Experimental Poetry 8: Calligrams

Calligrams - also known as concrete poetry- are  pieces of text where the design or layout of the letters creates a visual image related to the meaning of the words themselves. The calligram above is by French poet Guillaume Apolinnaire and it's one of the best examples. He has used words such as bouche (for the mouth) and nez (for nose) as he describes his lover.

Concrete poetry is not easy to accomplish, but if you are determined, you will able to create something that is not only an interesting poem, but also a visually appealing piece of art. Here's how it's done:

Method 13: Concrete Poetry. All calligrams start with an idea. Think of something simple... like a cup, a heart or a star. Their shapes are idealised, and have a cultural resonance. They are all easily recognisable. 

Now write a poem about the object you've chosen. It needn't necessarily rhyme. You just need enough words to be able to create your calligram. If you create your calligram using a word processor, you'll be able to change the size of the text, the spacing, and even the font style very quickly. However, until you make it concrete, by either screen capturing it, or exporting it into a pdf file, you can't be certain what it will look like if you share it on social media.

Here's an example called Swan and Shadow by John Hollander, which depicts in words and image exactly what he wishes to convey about the grace of a swan floating on its mirror image in calm water at dawn. 

Method 14: Hand-made Calligrams. An alternative is to create it by drawing it on paper, or even by cutting out text and pasting it onto paper. Start by creating a pencil outline, and then gradually filling in the shape with the words, using a more permanent medium. It will take time, trial and error, and lots of corrections. But eventually, you'll have your own calligram and you'll be justifiably proud of what you've achieved. But do be careful. Calligrams are very addictive.

Steve Wheeler 

Previous posts in this series

Experimental Poetry 1: Found Poetry
Experimental Poetry 2: Stream of Consciousness
Experimental Poetry 3: Fake Translations
Experimental Poetry 4: Overlapping Voices
Experimental Poetry 5: Random Prompts
Experimental Poetry 6: The Movie Method
Experimental Poetry 7: Unexpected End Rhymes

Top image from Wikimedia Commons, Swan image from Pinterest used under a Creative Commons licence.

Poetic devices 13: Calligram

The above image is actually a poem by the French writer Guillaume Apollinaire. Some people would call this concrete poetry. Some might call it visual poetry. It's real name is Calligram - the presentation of a poem in the shape of the theme it is describing. One of the arch proponents of this technique was Scottish poet Edwin Morgan, who created a series of poems that were presented in the shapes of animals, objects and people. 

Calligrams are not for the faint hearted. There are several technical difficulties you would need to overcome to achieve an aesthetic shape for your poem that would echo the topic of theme. 

The image below is a poem by American writer John Hollander. It is description and visualisation, combined. See how he has worked the lines into a superb image of a swan and its reflection in the water. This technique transforms a good poem into a great one. 

Some of our own Invisible Poets group have already started to write poems in calligram format. Matt Elmore's recent offering 'Sexy You' is an example:

My advice would be to write the poem first. Choose a topic to write about that can easily be turned into an image. The poem does not necessarily need to rhyme. What it does need to be is easy to manipulate into shapes. This is where the fun starts. Once you have written the poem, you then need to mould it into the shape of the topic. Good luck - it can be a lot of fun, but also a real challenge!

Steve Wheeler

Previous posts in this series

1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Repetition and refrains
4. Alliteration
5. Assonance
6. End Rhymes
7. Internal Rhymes
8. Rhythm and Tempo
9. Enjambment

10. Allegory

11. Metonymy

12. Cacophony

Main image source: Wikimedia Commons