Poetry Structure & Creativity - Writers Forum

Zaibatsu · 01-26-2005, 04:10 PM

Hi,

I have always had a thing for being able to do lyrics for bands, rhyming isnt a problem. However, Im finding poetry much harder than making a song. mostly because of the fact that with music your drums are your rhythm (as well as bass) and the guitar is the texture that smooths out the feel and mood and the lyric is the message. When doing poetry, I am starting to understand that you need to be able to do all the above with the use of very expressive and clever use of vocabulary. Im struggling to combine good structure, language, and message into a poem. Whenever I try its like three or four cars colliding into each other and none of them want to take thier foot off the gas...its laboured and going nowhere. Please can someone help me.

au revoir mes petits singes
Kazuya Mishima

statue · 01-26-2005, 06:35 PM

Hey we ain't monkeys

Especially small ones!

But, yah, I know what you feel, I am currently trying to understand W.H. Auden's "In Memory of W.B. Yeats" and I'm about to tear my hair out. I'd be happy with a four way collision if it could knock some mental block out of me.

Things usually do not inspire structure,I find that it is a determined mind that slowly has the strength to stand up to on-coming colllisions, and well enough to stop them in their attempts to cause destruction.

Inspiration will come, heck it might even get a chance to stop over into my brain after it's finished with you!

Dooga Aetrus Blackrazor · 01-26-2005, 07:20 PM

It takes practice. I'm horrible at poetry, but I know I can get better by building my vocabulary.

Once you get practice working with structure and other poetic devices, alot of importance should be placed on increasing your vocabulary.

mammamaia · 01-27-2005, 10:00 AM

zaibatsu...
as well as being a lyricist and poet [etc.] myself, i mentor a lot of aspiring/budding poets and will be glad to give you a hand if you want some one-on-one help...

you can see the variety of form and style i indulge in myself, in the 'philosetry' section of my website...

love and hugs, maia
maia3maia@hotmail.com

salvothasock · 01-28-2005, 11:01 PM

from my own personal experiences, and what ive been reading, combined ill say that writing poetry isnt easy. you have to have a real passion for it, and be persistant too. i read somewhere... you want to write poetry and want to write it well and have it structured, then just start writing anything down. do this every day. a couple hours a couple minutes whatever. you will mature in your writings and say, out of every twenty or thirty, ten? every ten poems you write, youll like one sentence. one will seem to convey what you are striving for. its different for everyone. personally, i just enjoy writing it, i didnt say, 'i want to be a poet' not at first. i tried writing screenplays. i had a nonsense style to my writings, jumpy but the point is, poetry chose me. i always thought it was as the young kids say 'gay' i love it now! hehe, oh and i like girls with big boobies. hope this helped!