 Poetry: February 01, 2023 Issue [#11791] |
This week: Form Over Function Edited by: Jeff  
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"Poetry is thoughts that breathe,
and words that burn."
-- Thomas Gray
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm the guest editor for this issue of the official Poetry Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 350 newsletters across the site during that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or the handy feedback field at the bottom of this newsletter! 
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Form Over Function
Whenever I write poetry, I find myself more often drawn to the limitations of form rather than the freedom of free verse. There's something about the challenge of trying to respond to a prompt, or convey a message with the structural limitations that a form presents. But have you ever had a writing situation where the form itself becomes the goal, more than what you're trying to convey with the poem itself?
Blitz poems are one of my favorite poetic forms. Created by Robert Keim, it starts with a short phrase and the second line starts with the same word. For the next pair of lines, they both have to start with the last word of the prior (second) line. For the next pair of lines, they both have to start with the last word of the prior (fourth) line. And you repeat that process for 48 lines. If you want to see this form in practice, I wrote "Don't @ Me" and "Months of Flames" and really enjoyed the process, but there was definitely a point where I was more concerned with following and fitting the rules of the prompt than I was with the exact language that I was using.
I find the same challenges in sonnets and other forms where you're not just limited by line count, but also syllable counts and meter. With haiku, there is a focus on the specific emphasis on certain words and syllables. For me, that's the fun part of poetry. It's a puzzle that needs to be solved. Much like writing to a prompt in a short story contest, it's a challenge to see how creative and original I can be within the confines of a box that I've put myself in.
There's something to be said for free verse and having the absolute unfettered ability to write whatever you want. To choose every single word and place it exactly where you want it to go. But as a puzzle lover, I enjoy trying to work within a set of limitations to solve a problem. Where I have to be careful, though, is when the form becomes the goal in and of itself, and I lose sight of what I want to say in favor of how it needs to be said.
I highly encourage everyone to try their hand at form poetry at least every now and again. There's nothing quite as satisfying as finding that perfect word that's also the exact number of syllables you need, or a turn of phrase that rhymes or fits the meter that you're looking for. Just make sure you're still focusing on what you want to say with your poem. Form should be an enhancement and a framework for what you want to say, not a substitute for it.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"New & Noteworthy Things" | "Blogocentric Formulations"
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