Poetry: May 09, 2018 Issue [#8887]
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Poetry


 This week: Visual or Spatial Verse: Part Five
  Edited by: Red Writing Hood <3 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 is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words."
Robert Frost




All slang is metaphor, and all metaphor is poetry.

G.K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936)





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Letter from the editor




Visual or Spatial Verse: Formatting Poetry to Create Added Depth, Part Five: Spiritual Forms



No matter how you format your poetry it creates a visual by the way you choose things like line lengths, syntax, punctuation, fonts, poem length, stanzas, etc. All these choices and more create a visual; however what I will explore in the next few months is the genre of shaped verse that creates a particular visual for the reader—meshing art and the written word. Today I will share some forms that are reminiscent of the spiritual.

We are winding down this series, and in the final part I’d like to share the spatial forms created by WDC members. Please send me the name you gave your created shape form and details on creating it like alignment (center, left, right), meter, rhyme, etc.



Altar Verse


Altar shaped poems have been around for hundreds of years.



MUST HAVES


--Must use words to create a shape. In this case, the shape is an altar. However, altars can vary in shape, and which one you pick is up to you.

--Topic/theme: This should somehow be tied to an altar.

--Alignment: Usually center aligned.



COULD HAVES or WHAT IS THE POET’S CHOICE IN ALL THIS?


--Line count.

--Word count.

--Meter.

--Number of stanzas.

--Rhyme.




The Joybell



MUST HAVES


--Alignment: Centered.

--Line count: 6

--Meter: Syllabic, and in the following order: 1, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4

--Number of stanzas 1, unless it’s a chain.

--Rhyme: Unrhymed.


COULD HAVES or WHAT IS THE POET’S CHOICE IN ALL THIS?


--Topic/Theme.



Tree of Life


The Tree of Life was the brain child of Christina R Jussaume and was created within the last fifteen years.


MUST HAVES


--Number of stanzas: 1

--Number of lines: 19

--Rhyme: Unrhymed.

--Alignment: center.

--Meter: syllabic, and in the following order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4.


COULD HAVES or WHAT IS THE POET’S CHOICE IN ALL THIS?


--Topic/theme is your choice, but should be about something in nature, something spiritual or something uplifting.



NOTE TO REMEMBER: One of the biggest pitfalls I see with this type of formatting is a great urge to create a visual that somehow this becomes the driving force and the poem suffers for it. Either the careful word choice is scrapped to make sure the specific shape is adhered to, or the use of metaphor and simile and other tools to create a depth of meaning are lacking because the focus was all about the shape. As in anything in life, the key is balance. Remember, you are creating a poem. Don’t let the formatting take over. Instead let it enhance and entrance the reader.



SOURCE NOTES:


Berg, V. J. (1977). Pathways for the poet: Poetry patterns explained and illustrated. Milford, MI: Mott Media.

http://the.a.b.c.of.poetry.styles.patthepoet.com/T2Z.html



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Editor's Picks



Theme: Poems about trees of life (some shaped, just not in the format listed in the article above), altars and bells (and one just mentions dumbbell, but I really liked it so I included it, too).

 The Tree of Life Open in new Window. [E]
A Shaped Poem
by Prosperous Snow celebrating Author Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

 
The Tree Of Life Open in new Window. [13+]
Poetry about a hunted witch
by Marnie Jane Cavazzi Author Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

A Banana in my Brain Open in new Window. [ASR]
What it's like with Asperger's Syndrome
by Pony Tale Author Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

THOSE BELLS DRIVE ME NUTS! Open in new Window. [E]
A contest entry
by SHERRI GIBSON Author Icon

 The Church Bells Chimed Open in new Window. [E]
The smallest thing may bring the joy of Christmas to a person.
by Norksquad Author Icon


 
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Ask & Answer





Have a 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.


Comments on last month's newsletter:



No comments or feedback on my last newsletter, so I'll take advantage of this space this time to ask a question: I enjoy using the many poetic tools in our tool box. My favorite is metaphor. What's your favorite poetic tool to use?



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