Poet's Workshop

photo by Gerry Williams

How to Write a List Poem in 10 Easy Steps by Terrie Leigh Relf ©2002 All rights reserved

Making lists is nothing new. We make shopping lists, "to-do" lists, wish lists, book reading lists, and invitation lists. It doesn’t end there. We then make those lists reality: we go shopping, purchase what we need (and often a lot of what we don’t), cross off items, and then feel that wondrous sense of accomplishment.

Making lists is a way to gather and generate ideas. Reading those lists continues the process. They’re also a great way to enhance your sensory observation skills!

To begin with, I suggest aiming for about twenty items.

(CAUTION: List poems may be habit-forming.)

Here’s how in ten "easy" steps:

1. Make a heading such as "Stuff on my Desk", then list everything that’s on it. If that’s not fertile territory, go to your closets, your refrigerator, your purse, your backpack, that drawer in the kitchen that has become the receptacle for everything that you don’t know what to do with;

2. Read the list over to yourself, silently or aloud, then circle, or otherwise mark, the items that "reach out" or jump in your mind’;

3. make comments in parentheses or brackets (or any other notetaking method you use);

4. make a new list with these words and their commentary;

5. write more commentary, free-associate, or freewrite without stopping to correct spelling, worrying about how it sounds, whether or not it makes sense, is any good, or all those other process-stopping comments from your "internal editor". Tell that editor you’ll talk to them later—you’re busy writing poetry now!;

6. look for patterns, themes, scenarios—anything to further develop them;

7. play around with the order of your images, verses, and so forth--even if the order is disorderly (poetry writing can be messier than fingerpainting with a two-year-old);

8. circle the parts you like, then transfer them to yet another new page (I should warn you at this point that you may realize you have more than one poem in process now—and that’s a good thing!);

9. at this point, since you have quite a bit of material, start thinking/feeling/hearing/seeing/tasting/touching and moving with what’s there. Where does it take you? Where can you take it?; and

10. make a draft, then another draft, then another and another—writing is all about revision!

(Note: Steps 1-10 can be repeated as many times as you like and in any order.)

Now that you’ve written several, revise them a bit, and send them on in for consideration in our "featured poet" section! Send in your poetry-generating exercises, too! I’ll share them with our writing community!

Since Poets are "all about" confession, here’s a list of items in my writer’s lair:

1. Dusty keyboard
2. Coffee stains on pile of poetry-in-process
3. Scattered disks
4. Ceramic waterfall, unplugged
5. Several stacks of books
6. My daughter Willow’s art work and school homework papers
7. Stuffed monkey missing most of its fur
8. Green plastic alien doll with glowing red eyes
9. Origami Boulder™
10. Ceramic bowl with soggy cheerios and milk gummed to the bottom
11. Cascading paper stacks of student papers
12. Stuffed hippo couple in white wooden lawn chair
13. black lace bra
14. Purple beaded hat
15. Lotus mala beads
16. Dragonfly and ladybug patterned curtains
17. Telescope with cracked lens
18. Meditation cushion
19. Piano in need of tuning
20. Print of woman shapeshifting into a wolf

I’ll spare you all the reams of commentary and offer this poem still-in-process:

Poet’s Lair
"so this is where it all happens," he said
crossing her threshold
"feng shui still in process," she declared
twisting and turning the telescope lens
he touched the edge of her mind
trailed fingers through a stack of books on the floor
poetry by Jimmy Jazz
a novel by Anne Rice
a handbook for writers
he smirked at a black lace bra draped over the chair she offered
she proffered another chair
"so this is where it all happens," he said
"if I were Bradbury you’d be impressed," she declared
remembering his show
and how the cameras panned from one object d’art to another
down rows and rows of books
and there
sitting in the middle of it all
a beacon for lost-space-farers
the man himself
"what’s this?" he turned wadded
paper over and over in his hands
added, "there’s writing inside"
"don’t open it!" she screamed
he dropped the ball
"it’s an origami boulder with a haiku poem
inside—it’s art, " she added for effect
he scratched behind then tugged an ear
reached for the purple beaded hat
put it on
"poets!" he exclaimed
as if that said it all

Visit these links:

Just in case you didn’t cruise on over to the The American Academy of Poets last month, here it is again: http://www.poets.org/links/polinks.cfm

Between the Lines: Interviews with Poets: http://www.interviews-with-poets.com/poetry-directory/poetry-cultural.html

This site has magnetic poetry, games, and other fun stuff. Why not make your own magnets out of words from your list above? Cut ‘em up, make collages, laminate them. Be creative! http://www.freakyfrogs.net/1.htm

Visit http://www.sol-magazine.com for invaluable resources. I just won first place in one of their contests as well as "best poem for August"!

Curious about the origami boulder in my list and subsequently in my poem? Then visit http://www.origamiboulder.com

Q&A Section

Q: What is revision?

A: Ah yes, that word, that concept, that authorial conundrum often equated and/or confused with editing. How many times have I heard someone complain that they’ve been asked to revise work, but no one ever told them what it meant or how to do it.

Even though it’s become a bit clichéd, it’s "true" in my book: "Writing is revision" (original source unknown at the moment). What this means, is that a poem is not "done" after the first draft is completed. It’s probably not "done" after the second one, either. It’s a constant process of looking for the "right" words, the "right" style, the "right" tone, the "right" organization of parts to fit the context of our poem. It’s trial-and-error. Something we need to do over and over and over again. Some poets will return to a poem years later and make it "better" (yes, even previously published poems!).

When we revise, essentially, we’re altering the poem’s meaning. Some would say enhancing the meaning. Others would say we’re trimming off the fat, or as Michelangelo said on being a sculptor: "I’m just taking away the part that’s not supposed to be there to reveal what is." (well, not a direct quote by Michelangelo…It’s been awhile since I spoke with him.)

Michelangelo was definitely a poet who knew about revision…

When we edit, we’re addressing mechanics. The first thing that may come to mind here is punctuation. There’s an exception to the rule here; if you add or delete punctuation and it alters the meaning, then it belongs in the realm of revision.

Something I often suggest to get a sense of this process is to maintain a log of time spent writing. This includes all writing tasks—and yes, thinking is one of them. Many of us revise in our heads throughout our day, while we’re trying to sleep, and so forth. A poem that wants to be will make its presence known. They’re often so persistent that unless you work on it, you won’t get any rest. I advise listening to your poems when they speak to you. If they don’t, ask them why? Ask them what they need? What would help them speak up or out or however. It’s different than talking to your plants, but similar.

Some of my work has gone through so many revisions that I don’t recognize it. I’ll take a piece out to make another poem, then the old poem perks up and has something to say. It’s all right to transfuse between poems. In fact, I strongly recommend it. It’s how themed collections are born.

So, go ahead, cut it up into little pieces and pretend it’s a puzzle. You can do this on the computer, of course, but sometimes rendering it to paper for this exercise will quicken your tactile sensors, which will trigger your brain to add in some important information. 3x5 cards work well, because you can move them around, and mix them up. Once you like the sequence, you can number them.

Whenever you get the chance (or create the chance), read articles that talk about poetic process. Read the "befores and afters". Closely examine what was changed, ask yourself why. Being objective is difficult. Being objective about our own poetry is even more difficult. You can do it! Create or join a poetry group. Poetry is meant to be shared. Inspire each other. Challenge each other. Stay tuned next month for how to start a poetry group and workshop poems!

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