Karen Greenbaum-Maya: Technique
I’m giving up, since, sad to tell,
I cannot write a villanelle,
Can’t ring those changes, line to line,
Inevitably, like a bell.
The mastery that would be mine,
If I could write what profs assign!
Initial couplet is the key
Alas, that’s where I do not shine.
A couplet, witty as may be,
And scanning, rhyming readily
Is what’s required and there I stick.
My couplets clunk. They are not free.
To suit the form, the words must click
And sound unforced, tock follow tick
Without an effort, subtly swing
Though each line should conceal its trick.
So many words that rhyme with sing –
But how to find the one with zing?
I’m locked outside the magic ring
In which the bard can be crowned king!
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D. A. Prince: How To Make An Impact
The lean and hungry look
is de rigeur,
achieved by penitential style
and much froideur;
a lentil and some milk-free tea
will quite suffice,
followed by guilt-free plain ice-cream
(no cream, just ice);
a rudimentary sackcloth shift
devoid of fashion
will see off hypothermia
and stir no passion;
and poets will remember less is more
and strip their work of simile and metaphor.
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Steve Bremner: The Maugham Trilogy
"There are three rules for writing the novel.
Unfortunately, no one knows what they are".
– W. Somerset Maugham
Rule One is known, and thrown at us ad nauseam:
Write only what you know about first hand.
"Au fait with Ancient Egypt? But of course I am!".
(Well, Bridlington's a bit like Pharaoh-land).
Rule Two is likewise preached ad infinitum:
Shun the worst forms of literary crud
As no-one wants to read 'em if you write 'em.
Autobiography, thy name is mud.
So should I write of Me – but not Myself –
For ninety or a hundred thou, (Oh, brother!),
And put another hardback on the shelf
Whose pulp was some fir's child, some sapling's mother?
I hereby modestly propose Rule Three:
Write verse instead. Short, sweet, and spares that tree.
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Daniel Galef: Even More Kilm
The oldest tree in the world, a bristlecone
pine in California, is about as old as the
oldest poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.
—Michael Robbins (tweet)
What baffling longevity:
An ancient poem, an ancient tree.
Though ars is long, a branch is longa;
Though oak is strong, an ode is stronga.
For trees live on regardless of
The scholar’s scorn, the critic’s love,
But poems, on page-leaves pressed and tinted,
On toppled trees are bound and printed.
I think that I shall never see
Such luck, immortal lottery:
If I should plant a sapling now,
It would be felled before its bough
First flowered in the flush of spring,
And I’m quite sure that anything
I write or publish here today
Before too long shall pass away,
Beneath the leaves of yesteryear,
Where snow-white pages tear (and tear)
And rest, unread, and fold, and knot,
And twist together, seethe, and rot
Into a mulch of metaphor
And half-remembered lines of lore
Which stew in history’s compost bin
Until you toss an acorn in,
And all that ripe linguistic loam
Becomes some sapling poet’s home.
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Rumi Morkin: How To Write Good Rhyming Verse
Before this list gets underway
my best advice to you? I say:
be born with this inherent gift,
but if you're not, fame can be swift:
by acting on the tips below
you'll soon have all you need to know.
Read works by many poets blessed
with talent, they will aid your quest
to reach for greatness. Old and new,
their poems will provide for you
a fountainhead of inspiration
tempting you to emulation.
Set down a word or thought that comes,
idea or phrase and even crumbs:
look at the world with different eyes,
rejoice, lament or fantasize;
choose every word with special care
to form a pleasant rhyming pair.
Avoid trite phrases, clichés, slang,
leave no participles that hang.
"Crutch" words (redundant) – cut them out
wherever you may see them sprout!
Those "padding" words, like "the, now, and"
must be rejected out of hand.
Imagination, fresh ideas,
eliminate frustrated tears.
Find helpful aids and you will gain
relief for pressure on your brain.
Thesaurus, Morfix, Poet's Guide –
feel free to use – they're on your side!
Do not repeat the same word twice,
a synonym's a good device.
If looking for a rhyming word
to end a line – don't be deterred:
one of the best and quickest ways:
re-write the line, in fact, re-phrase.
But if you use contorted form
that goes against a graceful norm
constructed with the end in mind,
all grammar lost, when you must find
a word that rhymes well at the end –
do not consider me your friend!
Choose words that tell the readers what
you have in mind, your subject, plot,
enabling them to understand
your focus and direction planned.
Use language suited to the theme:
no swear words in " The Mermaid's Dream."
When you are sure you've reached the end,
your poem finished, now to spend
some time recovering, at rest
for having done your very best,
wait – now comes polishing this rhyme
or editors will waste their time.
If countless lines of every sort
refuse to scan the way they ought
and disappointment starts to swell
despite these tips – it doesn't gel?
The Muse appears completely dead?
Go off and learn Mahjong instead!
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Siri Espy: Elegy For A Poem
I sat down to write a poem
sat down and took the time
it moved along so brilliantly
the rhythm and the rhyme
I expected great success
at challenges I’d scoff
but then with zero notice
my poem wandered off
I expected it to come right back
just taking a short break
but I waited and I waited
it was more than I could take
I wrung my hands, I gnashed my teeth
and moaned in great despair
I searched for many hours
but my poem wasn't there
It would have brought me fortune
catapulted me to fame
without my awesome masterpiece
the world won’t know my name
I honor my creation
and mourn it to this day
I always will remember
the poem that got away
