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Poetry: September 21, 2005 Issue [#623]

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Poetry


 This week:
  Edited by: John~Ashen Author IconMail Icon
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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! It comes in all styles and meanings. Some poems express personal feelings; others demonstrate a particular pattern. Most of us write some combination in between. I'll be offering advice on different styles and pointing out techniques to improve your poems. Enjoy *Delight* --John~Ashen Author Icon


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Nonce Poetry Forms

         A week ago, someone reviewing my poem ("Invalid ItemOpen in new Window. ) left this questioning comment: "Is this a nonce form? If it is, it's well done. I like the way this form looks on the monitor--it looks nice and clean."

         Nonce form? I had never heard of that before! Off to the dictionary and Google I went. As it turns out, "nonce" comes from the medieval expression for the nonce, meaning "for the one time." Thus a nonce word is a word used for a special circumstance only. Similarly, a nonce poetry form is one created for one unique occasion.

         Indeed, I did use a special and definite style in my poem. It's AABB rhyme scheme, with the middle two lines of each stanza twice as long as the outer lines. Also, the middle two lines share a starting word. Then, as a bonus, all the "short" lines can be pulled out to create a prose paragraph. How's that for unique? It came to me while I was writing the poem, but I forgot all about it once I was done. That is, until some smart reviewer pointed out the technical term for doing that! Ahhh, the satisfaction of learning something new. Thank you, dear reader.

         Nonce forms cannot be just anything you write. It's not free verse! The poetry must have a distinctive form, meter, and scheme. If you've ever entered a "create your own form" contest, you have created a nonce form.

         One interesting thing to note is that all forms were once nonce. A long time ago, someone decided to write 14-line poems with a measured meter and predetermined rhyme scheme. After enough people copied the style, poof!, the sonnet became a popular form, no longer nonce. Same thing for haiku, limerick, and any other standard form of poetry.

         Therefore, don't be afraid to experiment with newly-invented poetry forms. They're nonce today, but they just might be the popular form of the future. *Smile*


Editor's Picks

Some interesting one-time formats :
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by A Guest Visitor
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by A Guest Visitor
 Together As One Open in new Window. [E]
Two parallel thoughts, wishing to become one. Experimental structure.
by Isiliel Author Icon
 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor
 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor


A contest for flexing your format muscles :
 Monthly Poetry Form and Prompt Contest Open in new Window. [18+]
Two contests in one!!! A new form of poetry every month. Round 9: The Pleiades
by Bekah Aura Author Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

I.M.Darkchild Author Icon comments: To punctuate or not to punctuate? Fabulous question....as to the response stating that we have been 'brainwashed' into applying structure and rule to a free form, I would be guilty as charged. I had not put the question to my mind until I read it here, and I would have to say that is likely true for many including myself. So lighten up and enjoy the freedom poetry is and allows!

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