AVOIDING GRAMMARS TO MAKE AN INTERESTING POEMS

Approaching poetry from the perspective of how to write well can often be better accomplished by knowing what makes a poem truly horrible in the first place.

Like all young and sensitive women of my age group (old enough to appreciate Siouxsie and the Banshees, thank you), I grew up in an era where poetry was a bit old-fashioned for most of my peer group, but among a select elite, fairly de rigeur. And it wasn't knowing my Yeats from my Keats that really delivered the line between the good poets and the bad ones - in fact, I will confess it took me several years of adulthood to determine what made a poem 'good' or ' crap' in the first place.

Actually, being rather iconoclast in thinking, I determined the only way to really know if a poem was good, was to know why some poems were considered bad. This was how I came to learn the art of poetry, and it's worked fairly well for me ever since.

Grammar is your friend. Except when it aint.

There are rules, good rules mind you, that are intended to guide you along the path of how to write well. This writer means absolutely no disrespect to those aforementioned guidelines, and further encourages each and every one of you to herewith pick up a copy of 'Strunks' Elements of Style' and memorize it thoroughly - the man was a God.

But as far as the world of poetics goes? Toss it aside.

What makes a good poem 'not horrible' is it's ability to communicate a feeling, an emotion, a moment in time that defies all reasonable communication. When ee cummings penned,

new;and you

know consequently a

little stiff i was

careful of her and(having

I am certain quite that English majors of his time did not fancy this the best example of 'proper english usage'. But for the wonder that is the expression of the human soul, we have to dare to go a bit deeper, beyond the semantics of mere language.

We have to find a voice that is our own, in spite of the rules that tell us how to express it.

We have to learn what it is to hear who we are.

End Rhyme is not the Be-All, End-All of Poetics

Most poets starting out tend to think that poetry must rhyme, and subsequently craft their innermost dictums in a rather inappropriate, singsongy way, rendering them the equivalent of nursery rhymes. Let's use the example of a form of rhyme scheme such as

"Mary had a little lamb/her fleece was white as snow/and everywhere that Mary went/the lamb was sure to go"

Or, ABCB. The 'B's' representing the end rhymes of the 2nd and 4th verse. Yes, for the more serious poets among you there is also iambic trimeter and pentameter which do not serve to make the serious tone any better, but lets leave that for another lesson.

The trouble with using this sort of format for a poem about a more serious subject than lambs and the young girls that (ab)use them is that the meter itself tends to distract from the intent of the verse.

Understanding basic meter then is a must for any beginning poet. Knowing the difference between a trochee and pentameter is akin to learning the difference between salsa and meringue - the more you know about style and form, the better able you are to incorporate fancy footwork into your own creation.

Trite Cliches, or "Your Eyes Are As Blue As The Sea"

Another thing beginning poets tend to do is adopt overused metaphor in their prose thinking that comparison in some way is better than the telling itself. Another word for a metaphor or a simile that has lost its power is a 'cliche'. And cliche's are the kiss of death in poetry.

Metaphors and similes are ways of comparing your subject with something else in order to underscore your prose, and when well constructed can make a good poem great - when they are unique and original. When a metaphor becomes overused over time, the meaning gets lost completely. At one time in the history of verse, when the first poet compared his lovers' eyes to the lure and hue of the ever-deep waters, it was likely a breath rendering experience. When a phrase becomes adopted, used and abused over time, no matter how clever, it loses all meaning. It works against the very thing that you are trying to communicate, and therefore detracts, rather than adds, to the whole of the poem itself.

Solution: Have a focus other than a feeling. Consider one aspect - and only one - of the subject that you want to capture in a poem and then let that be your impetus in everything that you write around it. When poets use cliches, it tends to be due to a lack of direction rather than any lack of talent itself.

A fine online workshop that explores metaphor with an emphasis on constructing your own imaginative figures of speech can be found at Kalliope Workshop here.

A Few Final Do's:

• Do immerse yourself in poetry. Find poets that /really/ speak to you, and then immerse yourself in that poet. Study the feel of their verse. See if you can identify what types of meter they employ and ask yourself why it works. There are numerous poetry guides out there to employ as help if you need them.
• Do let the language of your voice be your own, even if it means starting out by writing prose in unstructured, free verse. When and if forced to choose between doing the Macarena to a rap song or simply dancing in your own rhythm, choose the latter and have fun with it.
• Do learn your own voice first and foremost, and let the influence of what you love be your guide.

The copyright of the article How to Not Write a Bad Poem in Poetry is owned by Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman.