Rules for Poets

xoxoxoBruce · 07-09-2009, 01:08 AM

Cellarite kisrael (Boston Fireworks IOtD) has posted Rules for Poets on his site.

I think they should be required reading for all you budding Plaths. :p

For example;
#9 - The importance of a private memory doesn't justify art.
Or;
#13 - The world does not need another poem about a bad relationship. Save it for the diary.

Go read the rest.

smoothmoniker · 07-09-2009, 01:32 AM

"If it hasn't been edited, it is not a poem. It is a draft."

I'm taping that to my office drawer, only I'm replacing "poem" with "song".

Trilby · 07-09-2009, 05:09 AM

I liked "If you use the word 'soul,' you will be shot."

shot thru the soul...hey! that sounds like a good idea for a - oh, wait.

Shawnee123 · 07-09-2009, 07:07 AM

:

Quote:

It is not a poem just because the line ends before the
punctuation.

DanaC · 07-09-2009, 07:22 AM

lol. I have torn up a piece of paper into tiny pieces, so bad was the poem I'd penned on it.

Shawnee123 · 07-09-2009, 07:23 AM

No one has written poems worse than the ones I wrote in HS. No one!

DanaC · 07-09-2009, 07:28 AM

Ahem...I beg to differ. I wrote some truly awful shit.

Sundae · 07-09-2009, 07:44 AM

I loved it all, except:

Quote:

Rhymes are appropriate to children's books and high school creative writing assignments. Formulae are beautiful only in mathematics.

Which is wrong. Just plain wrong.
I have read (and posted here) beautiful sestinas - not my own, I don't have the discipline.
And an insistence that free verse is the only valid form of poetry negates many of the other points. And sadly soured me on the rest of it.

Free verse can be beautiful. But it is deceptively artful, and its very simplicity is what fools many would-be poets into thinking they can write.

There is a huge difference between rhyming doggerel and poetry.
And some of the most talented poets I have read employ verse and/ or specific form to great affect.

Shawnee123 · 07-09-2009, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanaC

Ahem...I beg to differ. I wrote some truly awful shit.

Oh we need a thread: your bad teen poems. I have them all! You would laugh and laugh!

DanaC · 07-09-2009, 08:31 AM

i have none of them unfortunately. Or fortunately, depending how you look at it:P

Queen of the Ryche · 07-09-2009, 03:48 PM

Yes Bruce, Yes. 9 & 13 seemed to be the core of one of our past members opus.....
I will gladly contribute to the bad teen poetry thread. Can't say mine has improved much since, hence not sharing it here.

Shawnee123 · 07-09-2009, 05:55 PM

Oh noes, calling my bluff. Well, I'll have to find them.

I agree with Sundae about the rhyming one. That one is just wrong.

monster · 07-09-2009, 11:19 PM

I wrote a poem about the rules for poets:

Your poem.
It sucks.
Because you used rhymes.
Your poem.
It sucks.
Out my soul. And mind.
Your poem
Reminds me
of my ex
who
was crap at sex
and we spent endless nights
working together
hearts beating as one
writing poems
about the burning sun
we wrote ten a night
and then we’d fight
and now he’s gone.

DanaC · 07-10-2009, 07:06 AM

*Applauds* outstanding! Well done that manc!

Shawnee123 · 07-10-2009, 07:16 AM

Bravo, monster!

07-09-2009, 01:32 AM	#2
smoothmoniker to live and die in LA Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,090	"If it hasn't been edited, it is not a poem. It is a draft." I'm taping that to my office drawer, only I'm replacing "poem" with "song". __________________ to live and die in LA

07-09-2009, 05:09 AM	#3
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	I liked "If you use the word 'soul,' you will be shot." shot thru the soul...hey! that sounds like a good idea for a - oh, wait. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

07-09-2009, 07:23 AM	#6
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	No one has written poems worse than the ones I wrote in HS. No one! __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

07-09-2009, 03:48 PM	#11
Queen of the Ryche is fleeing the scene Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Beautiful CO Posts: 1,510	Yes Bruce, Yes. 9 & 13 seemed to be the core of one of our past members opus..... I will gladly contribute to the bad teen poetry thread. Can't say mine has improved much since, hence not sharing it here. __________________ Once, in an interview, Chuck Norris admitted that he was not the most awesome thing ever. He declined to elaborate; but I believe we all know that he was referring to the existence of chocolate covered bacon. I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six.

07-09-2009, 05:55 PM	#12
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Oh noes, calling my bluff. Well, I'll have to find them. I agree with Sundae about the rhyming one. That one is just wrong. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

07-09-2009, 01:08 AM	#1
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Rules for Poets Cellarite kisrael (Boston Fireworks IOtD) has posted Rules for Poets on his site. I think they should be required reading for all you budding Plaths. :p For example; #9 - The importance of a private memory doesn't justify art. Or; #13 - The world does not need another poem about a bad relationship. Save it for the diary. Go read the rest. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

07-09-2009, 11:19 PM	#13
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	I wrote a poem about the rules for poets: Your poem. It sucks. Because you used rhymes. Your poem. It sucks. Out my soul. And mind. Your poem Reminds me of my ex who was crap at sex and we spent endless nights working together hearts beating as one writing poems about the burning sun we wrote ten a night and then we’d fight and now he’s gone. __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

07-10-2009, 07:16 AM	#15
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Bravo, monster! __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

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