 Poetry: November 30, 2010 Issue [#4101] |
  Poetry
This week: Bring to Life a Story in Verse Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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"Here undoubtedly lies the chief poetic energy:
-in the force of imagination that pierces or exalts the solid fact,
instead of floating among cloud-pictures."
George Eliot
Poetry is the lyrical rendition of the rhythm of sight, sound, touch, taste; of living, seen through the eyes of a poet and consigned to paper and laptop and keyboard until it can be read aloud. Yes, all poetry needs to be read aloud, to savor the rhythm in the words, and revive the images the poet conscribed to the pages of a book or computer. And reading aloud, one hears the song in the wind, the trees, the stars, the heart and spirit of the singer and adds his/her solo to the chorus.
I am honored to be your guest host for this edition of the WDC Poetry Newsletter. I would like to take this opportunity to share my exploration of stories in verse ~ lyric, rhythmic, images and tales of events real, imagined or perceived.
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Greetings, fellow lyric wordsmiths.
I say 'wordsmiths' because poetry, the art of its vision and the craft of its expression, I think evolves from the crafting of words in recognizable lyric patterns. These patterns can be obvious or subtle, weaving a tapestry of words that tells a story in vivid lyric images.
Your story in verse can be historical or fictional, inciting or insightful, tragic or comedic, an epic or a snapshot. Your story in verse will have a precipitating event as well as a plot that flows through the spoken words with transition(s) and pacing to a believable resolution. Your listener will hear the words and see the story unfold.
The art of storytelling in verse is neither new nor archaic. Consider the epics of Homer, the lyrical odes of Medieval Minstrels, Shakespeare's Sonnets, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Epics and odes were historically a means of conveying news both momentous and trivial. The rhythm and pacing of the oral presentation could incite fervor or induce a sense of calm security. The minstrels and storytellers could regale their lordly host with lyric tales of heroism or trivialize those in power, yet unpopular, with subtle sarcasm and lyric wit. Or perhaps a sonnet weaves a surface image of pastoral calm before the volta reveals a visceral reality. Leaves of Grass I believe grew from the art of oral storytelling, with rhythm and internal rhyme schemes moving the story through transitions to its resolution.
Consider as well the shorter, vivid haiku and tanka. The lyric images convey in one breath a precipitating event (snapshot of an image) and a related resolution or statement. Or, consider the renga as a means of communicating among two or more speakers where one poses a subtle lyric question or statement and the next responds in kind.
Today we enjoy reading in prose stories of varied length, be they novels, novellas, short stories, flash, or ficlets. Each has a story arc with a precipitating event, plot and transition(s) and a resolution. Each is accepted as a means of telling a story factual or fictitious.
Likewise, stories in verse can be epic (in length and timeline) or brief yet full. They can be historical or whimsical, provocative or reflective, tragic or roll-on-the-floor comedic. And, regardless of their length, each also has the elements of a story, i.e., a precipitating event (or image), plot and resolution. More so than in prose, I think, each combination of words becomes a sensual vehicle for moving the story forward. By sensual I mean evoking sight or sound or taste or touch.
Meter is paramount in pacing of the story in verse. For example, if a battle ensues, or a storm (literal or metaphoric), iambs (da DUM da DUM da DUM) set a faster lyric pace. During a transition or to slow the pace, trochees (DUM da DUM da DUM da) would give the speaker/listener a breath to pause and reflect. Once you have the image in your mind, taste the words and see how they move the story forward, each couplet or stanza as a chapter perhaps, with a crafted transition in meter to shift focus. Note the reference to crafting. We are compelled by the art or poetry to write what we see, hear and imagine, and to craft it in lyric form for others to likewise see, hear, taste and feel.
Also consider the use of rhyming for its focus and transitioning. Yes, here come the traditional forms which provide recognizable patterns. Consider a couplet or stanza as a scene or chapter, with rhythm and rhyming schemes crafted to focus or distract, to incite or inspire, to excite or resolve. The sonnet (little song), for example, offers a compelling lyric pattern with its rhythmic pace, the rhyming couplets conversing, the stanzas completing, the volta transitioning to the vivid lyric resolution. And we know the sonnet is not static, in its varied permutations available to guide the poet's art with lyric craftsmanship.
Now, rhyming need not be end-rhyme only, but within lines to emphasize a moment in time or the genesis of an idea, or to effect a transition, or to connect facts of the plot. Consider alliteration and assonance, for example, two forms of repetition that serve to focus the ear by linking consonant and vowel sounds repectively. Can you hear the sibilant symphony as airborn arias alight with dawn's first light?
So whether brief or expanded your vehicle, consider crafting a lyric story in verse. And, while you ponder, I invite you to wander and read but a few of the stories crafted for your listening pleasure.
Note I say listening ~ as you hold fast the one fixed rule of poetry =
Read All Poetry Aloud
Until we next meet,
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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I'd like to share first some poems submitted in response to my quest, a month ago, for lyric verse in traditional patterns, either woven in traditional form or blended one with another modified ~ please take a few momentsto read aloud and share in the song with your comment or review
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These stories in verse ~ each as vers-atile ~ as the scribe who raises lyric voice in vivid recall - be it known, imagined, or believed ~ be it tragic or comedic, historic or reflective. Feel the rhythm, the weave of words as you read each aloud and, if you desire, engage the storyteller in reply (review).
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How about giving it a try ~ and perhaps share it here:
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Thank you for sharing this exploration with me ~ I invite you to read a few comments to my last guest appearance in early November and pay a visit as well to these creative members of our Community
From: njames
Kate - loved your newsletter of 11/3/10. Well written, certainly passionate about lyrical verse. Your poetic example by Jenkins gave me the chills - beautiful, a song complete and imaginative. I enjoy your passion; it inspires me.
Great job!
Thank you for for sharing as well your passion for the art and the craft of writing ~ Write On!
From: monty31802
Great newsletter Kate I enjoyed the way you presented the message. Thanks for the feature on the Traditional Contest.
Thank you for your constant encouragement and for providing a place where traditional poetry in its myriad forms flourishes.
From: Casey 
Who shared with us (above) her latest 'little song' sestina, 'Wilhelmina' ... Quite a challenge! My little song keeps evolving each day. I have found that you CAN change one of your 6 words throughout, but then you have radically changed the story, too. Whatever did they do in the Twelfth century without a computer?
What an intriguing premise ~ I suppose the scarcity of parchment made for a lot of mental wordplay - tasting the sound of words before dipping the quill in ink ~ and you couldn't erase either, so did the story evolve with intent or happenstance ~ point to ponder in verse perhaps ~ Write On!
From: CandyStaiNeCane 
One true fear. Poetry forms. I will honestly try, horror sung would be beautifully gothic. Great newsletter Kate!
Greetings, thanks for writing with your encouragement ~ yes, lyric horror ~ I look forward to reading your visceral verse Write On!
From: 🌖 HuntersMoon 
Hiya Kate - Great newsletter. I love the challenge of the Villanelle - how can you make the repetition not seem ... repetitive . It really is a form that challenges the poet to see his/her words in many different ways. Keep up the great (and informative) work.
Ken
Thank you for writing ~ and for calling to mind the fun part of the Villanelle's challenge ~ seeing a word in multiple guises we design ~ Fun!
Until we next meet,
may your lyric journey bring you joy
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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