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Feeling stuck? Write a poem

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Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#91

Post by acqq »

manifestsilence wrote: post #55

I love poetry, but think this advice is slightly off. A better way to get un-stuck is free-writing. Just write whatever comes to mind without stopping. If you hesitate, just write "I don't know what to write" - anything to keep writing. If you can sustain this for twenty minutes, you are now immune to writer's block. You know you can always write. This shifts the question to what to write. You find you can sculpt the…

> If you hesitate, just write "I don't know what to write" - anything to keep writing.

But don't use: "all work and no play makes jack a dull boy"

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#93

Post by whichquestion »

manifestsilence wrote: post #55

I love poetry, but think this advice is slightly off. A better way to get un-stuck is free-writing. Just write whatever comes to mind without stopping. If you hesitate, just write "I don't know what to write" - anything to keep writing. If you can sustain this for twenty minutes, you are now immune to writer's block. You know you can always write. This shifts the question to what to write. You find you can sculpt the…

I love this idea and I really appreciate you sharing it!

I swear, one of my largest struggles with writing is finding exactly what to put on the page, as well as putting it on the page in the first place.

Sometimes I write a lot of words, rewrite them, don’t like them and then delete them because I don’t think they’re worth saying or they can’t establish the point well enough for me to feel like they are worth keeping.

Perhaps I should simply put them in an archive instead to come back to later and see if I can refine them.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#94

Post by partyboat1586 »

My head hurts, My eyes are heavy. Sleep will come soon, Lord knows I'm ready.

When I awake, I hope I'm well rested. Much work to be done, before I can get festive.

I really do love this time of year. World dark and foggy, but everyone near. Close to each other, it's warmer inside. Sit by the fire, laugh and confide. Tell silly jokes and lighten the mood. Eat till we're fat full up with food.

Yet I still want to wake to the sun in my eyes Feel my mind crystal clear as the winter time dies. But while it's alive, I'll sieze it fully. For now I'm wrapped up all fuzzy and wooly.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#97

Post by cgriswald »

manifestsilence wrote: post #55

I love poetry, but think this advice is slightly off. A better way to get un-stuck is free-writing. Just write whatever comes to mind without stopping. If you hesitate, just write "I don't know what to write" - anything to keep writing. If you can sustain this for twenty minutes, you are now immune to writer's block. You know you can always write. This shifts the question to what to write. You find you can sculpt the…

It depends. The article is advocating for writing poetry if you are struggling to communicate. That’s not the same as struggling to write.

“Writer’s block” covers a wide range of definitions from “I don’t know what to write about” to “I don’t believe I even can even write a grocery list.” There is often a large psychological component. Free writing can help in some cases, but in other cases the free writing can be repetitive and uncreative, possibly exacerbating the underlying psychological issue.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#98

Post by billfruit »

mellosouls wrote: post #48
billfruit wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it only feature new works or does it take from the six centuries of great poetry we have in the English language.

This is a fair question but it's clear on the website it's mainly focused on contemporary stuff, partly because they consider it difficult to find. That's not at all the case with classic poetry, I think. Also, by definition, the canon is established - this initiative seems a good way of helping unestablished poetry into the spotlight. Personally, I'd like to see a mix, with an emphasis on the contemporary; I think i…

I would say that there is such vast amounts of poetry from the past, ( And there is enough there for readers to discover poems and poets they have not read before), contemporary poetry would be a small fraction of the entire whole.

Even some major poets like Wordsworth wrote such volumes of poetry, even seasoned readers can find something new and unread from his work.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#99

Post by Naga »

52-6F-62 wrote: post #38
komali2 wrote: post #17

Wish I "got" poetry. Spent 4 years studying literature and got a degree in writing, and throughout it all poetry just annoyed me. I think I made a genuine effort but I couldn't get over feelings of "get to the point" or "so what?" Everything from Byron to Billy Collins. Doesn't do anything for me.

I studied literature as well [granted, did not matriculate] but precisely because I fell in love with literature and poetry (already having been involved in music) in high school. Did you ever read any Canadian poetry? Some of our more celebrated poets were a little more literal, or prosaic, or largely storytellers. A prime example is Al Purdy (here performed by both himself reading, and in a dramatic presentation by…

What a great combination. I didn't know it existed! I discovered Purdy through Downie years ago, but didn't know about this. I'm still in such grief over Downie dying just over two years ago, which is strange for a man that I did not know and only met briefly once. I have been a Hip fan since I became conscious of music and culture and it just grew into something I could no longer contain. Thank you for sharing.

Re: Feeling stuck? Write a poem

#100

Post by mellosouls »

billfruit wrote: post #98
mellosouls wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a fair question but it's clear on the website it's mainly focused on contemporary stuff, partly because they consider it difficult to find. That's not at all the case with classic poetry, I think. Also, by definition, the canon is established - this initiative seems a good way of helping unestablished poetry into the spotlight. Personally, I'd like to see a mix, with an emphasis on the contemporary; I think i…

I would say that there is such vast amounts of poetry from the past, ( And there is enough there for readers to discover poems and poets they have not read before), contemporary poetry would be a small fraction of the entire whole. Even some major poets like Wordsworth wrote such volumes of poetry, even seasoned readers can find something new and unread from his work.

I agree - but it is arguable that a significant majority of poetry by canonical poets is settled in acclaim. Obscurities by them generally (but not always), are obscure for a reason.

This will not at all be the case with new and contemporary poetry for the simple reason that these things take time to settle.

Classic poetry has had enough exposure; contemporary needs support and nurturing. Some of it will fall by the wayside, some of it will become the canon of the future.

Let's help it get there.

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