\"Writing.Com
*Magnify*
SPONSORED LINKS
Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/1612-.html
Poetry: March 21, 2007 Issue [#1612]

Newsletter Header
Poetry


 This week:
  Edited by: Red Writing Hood <3 Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter



Poetry should please by a fine excess and not by singularity. It should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost as a remembrance.


John Keats (1795 - 1821)

Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting with the gift of speech.

Simonides (556 BC - 468 BC)



Word from our sponsor

ASIN: B083RZJVJ8
Product Type:
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available.


Letter from the editor



Alphabet Soup – Alphabet Poetry Form Variations



A – B – C – D – E – F – G ~ gee, are these poetry form variations easy – or only deceptively simple?


The simplest variation of alphabet poetry consists of creating a twenty-six line poem using the alphabet, with lines beginning with consecutive letters of the alphabet from A to Z. If you decide to live a bit more dangerously, you could write a twenty-six line poem and begin your lines from Z to A.

This is a contemporary offshoot of the Abecedarian form. Originally it was created in Hebrew and had a stricter form made up of one hundred seventy-six lines grouped into eight-line stanzas. The Abecedarian was considered sacred – some Abecedarians even made the biblical cut.

If you’d like more of a challenge, try creating a twenty-six word poem – using the alphabet (in order, either A – Z or Z – A) as each word’s beginning letter. The challenge here is to create something coherent.

Another version would be to only use vowels (in order, either frontward or backwards) as your beginning letters of each line.

An additional variation would be to create a poem (with any line count desired) using a single common letter to begin each line. For example, if your first line begins with the letter “B,” then every line after must begin with the letter “B.”

For a blending of this variation and an acrostic poem, you could have each stanza’s lines have the same unique beginning letter, but then the stanzas would spell out something. For example (showing only the beginning letter formation):

A…
A…
A…

L…
L…
L…

I…
I…
I…

V…
V…
V…

E…
E…
E…

Finally, my favorite version is the one where you take a letter of the alphabet and study it. What does it remind you of? Does an “o” make you think of a perfect pearl plucked from the sea? Perhaps you take the point of view of a mugging victim and that “o” is all they can see – even long after the crime.


To answer the question posed at the beginning: Are these poetry form variations easy – or are they only deceptively simple? The answer is both yes and no. The forms are relatively simple, but the challenge, as always, is to create density (layers of meaning) with each word and with each line.


88888888888A new sig888888888888


Editor's Picks


Theme: Some of my favorite entries (in no particular order) to the Quotation Inspiration contest. It was a difficult contest to judge - job well done to everyone! *Delight*

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 I Love You Open in new Window. [E]
Words of encouragement.
by coffeeholic Author Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

DEEPLY LOVED Open in new Window. [E]
To love someone deeply gives you strength.
by SHERRI GIBSON Author Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor




 
Submit an item for consideration in this newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form

Word from Writing.Com

Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
         https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form

Don't forget to support our sponsor!



Ask & Answer



Gotta question, answer, problem, solution, tip, trick, cheer, jeer, or extra million lying around?

If so, send it through the feedback section at the bottom of this newsletter OR click the little envelope next to my name Red Writing Hood <3 Author IconMail Icon and send it through email.




*Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet* Don't Be Shy! Write Into This Newsletter! *Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet*

This form allows you to submit an item on Writing.Com and feedback, comments or questions to the Writing.Com Newsletter Editors. In some cases, due to the volume of submissions we receive, please understand that all feedback and submissions may not be responded to or listed in a newsletter. Thank you, in advance, for any feedback you can provide!
Writing.Com Item ID To Highlight (Optional):

Send a comment or question to the editor!
Limited to 2,500 characters.
Word from our sponsor
ASIN: B083RZ2C5F
Product Type:
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available.

Removal Instructions

To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.


Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/1612-.html