good writers show up frequently. I can get some decent feedback on my poems, and I learn and am inspired by others' poems. And it's free! Yay Laurel and Manu!

Good luck and keep writing.

PS I hate the whole voting thing at Lit and only care about verbal feedback, not ratings. The less I obsess about my standing, the more I can focus on the things I want to write.

 

[butters]

me toes are just fine, thanks. but good move with the fresh start!

okies - you picked a topic most of us enjoy talking about, so you should get quite a few replies i hope

my greatest muse is Nature, but a beautiful word, a turn of phrase, an image, a tv documentary ... almost anything might set me off.

i write them as they come, they take whatever form seems right for them at the moment. unless i'm writing for a challenge, and then i have to think about technicalities i do find iambic pentameter crops up quite often in my slightly older, longer writes, and sound plays a major part in the formation of most of my stuff.


enjoy your stay here and welcome to the forum.
*ignores the 'sub' forum appellation but raises an eyebrow ever so slightly*

 

[teknight]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Your user name looks familiar to me though you have a recent join date. Have you been here before?

This would be the first me on here. I've only joined Lit once, about a month ago or so.
Terzanelle? Got to look that up now. Silly serious poets!

Overall if I can tickle readers' sense memories with my writing, I think I've written good poetry.

Good luck and keep writing.

PS I hate the whole voting thing at Lit and only care about verbal feedback, not ratings. The less I obsess about my standing, the more I can focus on the things I want to write.

You hate (biased) numbers? *glares* OK.

 

[teknight]

me toes are just fine, thanks. but good move with the fresh start!

Yeah, figured you couldn't take my extra dry snarkiness, so I decided to go easy on you. hehe

enjoy your stay here and welcome to the forum.
*ignores the 'sub' forum appellation but raises an eyebrow ever so slightly*

Are you saying the poetry forum is not a subdomain if not its own subculture on Lit?
*raise each eyebrow in sequence*

back!

 

[butters]

Yeah, figured you couldn't take my extra dry snarkiness, so I decided to go easy on you. hehe

Are you saying the poetry forum is not a subdomain if not its own subculture on Lit?
*raise each eyebrow in sequence*

back!

gee. thanks. lol

i ain't sayin nuttin', but i'll have you know we regard this forum as a thing of ... beauty! yes, that's it, beauty! no subbiness about it at all.



i am a cactus. see me flower.

 

[teknight]

gee. thanks. lol

i ain't sayin nuttin', but i'll have you know we regard this forum as a thing of ... beauty! yes, that's it, beauty! no subbiness about it at all.



i am a cactus. see me flower.

I wasn't implying inferiority....I was going for "geographic" accuracy

And heck no, I won't wait for the cactus to flower. It could be years!

 

[butters]

I wasn't implying inferiority....I was going for "geographic" accuracy

And heck no, I won't wait for the cactus to flower. It could be years!

don't you be waving that stuff my way. i'll stick to geopoetry.

the impetuosity of youth

 

[greenmountaineer]

I've started off in this sub-Forum with a bang. Apparently I can't communicate well (and the past 24 hours or so, as well as current RL outside of Lit*)...Good thing I can come up with witty rhymes**
So, by way of apology (for all the toes I've smashed to a fine powder by this point) and introduction (let bygones be bygones? ), let me ask you this:

What's your poetic muse? Why do you write? How do you write? Free-verse? Iambic pentameter? Friambic pentaverse?

So as not to re-post, I'll just leave this as my introduction.

*at least, I think there exists life outside of Life...
**or so I think

My muses are the sensual and the spiritual and whenever possible mixing the two. I'm not sure I'll ever know why I write poetry. I started in 3rd grade, didn't know why I did then, still don't, and don't much care to think about it. I supposed free verse would be the answer to your 3rd question. Rhythm with all that it implies and sentence structure are the two most important considerations I give when constructing a poem and, of course, theme (sensuality and/or spirituality).

I liked this.

 

[teknight]

My muses are the sensual and the spiritual and whenever possible mixing the two. I'm not sure I'll ever know why I write poetry. I started in 3rd grade, didn't know why I did then, still don't, and don't much care to think about it. I supposed free verse would be the answer to your 3rd question. Rhythm with all that it implies and sentence structure are the two most important considerations I give when constructing a poem and, of course, theme (sensuality and/or spirituality).

I liked this.

Admittedly- I'm kinda cheating with the question of "why you write":
In HS I had a really messed up literature professor- he was basically teaching us on a college level, but never had any structure to his lessons (or his life...which may account why he died of alcoholism last week. May he rest in peace). But, he did challenge me and I learned a lot about semiotics especially...but I never did get why people wrote the horrible, boring, dumb novels I had to read for school (Romanian literature, so, chances are, you've not heard of them).

I wonder if I'd enjoy reading them more now?

 

[nerk]

writing poetry relaxes me and helps me sharpen my eye and tighten my language. I do not so much think of myself as a real poet, as a writer of prose who uses poetry sort of meditatively. Focusing on language so intently helps me to clear my head.

