Experimental Poetry 14: Speak out loud

Poetry is not only textual. It is also spoken word. The oral tradition of story telling through verse has a long history.

Most of my early poetry experiences were either listening to the spoken word, or on stage performing the spoken word of my own poetry. So poetry has a natural affinity with the voice - whether spoken out loud - or the inner voice, inside the mind. All of our poetry derives from our voice. Some of the best poetry I have ever experienced was heard rather than read. Here in the UK there are some awesome living poets, including John Cooper Clarke, Mike Garry and Harry Baker. The spoken word creates ambience, emotion, cadence and inflection way beyond what you might expect to encounter in a printed text. The spoken word takes poetry to the next level.

It would be only natural then, to also create poetry without using a pen, pencil, laptop, quill etc. All of these are human inventions that enable us to make writing more or less permanent. But what if we would instead create our poetry from only the speaking out loud method?

Method 25: Speaking out loud. Here's how it might work: You think of a topic (give it a title), and then begin speaking. It doesn't need to necessarily make sense, rhyme or have any specific direction. Remember my post on stream of consciousness poetry? Simply speak and the words come out. There are some excellent freestyle rappers who can do this at the drop of the hat, but they have had a lot of practice. Don't expect yours to be perfect first time. It won't be. But somewhere in the jumble of utterings and mutterings that emerge, you might find a few lines or phrases that you can develop later into a fully fledged poem. Don't forget to record it as you speak! 

Now that's experimental poetry!

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
Experimental Poetry 8: Calligrams
Experimental Poetry 9: Anarchic Poetry
Experimental Poetry 10: Timed Writing
Experimental Poetry 11: Paraphrasing
Experimental Poetry 12: Deliberate Malapropism
Experimental Poetry 13: Breaking Structure

Image from Flickr used under a public domain licence

Poetry and Social Media

Oh how the times have changed! Books seem to have lost the overwhelming popularity they once had…. not to mention magazines and newspapers. The library was once a magical place! Yet many of the younger generation asks… who needs a library when you have social media?! 

Social media is not as much of a literary enemy as old school writers may think… especially in the world of poetry. It seems poetry is on a bit of an upswing lately on platforms familiar to many as Tic Toc, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook to name a few of the biggies.

According to a recent article in Forbes, the #poetry hashtag has more than 48 billion views on Tic Toc. This sensitive app has managed to bring a lot of attention to a number of authors through spoken word poetry. The possibilities of creating videos with a large variety of editing tools makes it a fun place to share work and possibly gain noteritey. 

However, notoriety and fame do not necessarily equate to selling poetry books. Tic Toc is good for writing communities though, especially “BookToc”, a growing crowd of book lovers that talk about nothing but books, primarily fiction related works.

Instagram has been a marvel for poets like Rupi Kaur and Morgan Harper Nichols. Their short form poetry, known for its confessional clean stylings, has brought them millions of followers. This form of poetry has been termed “Instapoetry”, and has garnered a controversial reputation of not being poetry due to its succinct structuring and fast pace. Yet, it seems social media is changing those rules. Kaur has more than 4 million Instagram followers, and has sold over 11 million copies of her books, which have been translated into 43 languages.

Jen Benka, the President and Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets, has stated “So many of the critiques of poetry on social media are about how poetry shouldn’t be performative, or how social media has made poetry too simple”. Is it poetry? Like all art, it’s in the eye of the beholder.

A downturn writers experience on these apps  continues to be simple plagiarism. Poems taken from some authors, then posted to names with a broader appeal and following base, leave the original poets out in the cold. Social media can indeed be what a close colleague once cleverly referred to as “a dark art”. 

Facebook has a blanket presence with a plethora of groups to choose from that all have their own personalities and purposes. I am of course, smitten with Invisible Poets and Wheelsong Poetry. This is not only because of the Wheelsong mission statement of promoting unknown talent. It is really about it’s first priority of giving back with charitable donations, such as the ongoing Wheelsong Anthology series. That incredible direction matches my personal writing motivations and then some!

As a rule of thumb. being active in social media requires a lot of posting, commenting, and interaction. I’ve also noticed that a touch of personal charisma becomes one’s individual brand. It also helps to promote attention by always maintaining a professional posture and positive attitude.

Social media is here to stay, and poets of every age and variety have to accept it. Learning which platforms are best for you for what you are trying to achieve is only possible by engaging in the activity and determining if a group or particular app is right for you.

