Inverting Literary Devices (Wringing Out Words)

Steve Wheeler and I had a fascinating exchange of texts not long ago. He really is a wringer and twister of all terms literary, and I am always thrilled to witness him in full blast poetry extrapolation mode.

I am also absolutely certain he has a washboard somewhere in his office where he wrings out thesauruses and dictionaries, then reuses the wordy wash water to concoct his wooly masterpieces! I only wish I knew what kind of soap he uses…

We were going on about literary devices… and he was turning them inside out.

When I told him about the Invisible Poets Facebook Group exercise I wrote on extended metaphors, he said I should use a contracted metaphor. When I asked him what that was… he replied he just wasn’t sure yet… he had just made it up! I was like “Wha…?!!”

He went on to explore something he called anti-similes.. a total opposite contrast of “as” or “like”… always unlike something… then pointed out a few. His examples included … “as a pig wearing lipstick” or “as a walrus wearing a corset”… and as a kind of “jumper on there” I wrote back “as an elephant walking a tightrope”… 

It was just fun bouncing ideas between poets, but I started to see a window into my colleague’s poetic genius. He was creating inverted devices!! 

A bright light bulb lit up over my head like in the old Looney Tunes cartoons!!! “Ehh…what’s up doc?!” Wow… the possibilities…

That’s when Steve’s literary wringer went into a spin cycle… and he washed out another zinger… “Anti-Malapropism - misappropriation of a word for another word and then reverting back for effect”…  with the example “Tome becomes time becomes rhyme”. I answered “Rote becomes mote becomes rhyme”. He answered, “You got it. Go to the front of the class!!!”

Well… he didn’t really say go to the front of the class but it sounded good as I just wrote it…

Anyway (!),… what an amazing turn!!! To take  a word, follow it with a word that only sounds like or may imply that word, then follow it with another word or words that actually resemble the subject word.

Some more exchanges followed into the twilight zone of extemporaneous exhalations of exemplary english proclamations that soared into my favorite kind of preposterous…

I offered, “Jellyfish baited with toast becomes a toast to jellyfish becomes a stinging belly of jelly.”… to which Steve killed it with, “To all intent and purpose becomes to all intensive purpose becomes a porpoise on intensive care!” 

A porpoise on intensive care! 

My favorite of his was “Ravel's bolero becomes unravelled hero becomes unruffled Nero”! He claimed, “It’s a great way to write abstract internal rhymes.”

This was just a little fun texting between poets, but it proved to be much more than that. It put a tiger in my idea tank for sure… It also showed me a glimpse into the mind of a professor and opened up a whole new range of possibilities pertaining to our craft!! I’m not sure what Steve would term these morphing brainstorms of his to construct new ideas, but I just referred to them as “Inverted Devices” for the purpose of this blog.

I had to share them with YOU! 

Have you done this before reader? Can you think of any such “devices” you can turn inside out? Maybe you might even offer a few originals  of your own… or some examples pertaining to the above “Anti-similes” or “Anti-Malapropisms”…

 I would LOVE to see them! If so, PLEASE POST THEM IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

And stick around… we will continue to explore a few more of these inverted devices together next time!

Until then, the writer writes… write on my friends…

Matt Elmore

Writing poetry as therapy

Have you ever been told not to cry? Or laugh? No public displays of affection? Don’t wear polka dots? 

If so, how did it make you feel to be choked off like that? Rejected? Restricted? Denied?

A colleague of mine recently mentioned in a comment from my last blog that she was once called out for being “too depressing” in a poetry group. 

It got me to thinking… is it possible to be too depressing as a poet? Too happy? Should this be a means of dejection from writing? Never to be addressed…?

