tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37627577.post917822333196881494..comments2024-02-12T16:32:03.714-08:00Comments on Book of Kells: Rules, No: Guidelines for PoetsKelli Russell Agodon - Book of Kellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01798460634708905783noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37627577.post-49390423698684067132008-08-28T10:00:00.000-07:002008-08-28T10:00:00.000-07:00Thanks for sharing your rules - they inspired a po...Thanks for sharing your rules - they inspired <A HREF="http://wordsthatsing.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/poetry-rules/" REL="nofollow">a post</A> where I explored mine, which you may be interested to have a look at.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37627577.post-28867551363139463532008-08-16T19:26:00.000-07:002008-08-16T19:26:00.000-07:00I usually wait until a poem feels like it has some...I usually wait until a poem feels like it has some kind of definite shape -- almost a geometric shape, sometimes -- before I start writing it down on paper. If I start writing it too soon, it's easy to lose the thread of it, and nothing comes of it. (Over the years, I've gradually gotten better at feeling when a poem is "ready," when it's formed enough to start writing it down.<BR/><BR/>I rarely (almost never) use semicolons in a poem.<BR/><BR/>I rarely use the possessive form of a noun in a poem.<BR/><BR/>I tend to shy away from symmetry, in structure or shape or rhythm or repetition. In general I feel that symmetry is overrated. I prefer (in poems) irregular structures, rough edges and surfaces, a loose end or two.<BR/><BR/>I don't often attempt to write a poem in the persona of someone else, though I haven't held to this strictly, now and then I've made an exception.<BR/><BR/>I've rarely attempted to write poems in standard or regular meter or with rhyme. Maybe eight or ten exceptions in 40 years.<BR/><BR/>When I write a poem, I want to know what every word in it is doing. I want to know what every line and phrase and sentence means, what it's saying in the basic sense. If I write a line (or lines) and I'm not clear what it means or what it's saying, why it belongs in the poem, I'll change it or take it out.<BR/><BR/>Everything in a poem counts, every word, every pause, line break, punctuation mark. Nothing should be random or haphazard, everything in a poem should be a conscious choice.Lyle Daggetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10731915540520704368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37627577.post-12106707768449377522008-08-15T12:11:00.000-07:002008-08-15T12:11:00.000-07:00I saw Mary's rules on her blog and have been dying...I saw Mary's rules on her blog and have been dying to write this post all week.<BR/><BR/>Your rule #2 is probably the rule I follow most consistently. But generally, it varies from poem to poem for me.Januaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13036651950996873368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37627577.post-54462327628357671212008-08-13T08:23:00.000-07:002008-08-13T08:23:00.000-07:00Hi Kelli,Thanks for sharing your poetry rules. The...Hi Kelli,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for sharing your poetry rules. They are all wise ones, including being aware that you occasionally do need to examine the rules you've made for yourself--challenge yourself to step beyond them--though, I agree, too, that #8 is one to cherish (unless you are Andre Breton).Martha Silanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com