New Era

Welcome to Poetry - the Olympic games of creative writing. For some, poetry can be a very intimidating craft. Predominantly we are introduced to preset rules and forms of poetry, e.g. rhyme, haiku, tanka or cinquain and then pushed to try and dissect the words and forced to write like historic poets, for instance Shakespeare.

There is nothing wrong with knowing the rules and writing like the experts, but I believe the best way to get someone to love something is not just to introduce them to the experts but also to help them discover what's within themselves. Thus the first step to becoming a fine poet is to become inspired rather than formulaic.

If poetry is high-quality verse written in a tight and condensed manner, literary works of great beauty, emotional sincerity or intensity or profound insight, then it is safe to say that it should be an intense expression of the writer's feelings. These are feelings that come from the heart and go to the heart of the reader. But sometimes, for the first time writer, this process becomes too tricky to achieve through rules and formula. I therefore encourage new poets to start off with writing free verse poetry because it provides the freedom to experiment with size, language and content. And within these circles you are allowed to play with words and images to create your own rhythms and patterns.

However, it is important to understand that poetry is often created from the need to escape the logic. In fact any poem that can be completely understood or paraphrased within the first read is not necessarily a poem, but can be regarded as prose. Before we go into a deeper understanding of prose and poetry I first want to encourage you to write freely. The first step is to uncover your voice: write about things that matter to you, about something or someone special. From the moment you open your eyes until you go to sleep, something always happens. The world and all its creatures cry to have their voices heard through you. Remember poetry does not need to rhyme or be a certain length. Let the poem do what it wants.

If you've written before, take out some of your work and read through it again. See if you can identify colourful words, similes, metaphors and personification. Someone once said that a poem should burn your fingers and not just tell you not to play with fire. Ask yourself does the poem create pictures in the reader's mind? Your aim is to create sensation rather than a simple understanding?

Every person has the potential to become a poet! In fact I believe that everybody should be encouraged to read and write poetry because it is a valuable skill that not only helps with language development, but also helps to understand the self and the environment within which we live. With so much that's happening in the world today, we all need some peaceful form of outlet to express our innermost feelings - especially to keep us from going crazy.

Do not start writing poetry for the wrong reasons: very few poets actually make money with poetry. With hard work and diligence some are lucky to win scholarships, competitions, get published or get paid to perform their work. But that's only a few lucky ones and they too know that chance comes from a deeper understanding and practice of poetry.

Keep reading this column and you'll not only learn to paint beautiful pictures with words or improve your own poetry, especially those that you keep in the closet, but you'll learn to add quality to your language and hopefully find new ways to liberate your heart and express your innermost feelings, or if you like, win someone's heart.

Poetry Dictionary

Cinquain: This is an American invention with twenty-two syllables in five lines/stanzas, e.g. (2, 4, 6, 8, 2).
Free verse: This is poetry that does not necessarily have rhymes or meter. In free verse, your lines can be as long as you want, and they do not have to follow any type of pattern.

Haiku: This form of poetry first appeared in Japan. It describes a natural object or scene in exactly 17 syllables. The poem is usually laid out in three lines/stanzas of (5, 7, & 5 syllables)

Metaphors: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is used to describe or qualify another with which it is not normally associated so as to imply a comparison.

Personification: Representation as a person

Prose: Literature not written in verse. It is the unmetrical language of ordinary speech and writing.

Rhyme: A word or syllable, which corresponds in sound to another, either two or more lines.

Simile: A figure of speech in which, for the sake of illustration, emphasis or beauty of effect. One thing is compared with another.

Syllable: A speech sound or group of speech sounds consisting of a single vowel. Words are usually made out of syllables. The words syllable has three syllables, e.g. (sy - lla - ble) and when you say words out loud you'll hear that some syllables are long and some are short.

Tanka: This is another form of Japanese poetry. It has thirty-one syllables arranged in five lines/stanzas e.g. (5, 7, 5, 7, & 7).

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