Writing as a form of therapy has been known to massively benefit mental health… a primal scream to just get it all out. Worked for John Lennon! Once we let out this literary primal scream, we are on the outside looking in. This can be done by journaling, reviving memories, recounting feelings that were experienced during moments…

According to Elizabeth Sullivan, a licensed marriage and family therapist in San Francisco, “one of the most powerful aspects of therapy is cultivating the ability to observe our thoughts and feelings.” https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-power-of-writing-3-types-of-therapeutic-writing#1

Accepting themes that can be depressing as a sort of tonic of acceptance allows us to digest traumas and move on. Losing a loved one, loneliness, personally dealing with a fatal illness… all potentially socially awkward themes that should not be allowed to be smothered, denied, or restricted. 

Pinterest recently predicted in its 2023 trends report, “alternatives to talk therapy are on the rise”. 

Taking communication to another level by incorporating rhythms and rhymes with personal experience into poetry makes writing a bit cathartic in a sense. . It can actually heal our brains!

Poetry (like music) is the most incredible art form, presenting a platform by which to express whatever emotion we are feeling. Many affirmation poems, or what I like to call redemption poems, do this quite well. Bouncing back!

Some of the best perspectives come from some form of adversity. As writers, we draw upon this rather than avoid it… only to write about the moon and butterflies. Not that there is anything wrong with either!

Lonely butterflies on the moon… hey, if we can endeavor to mix the good with the bad, we might create some incredibly strong moods from which to draw upon.

Let me know what you think in the comments below… As always, I love to hear from you! 

Matt Elmore

Cut-up poetry

Have you heard of the Dada movement? It was an art movement that emanated from Europe back in the early part of the 20th Century. At the heart of Dadaism was the rejection of reason and logic in favour of spontaneity, the enjoyment of nonsense and irrationality. It was anti-art. It was anti-establishment. It was absurd. In short, they were all as crazy as a box of frogs. 

But it sounded like they had a lot of fun in the midst of an otherwise very dull society (in 1915 everything was in black and white).   

In the 1950s, over in the good ol' USA, the Beat Poets movement was just starting. One of the craziest members of this crazy gang of avant-garde poets and writers was William S. Burroughs, author of The Naked Lunch and other works. He rubbed shoulders with the likes of Jack Kerouac, David Bowie and Allen Ginsberg, but was also close friends with Brion Gysin, a British-Canadian painter, performance poet and inventor. 

Together Gysin and Burroughs developed the concept of the cut-up technique, which had its roots in the Dada movement. Cut-up involves taking a fully formed piece of text (or maybe several pieces) and cutting out text randomly, either in sentences, phrases or even single words. The cut-out strips can be assembled into a new piece of text. This can be done at random, or with purpose. 

There are many variations of this method. Someone on the blog yesterday posted a comment about word tiles and how they can inspire poetry. Throw them down and see what emerges. That's a great idea along similar lines to the above approaches. It can generate some powerful inspiration. 

I also developed my own technique around found poetry, which involves a similar method to cut-up but instead of snipping out the words, I use a highlighter pen to randomly select words and sentences within a piece of printed text and then creating a collage from them. This follows the bricolage method espoused by the likes of Claud Levi-Strauss, where you can 'do it yourself' bypassing normal techniques and gaining instant access to random creativity and inspiration. 

Yes, these are very post-modernist methods, but in the event of a road-block to your creativity, they might be just what you are looking for to restart your creative engine. Comments as ever, as most welcome.

Steve Wheeler

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Beating writer's block

Writer's block... you know it. That helpless feeling that you want to write, you know you need to write... but the words just don't come. Or you write words, and they either make no sense to you, or they are fit for nothing more than the trash can. All writer's suffer from it at some point in their lives. Some have regular bouts of it. 

Wikipedia (that super intelligent font of all knowledge) helpfully states that writer's block is a non-medical condition. I had a snigger at that. That means, without too much extrapolation, that writer's block is psychological in nature. Now... if only there was a psychologist to hand to explain this.... oh, wait... there is. 

