Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Observation: Fodder For Poetry



It takes a lot of energy to write a poem–a good poem–and to go on through the seemingly complicated set of words, which becomes the draft to the revisions.

When you write a poem, take a moment to reflect. Take some time to call up the ordinary things you observe every day of your life. The common uninteresting things you choose to notice and stow away in your memory room have a knack for beating their paths to the edge of your consciousness just when you need them. This statement is especially true if you are fond of digging into your recollection for treasures every time you write. Pigs grow fat where lambs would starve.

Very few details are expendable in themselves. That said, I am not of the opinion that you have to short-circuit and peter out by overloading your internal RAM. That would be a very unpleasant tragedy.

“And the only thing more dangerous than not noticing is convincing yourself that everything you notice is interesting just because you noticed it.”
– Robert Wallace,
Writing Poems

Not the official NaPoWriMo 2013 Image
You don’t have to indulge in exotic adventures like ride a dolphin or make a trip to the sunken churches of Ethiopia to discover imagery to make your poems interesting. (Sometimes, you might have to. Wordsworth and Coleridge are noted for their travels and walks.) Many times, you don’t just have the time and energy to live it up in such unbridled escapade. Look around you might sound clichéd but it’s still open sesame when it comes down to the particulars of writing beautiful poetry.

“Assuming that things too close to your nose can’t be interesting is a kind of blindness hard to escape. Look at things.
– Robert Wallace,
Writing Poems

As NaPoWriMo 2013 (National Poetry Writing Month) comes knocking at your doors it’s difficult to ignore this indispensable tip. You will be amazed what you see.

Look at things!

Keep your pen bleeding!



Akpan






Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments:

Post a Comment

Feedbacks welcome and appreciated.

Free counters!