Matt Elmore

Resources:

https://www.insidehook.com/article/internet/social-media-poetry

https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/03/01/bite-sized-tiktok-poetry-blows-up-along-with-growing-claims-of-plagiarism/?sh=5df4cb7c6873

https://gooduniversenextdoor.com/2023/01/19/poetry-on-tiktok/

https://www.writersdigest.com/publishing-insights/should-writers-use-social-media

Image from: Unsplash

Melody

Melody is an essential component of poetry. It is the musical element that gives a poem its rhythm, tone, and emotional impact. Melody can be created through a variety of poetic devices, such as rhyme, alliteration, and repetition. In this blog, we will explore the importance and effectiveness of melody as a writing option in poetry.

Firstly, melody can help to create a memorable and emotional experience for the reader. A poem with a strong melody can at times be more powerful and impactful than one without. This is because melody can create a mood or tone that resonates with the reader and stays with them long after they have finished reading the poem. For example, the poem "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe has a haunting melody that adds to the poem's eerie and melancholic tone. Sometimes just as we get musical notes in our head, the musical flowing of words can generate this as well. 

Secondly, melody can help to unify a poem and give it structure. A well crafted melody can tie together different parts of a poem and create a sense of coherence. This is particularly important for longer poems or poems with multiple stanzas. For example, in the poem "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot, the repeated refrain "April is the cruellest month" helps to unify the different sections of the poem and create a sense of continuity.

Thirdly, melody can help to convey the meaning of a poem. By using poetic devices such as rhyme and repetition, a poet can emphasize certain words or ideas and create a deeper meaning. For example, in the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas, has the repeated refrain "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," which emphasizes the poem's central theme of one fighting against death.

Finally, melody can make a poem more enjoyable to read and listen to. Just as a good melody can make a song more enjoyable to listen to, a well-crafted melody in a poem can make it more enjoyable to read. This is particularly important for spoken-word poetry or poetry that is meant to be performed. A strong melody can capture the attention of the audience and make the poem more engaging.

In conclusion, melody is an important and effective writing option in poetry. It can create a memorable and emotional experience for the reader, unify a poem and give it structure, convey the meaning of a poem, and at times make it more enjoyable to read and listen to. Poets should consider experimenting with different melodies as a tool to enhance their poetry and create a deeper connection with their readers.

Brandon Adam Haven 

Image by: Brandon Adam Haven 

Urban poetry

What is urban poetry? Well, have you ever seen or watched a performance of poetry on the streets? I used to do this myself when I was younger. It takes some courage, but out on the streets you always have an audience of some kind. I would get on top of a wooden box with a microphone stand and perform my poetry to anyone who was walking by and who might be prepared to stop and listen for a while. Yep, I was a little bit more insane back then. I've seen others do similar. Urban poetry doesn't have to be outdoors. It can be anywhere. Some of the best urban poetry pops up unexpectedly and takes us all by surprise. 

Urban poetry is about being on the right side of history. It's about telling the truth in spoken word. It can be about down to earth subjects with which we can all identify, like love and loss, traffic jams, chip shop queues, losing your keys, self esteem, or simply... living in a city. More often than not, urban poetry is a protest about something - corrupt politicians, war, poverty, pollution, racism... you name it. If you want to speak out against something by writing and performing poetry, you can call it urban poetry. There's no room for flowery language in urban poetry. It's delivered in a no-compromise, earthy, gritty, street level rhythm and tempo with plenty of rhyme and some choice language too.

Classic urban poetry proponents include Manchester Poet Mike Garry performing Penny for the Guy in an outdoor market, or Gil Scott Heron with his classic The Revolution will not be Televised complete with a bass and drum accompaniment.

Look out also for excellent urban poets such as Harry Baker, the inimitable John Cooper Clark (here he is in 1980 with a poem about urban decay called Beasley Street) and Birmingham poet and playwright Benjamin Zephaniah (here with a 2009 performance of Dis Poetry)... all of whom have influenced my own writing and poetry performances and probably inspired me to write my 2020 collection Urban Voices. If you have poetry in you, and it is just screaming to get out, try the spoken word as well as the written word to get your message out there. You can do a lot worse than plunge into some poetry performances out on the street. 

Be an urban poet - and go make some waves. 

Steve Wheeler

Image copyright by Steve Wheeler 2023