When you experience writer's block and you feel as though your muse has deserted you... create some inspiration for yourself. Here are seven useful ideas to get your flooded engine kick-started again:

1. Pick up any everyday object.... an old tea cup, a pair of muddy boots, a set of car keys... your dog or cat.... and write something about them. Doesn't need to be anything flowery or profound. Just write. 

2. Listen to some music. Any music will do. Close your eyes. Listen. Write about the first thing that comes into your mind.

3. Sit in silence. Close your eyes and listen to the noises around you. Some will be distance noises like the wind, traffic on the roads, children playing in the street.... write about that.

4. Grab any old image, or photograph... and write a poem about what that image evokes in you.

5. Turn on the TV or radio news. Yeah, I know it's depressing. But the very next new item that is presented becomes the basis of your next poem.

6. What was the last conversation you had? Can you remember? Write about what was said (or not said).

7. Let your imagination run wild. Think of two characters from history, or from a novel or from the world of pop music or the movies. Pair up the most ridiculous two you can possible imagine. Micky Mouse and Barack Obama... go on holiday together... there's a poem right there. (NB: I would have used Micky Mouse and Donald Trump, but there isn't a ridiculous angle there). 

I'm sure you can come up with plenty of other ideas to break open that writer's block. So come on... share your ideas in the comments box below. I would love to hear your ideas and suggestions!

Steve Wheeler

Image from Wikimedia Commons

What is appropriate for poetry groups?

I looked at a poetry group on Facebook this morning and it was someone soliciting an illicit hookup. I was like… “Oh no! Not again…!” 

It was a bit shocking considering the picture, but in today’s world… very little is shocking anymore. 

This could become a problem… but that’s room for an entirely different blog…!!!

Yes, art is subjective! One person’ trash is not necessarily another another one’s treasure, but this seems to be a reoccurring theme on some poetry groups today.

I’ve been modestly helping to moderate Invisible Poets And Wheelsong Poetry on Facebook, and am just now starting to get a taste of how nasty and belligerent some people can really be!

In a faceless forum, once can really attack without any real world retribution. This puts us all under the gun really. I know I have taken a number of unnecessary shots in the past.  It only makes me try all the harder.

However… a poetry group is not the place for hookups. Or relationship crystal ballers… Or selling magic beans… Or any other such scamming rubbish. It is a place for sharing poetry, or simply reading a favorite or a number of favorite poets. 

I must confess I don’t buy as many books anymore when so much poetry is right here at my fingertips! Though books work better for me really… I like to read in the bathtub, and that could get rather ugly with a phone in the bubbles and a klutz like me!

Anyway,…! 

This morning a member of one of my groups commented to me saying she was going to leave. I asked her to message me for privacy. She told me about a group she was in that had told her that her poems weren’t poetry. I reassured her that our group would never do that.

Some groups will pounce if they think the content does not match their idea of what poetry should be, or if others complain too much about something, even if it is not founded in truth.

I, however, do not believe in this at all. EVERYONE should have their shot at writing whatever they like. Writers hands shouldn't be bound to write only what is deemed acceptable. Art is a big wide world and there is enough room for all of us to live comfortably without judgement or abuse.

Nasty content is not allowed on our groups AT ALL. A bully meets the same action as a pervert… they are kicked off to harass someone else. Also, poetry is not to be judged according to any other measuring stick than that which we all can reach. No poem, unless it has inappropriate references in it or excessive expletives, will be turned away. 

In our groups, we prefer poetry that has no expletives, for that is a reflection on the moral standard and mission that we all stand for at Wheelsong. It isn’t right or wrong. It’s just who we are. We are a charitable group formed on the basis of bringing in quality top class poets from around the world, children and teenagers included.

When I taught, I told the kids that people use curse words because they can’t find the appropriate words for the situation.

Dark poetry is a poetry unto itself, and requires its own group. This is the only grey area I see with the whole idea of poetry groups that have to moderate their content in an appropriate way… 

What do you think? Are there better methods out there to gauge what is right and what is wrong? Have you ever experienced this? If so… what happened? Let’s start a friendly dialogue! 

