Why is poetry one of my favorite mediums?
It lets you say what you want to say. Sometimes it’s a second chance to say the things you couldn’t the first time. When I really need to get something off my chest, I scribble or type out phrases and fragments of ideas that later become cohesive stanzas. Wholesome poetry speaks straight from the heart; it’s real talk. It has a lot to do with writing what comes to mind, without inhibition. I find it comparable to singing in structure and beautiful words, but in contrast, the melody blooms in the mind of the beholder.
So how do I personally compose poetry?
I let my phrases of thoughts flow until they come to a natural end, when I’m content with the amount of information disclosed. For some reason, I tend to write in structure of contemplating a problem which gradually unravels and resolves throughout the poem. I think it’s a coping mechanism to resolve internal conflicts that linger on and I want to place a finger on it. I also take on a story format (not necessarily beginning, middle, end) but with bits of hints here and there until at the end you get a larger feeling/idea of what I’m saying. With experience, you start to feel for when the structure of your poetry resonates with you, when it flows like water and sweet music.
What are some tips to catalyze the process?
- I’m a lover of clever wordplay. Take words and play with them, play with their meanings, and make the reader fall in love with the unique way you think.
- Write from your senses – be keen – be like a camera that blurs the background and highlights the object of focus. Present the possibly ordinary in ways people wouldn’t see them, at another vantage point. Attach feelings, the deep, the dark, the ah-hah moments of clarity, the fuzzy warmth of satisfaction, to how you sense and perceive the world.
- Use the thesaurus frequently to find the right words. You want words that you will fall in love with and won’t get tired of rolling in your mind over and over again, so they can be the key words embedded in your poetry.
- Try different atmospheres; for example, if you tend to write in a perpetually melancholy tone, go for something inspirational and uplifting.
- Challenge readers with some element of mystery by inciting them to engage in their own interpretations. Poetry that tells you all the answers isn’t as interesting.
I think an interesting comparison can be made between deliverables in the advertising world and the elements of poetry. Believe it or not, there’s a noteworthy amount of similarities between the two forms of writing. To begin, both need key words that spark creativity and original thought, and aim for concise brevity. Poetry is often insightful, and consists of discoveries made in personal experiences and our subjective interpretations of them; we are all our own personal researchers and action takers of life. Like deliverables, poetry works well when its under a unified and poignant idea instead of touching topics all over the place, but there’s definitely more flexibility for creative expression in poetry. Lastly, both deliverables and poems aim at addressing the gap created by problems and opportunities. Those two things are what excite us as human beings and allow us to dream, and be frustrated, try harder. The basic conflict among what we need, what we want, and what really is, is intrinsically human.
