Poetry isn't rocket science. Poetry is about emotions, not about scientific formulae. And yet... and yet.... in poetry there are so many wonderful, weird and wacky techniques, it's very difficult to know about them all, or begin to fathom how you might use them.
Many poets are happy with the way they write. They stick to their tried and tested styles and techniques and go merrily along their way. But if you're like me, you are constantly looking for new ways to express yourself through your poetry. If you're like me, you're always less than satisfied with the way you write and are always on the lookout for ways to stretch your abilities and skills.
If you are like me, then this is the blog series you've been looking for. In the next (I don't know how many, I really don't) series of blogs I intend to explore experimental poetry in as many of its many colours as possible. And hopefully, you'll come along with me on that journey and push yourself to your poetic limits. So here's the first experimental technique... it's known as found poetry. I wrote about my own experiments in Found poetry in various blog posts including this one.
Method 1: Open Books. Open up a few books at random, and lay them all around you. They can be books on any subject, including literature, recipe books, science manuals or magazines. Begin to write, and as you write, keep glancing at random at the open books and grab words, lines or phrases you see, and then incorporate them into your writing. It doesn't need to make any sense. Experiment to see the results.
Method 2: Read Out Loud. Find a magazine or other printed text you can tear up, cut up or otherwise vandalise. Begin reading our words, sentences or phrases at random. Record yourself and then listen back to see what sounds (phonics) have been generated. They don't need to make sense. They just need to make an interesting sound.
Method 3: Blank Outs. Using the same materials above, blank out with white type correction fluid or colour out with a marker pen, or colour with a highlighter pen at random. Watch to see what patterns of words emerge and incorporate them into your latest poem.
Method 4: Cut Up Poetry. Cut out words, sentences and phrases and glue them onto a blank page and watch to see what patterns emerge, before using them in your latest poem.
Go for it. There are no rules. Just experimentation and possible masterpieces of random, avant garde writing.
Steve Wheeler
Photo (cropped) from Wikimedia Commons