 

[teknight]

writing poetry relaxes me and helps me sharpen my eye and tighten my language. I do not so much think of myself as a real poet, as a writer of prose who uses poetry sort of meditatively. Focusing on language so intently helps me to clear my head.

I like that. A very utilitarian answer...Not sure that the poems are that cathartic for me.

But I must ask: why is you AV giving me a dirty look?!

 

[nerk]

I like that. A very utilitarian answer...Not sure that the poems are that cathartic for me.

But I must ask: why is you AV giving me a dirty look?!

Your AV has giant white pupils. It freaks my AV out.

 

[butters]

Admittedly- I'm kinda cheating with the question of "why you write":
In HS I had a really messed up literature professor- he was basically teaching us on a college level, but never had any structure to his lessons (or his life...which may account why he died of alcoholism last week. May he rest in peace). But, he did challenge me and I learned a lot about semiotics especially...but I never did get why people wrote the horrible, boring, dumb novels I had to read for school (Romanian literature, so, chances are, you've not heard of them).

I wonder if I'd enjoy reading them more now?

a lot of the stuff we had to read in school was boring and/or onerous simply because of that. i have read several of those again as an adult, and found far more pleasure the second time around. reading because we have to rather than for fun? no contest.

 

[teknight]

a lot of the stuff we had to read in school was boring and/or onerous simply because of that. i have read several of those again as an adult, and found far more pleasure the second time around. reading because we have to rather than for fun? no contest.

I hear you...but those were some crappy books with dead end characters

 

[butters]

a] you can't win them all
b] personal taste
c] meh


take your pick from the above options

 

[teknight]

a] you can't win them all
b] personal taste
c] meh


take your pick from the above options

d) booze might improve them.
It seemed to work for the teacher.....

 

[butters]

d) booze might improve them.
It seemed to work for the teacher.....

booze improves a lot of books. and poems.

 

[teknight]

booze improves a lot of books. and poems.

Yeah...but is the creation process improved, or the reception? And if the latter, can I dunk my cell phone in vodka?*


*Yes, that was random. It's how my mind works (not).

 

[butters]

Yeah...but is the creation process improved, or the reception? And if the latter, can I dunk my cell phone in vodka?*


*Yes, that was random. It's how my mind works (not).

alcohol alters the abilities - moves the goalposts - dulls certain senses and sensibilities

some alcohol-fueled writings have been lauded, just like any other drug-inspired writings have been. but these are by people who've written way above the mainstream anyway. for most, i'd guess it erodes rather than enhances. drink just makes me sleepy, so neither my reception nor creative abilities benefit in any way.

 

[champagne1982]

I hear you...but those were some crappy books with dead end characters

Perhaps they were included in the curriculum to illustrate crappy books with dead end characters. Isn't it better to find a wonderful lesson rather than bemoaning hours you'll never get back, since that behaviour wastes time and dampens creative thought.

I write when I come across a worthy subject. I find a way to describe as many aspects of my subject without naming it. That sort of process allows me to discover what form (if any) may fit, what mood I wish to create and who my audience will be. That way, I figure I've done my fair share in entertaining/teaching/examining the reader and I feel good about releasing my ownership to the world. My life and that around me is my muse, primarily it's my wonderful relationship with family and friends that inspires.

I read a lot.

 

[teknight]

Perhaps they were included in the curriculum to illustrate crappy books with dead end characters. Isn't it better to find a wonderful lesson rather than bemoaning hours you'll never get back, since that behaviour wastes time and dampens creative thought.

You're a more cheerful spirit than me....and I'm not going to lie and claim that I'm a prisoner to my creative spirit. I just get urges. Should I try to hone them? Maybe.
Will HS lit help? Of course- it taught me semiotics and about abstract poetry.

I find a way to describe as many aspects of my subject without naming it[/B]. That sort of process allows me to discover what form (if any) may fit, what mood I wish to create and who my audience will be. That way, I figure I've done my fair share in entertaining/teaching/examining the reader and I feel good about releasing my ownership to the world. My life and that around me is my muse, primarily it's my wonderful relationship with family and friends that inspires.

That's awesome. Would like to practice some of that beating around the bush. (no, there's no sarcasm in the previous statement, in case you're wondering)

How do you examine your reader in a poem?

 

[champagne1982]

How do you examine your reader in a poem?

You caught a typo... or a misaligned thought.. I meant examining my subject or theme with the reader.

 

[teknight]

You caught a typo... or a misaligned thought.. I meant examining my subject or theme with the reader.

Ok, kewl! That does make more sense.

 

[EroticOrogeny]

a lot of the stuff we had to read in school was boring and/or onerous simply because of that. i have read several of those again as an adult, and found far more pleasure the second time around. reading because we have to rather than for fun? no contest.

For me it wasn't so much the required reading, but those situations which required memorization.
I remember having to memorize and recite a couple of poems in grade school.
I detest meaningless memorization - that's why I switched from chemistry to physics.