Iteration

Albert Einstein once said: 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results'. Well, firstly, it might not have been Einstein who said this. Secondly, if it was, in this case he didn't know what he was talking about; and thirdly, this statement clearly doesn't apply to art, and even if it did, many artists are insane anyway, so it doesn't matter. Take the case of Andy Warhol and his multiple pop art depictions of objects and famous people like the one of Marilyn Monroe above. Insane or genius? Warhol's technique wasn't so much repetition, but iteration.

Iteration is a word borrowed from mathematics and computing. Iteration is where the same process or formula is repeated again and again in order to achieve a closer approximation to the solution of a problem. Usually, for example in the coding of an AI model, a small change is made for each iteration to improve the outcome. In the real world we might say 'Try, try and try again...'

Let's face it, in poetry, we craft our art using nebulous and imperfect objects... words, phrases, sentences, rhymes, tempo, meaning. If anything outside of mathematics could possibly benefit from iteration, it would be poetry.

There are few, if any poets who can write a poem straight off the bat, with no edits or changes. Many would claim they can do it, but most are liars. I often write a draft, leave it, and then return an hour, a day or a week later, to iterate it. To polish it up, write more, remove a line or a verse. And then I thought... what if I can write several versions of the same poem, in different sequences, to see what effect that might have on my creative expression? 

Here's an example of that process of iteration, using the same words, in five different iterations... 

AT FEVER PITCH

At fever pitch
a muddy ditch
annoying twitch
a burning itch

I run a mile
a heavy trial
I try to smile
and all the while

I set the tone
pick up the phone
sink like a stone
I'm not alone

We talk for hours
we drink in bars
I send her flowers
the world is ours

NB: this version is fairly basic, simply four quatrains of end rhymes really. I wasn't happy with it as it felt a bit of a lazy effort.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

AT FEVER PITCH (2)

At fever pitch
I run a mile

a muddy ditch
a heavy trial

annoying twitch
I try to smile

a burning itch
and all the while

Pick up the phone
We talk for hours

I set the tone
we drink in bars

sink like a stone
I send her flowers

I'm not alone
the world is ours

NB: Hmmm...not fully convinced by the structure of this. Do the couplets work? However, I've mixed up the lines to see what emerges, and it's an interesting development...

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

AT FEVER PITCH (3)

At fever pitch we talk for hours
a muddy ditch we drink in bars
annoying twitch I send her flowers
a burning itch the world is ours

I run a mile pick up the phone
a heavy trial I set the tone
I try to smile sink like a stone
and all the while I'm not alone

NB: This version  seems to flow well  and the end rhymes work well, but I was still not satisfied with the structure. 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

AT FEVER PITCH (4)

At fever pitch we talk for hours
we drink in bars a muddy ditch
annoying twitch I send her flowers
the world is ours a burning itch

pick up the phone I run a mile
a heavy trial I set the tone
sink like a stone I try to smile
and all the while I'm not alone

NB: This version, I think, is better. It has a pleasant ABAB rhyme scheme, and the internal rhymes also align to provide line balance. It's not perfect though... one more iteration maybe...

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

AT FEVER PITCH (5)

We talk for hours at fever pitch
pick up the phone I run a mile
sink like a stone a muddy ditch
we drink in bars I try to smile
I send her flowers I set the tone
a heavy trial annoying twitch
the world is ours I'm not alone
and all the while a burning itch 

NB: Even this final version is imperfect. What art is? But it tells a story, it has a flow and it has enough intrigue perhaps to draw in some readers.

Steve Wheeler © 28 December, 2023

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

Which of these five versions do you prefer? On what are you basing your choice? Maybe you don't like any of them. Here's the key question for you: would this process of iteration or re-working of a poem offer you an improved creative expression for your writing? Have a go! I would love to see your results in the comments section below. 

Steve Wheeler