Please leave your comments in the box below… and thanks for reading!!! Have a wonderful day… and write on!! 🚀

Moderatin’ Matt Elmore

The impact of poetry and how it affects us

Poetry is a powerful art form that has the ability to move us emotionally, challenge our assumptions, and expand our perspectives. Through the use of language, imagery, and sound, writers of all kind are able to create works that are beautiful, meaningful, personal and haunting. Poetry has a rich history and tradition that spans cultures and time periods, and it remains relevant today as a way to connect with others and find meaning even in the modern age. Whether you are a poet or a reader of poetry, it is clear that this art form will continue to inspire and enrich many lives for generations to come. Poetry has even had profound effects unto the reestablishment of the English language by writers such as William Shakespeare. Poet and musician James Douglas Morrison once penned “As long as there are people, they can remember words and combinations of words. Nothing else can survive a holocaust, but poetry and songs.” 

How does poetry affect your journey of life?     

By: Brandon Adam Haven 

Image free for fair use by Pixabay 

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

A review of Vapour of the Mind

When reading of Rafik Romdhani, I have heard such terms tossed around as the master of the metaphor, intense crafter of images,… even “genius” from a very in tune source last week. Such praise instantly raises a small specter of skepticism. There is a continual cloud of hyperbole that encompasses a large amount of poetry failing to live up to the thunder of its praise. 

However, this storm packs all the wallop of a literary hurricane and more… straight from the eye of swirling vapors, all at the center of one progressive poet’s mind… Rafik Romdhani.

I first came across Rafik in Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 1 which was the first of a series highlighting international next level poets to raise funds for Save The Children… ,which by the way is highly recommended…  he slammed a poem entitled “Face of the Moon”. … It’s resonating line echoed above all else I read for some time…

“… the hands of death will be more merciful at the bottom of this luminous chalice hanging from the invisible throne of God…”.

After that I was hooked on Rafik’s voice.

Two books on the Wheelsong label, Dance of the Metaphors (2021) and Rough Roads (2022), have preceded his newest release, titled Vapour of the Mind. This book illustrates Rafik’s transcendent journey deeper into the subconscious ocean of rich life that resides within his imagination… evoking the provocative content and lyricism that has become his trademark. As an English teacher in Tunisia, he has narrowed his voracious vocabulary into microscopic focus upon the realms of illusion and reality. 

Long form poems and shorter poems create a whirlwind of dizzying windows into the mind of a poet that sees the world as something more tangible than dreams. 

His shorter poems dazzle with lines like “… poetry hits minds at non-poetry times..” from What Poetry Does. 

Or even “Hearken life! How dare you shut before her your door and milk out the nascent Nile in her blossoming eye?” composing the whole of “Blossoming Eye”. 

With laser precision, he cuts to the quick of natures wounds and attempts, to suture all loss.

Varying themes rustle throughout the collection… ranging from the romantic, emotional, daily grinds, translating experiences into reason, to societal issues on a global level. “Paper Boats” paints a most visceral ending with “What will a Maths lesson do for a starving child flipping food pictures in his French copybook?”

One line alone plucked from one of his poems does not give it enough weight when taken into consideration with how it works within the intrinsic depth and texture of his word tapestries.

It is in the larger efforts that Rafik shines… his effervescent magic most apparent in poems like “The Glow Of Silence”. This piece made my eyes widen as they perceived the words, “I don’t write. I draw dances, then search the dancer till she is finally found. I throw bones to nightmares to keep their eyes to the ground..” There are many lessons to be learned between the lines of Rafik’s profound perceptions. 

He is a poets' poet. The intensity and character of his expression are so creative and original, the seemingly easy flight of his metaphors present a lesson in next level poetry. His execution is flawless, evident in so many lines of this book. It’s hard to choose examples! This execution is most present here within the lettered breath of Vapour Of The Mind: “Don’t be afraid of me, words! Do not feel strange, plodding poetry… for all the elements of nature are strangers.”

