Working with descriptive paragraphs raises the immediate
possibility of rendering writing that works as prose into poetry, which is another use of
language. The questions the poet must
ask at this point begins with this one: how can I change this descriptive
language into a poetic thing, a poetic-art object?
To do this, the poet must
ask other questions of her material:
What are the values I am working with?
[Think of "values" in terms of language and form, please, not in terms of morals or life principles. Being able to explain these "values" completely is not expected.] What can I keep and what can I eliminate?
For class on
Tuesday, February 3), reconstruct your descriptive paragraph as a poem. Follow the directions below:
1. Break
you description into lines. Figure out your reasons (for line breaks) as you
go. [These don't have to be noted anywhere, but you may be asked to give reasons.]
2. If
necessary, break the lines into stanzas. If you use stanzas, try to achieve visual and/or musical uniformity so that the stanzas look and feel as if they are "obeying" the same directions or impulses.
3. Rearrange
lines or images or details if it aids the
poem.
4. Cut
words ( a lot of words, perhaps)
5. Add
words if those words add concrete
information. You may want to replace vague,
abstract, general, inexact words with more specific alternatives. The objective
of adding is to aid concrete description rather than to make the poem longer.
6. You
are not required, nor necessarily expected to retain correct grammar. Notwithstanding, your poem should achieve
"sentence sense."
7. Eliminate "I" references unless I has a necessary, active role in the description. If "I" is primarily a static talker (i.e., simply a "voice"), try to eliminate the "I" references.
8. Do
not create expository meaning for your poem.
Allow the poem to develop and carry descriptive meaning.