Rafik Romdhani is a beacon of light to intermediate poets of all persuasion looking to up their game. His vision has opened my eyes to ways of writing I have never considered as possible before… and I have been writing a long time. 

He sees what many others see but don’t understand… like this fruitful line from “Where is Meaning?”... “Meaning decides its beginning from our end, my friend”. 

This master crafting of translating ethereal perception speaks for itself in every poem Rafik sets his pen to. An amazing poet in every regard, Rafik Romdhani continues to wow me every time my widened eyes gaze upon one of his literary visions.

Matt Elmore

Lost at sea?

 So you want to be a poet? Feeling lost at sea? 

Finding a starting point is never easy. We know that we have the ability to put pen to paper, yet how do we gain the confidence to publish it in the public domain? Which groups are supportive and encouraging? How come some people are more popular? How do you become popular?

Questions ... so many questions...

Let's tackle these issues one at a time…

Find a supportive group. Look for a warm and welcoming environment, where people greet you with friendliness from the outset.

Are people adding likes to the creations of others? If the answer is yes for the majority of the group, the group could be the one for you.

Are people commenting and interacting with each other and saying what they enjoyed about the masterpiece? That is a good way of gauging that the group is encouraging and inspiring everyone.

You need to put in the time to become popular, and read others' work. Doing so will provide you with inspiration while at the same time begin to build up your own network of fans and followers. On Facebook, the more you like and comment the work of others, the more people will seek out your work.

Groups have Administrative personnel who run the group and Moderators who ensure that the members are kept safe from scams and potential threats. Much of the work looks like it’s focused on the frontal part of the group, however there’s so much more that happens behind the scenes.

Here are the groups that Steve Wheeler and I work in as Admin. We work alongside other colleagues who we admire, because of their dedication and commitment to our projects.

Invisible poets

Wheelsong poetry 

Pure poetry

Charlene Phare 

Using copyright free images in poetry

OK, here's a follow up on Charlene Phare's excellent post about using images to complement your poetry. One thing that leaves me cold is when poets share an image on Facebook (other social media platforms are available) and don't bother to acknowledge the source. Some may write 'credit to the copyright owner' or 'thanks to Google' ... but this is simply lazy, and could end up in a lawsuit. 

Look, I'm not exaggerating. I have heard of people who have used copyright images and have later been successfully sued in court. Getty Images are one of the most active litigators in this area, but there have also been private individuals who have successfully sued those who use their copyrighted images without permission or acknowledgement.

Let's start with a fact: All images on the Internet are copyright (owned by someone) unless otherwise stated. That means if you use an image belonging to someone else without their permission, you are stealing their property. That means that you need to be very careful about the images you use to complement your poems. Some avoid using images altogether just to avoid this pitfall. Some would even argue that poets trade in words not images, but that's a debate for another time. Here's the bottom line: if you really must use an image, then please, please check to see if you need permission first. 

Charlene shared some free image sites in her previous post, which I have personally used, and there are many great copyright free images waiting there for you to choose from. Even if you do use copyright free images, there is usually a clause that says you still need to acknowledge the photographer or designer who owns them. Check out for example, Creative Commons (CC), which lays out several universally accepted rules for you to follow. 

But wait for it... here's probably the best and easiest method for obtaining copyright free images on the Web. Go to Google. Select images. Search for anything you wish (in the screen capture above I have searcher for Paris). The images it shows you are not copyright free. Now click on Usage Rights on the right side of the menu. The box that drops down gives you the option to select Creative Commons licences. Go there and every image Google displays next will be copyright free. Hint: Do check that the image you select is indeed licensed under CC before you use it. Sometimes a rogue image might be listed that is in fact copyrighted. 

I hope this short blogpost helps you to navigate the minefield of web images and photos. Keep writing, and ... don't get sued!

Steve Wheeler