With shops closed,
Except for trusty IGA.
There’s no room in the fridge,
All stocked up for Christmas Day.
Drinks cool in the esky,
Presents wrapped under the tree,
Doused with tinsel snow,
Waiting for us to open and see.
So, before all the rush
In the stillness of the night,
We rest, at peace reflecting,
The wonder, Christ our light.
© L.M. Kling 2015; updated 2023
Feature Photo: Christmas Bauble © L.M. Kling 2015
This Friday we, the members of Indie Scriptorium, will be selling our books, artwork and cards at the
Reynella Neighbourhood Centre Inc. Twilight Christmas Market.
164 South Road, Old Reynella
Friday 8 December 4 – 7pm
If you are in Adelaide, come and visit us there.
Not only will you be able to see the books and artwork which we have produced, we will be available to discuss with aspiring authors, such topics as: Helpful tips on becoming a writer, publishing your own book, and marketing options.
Hope to see you there,
Indie Scriptorium – a self-publishing collective.
Further to my comments a few blogs ago re rhythm in poetry there are a couple of points I feel could do with clarification:
Rhythm is dependent NOT upon words but on the syllables that make up those words. While a word is at times only a single syllable (e.g.cat/dog/plant/then/through/thought…) many have two or more syllables (i.e. are multi-syllabic).
However, looking at that list of single-syllable words above it is obvious that the number of letters in a written word has little or nothing to do with the matter. Syllables are based on the number of sounds rather than the number of letters used to represent those sounds in the written form of the language.
All spoken language consists of two sorts of sounds: vowels and consonants; the vowels themselves come in two sorts: short and long. In English there are six short vowels – the middle sounds in pat/pet/pit/pot/putt/put. All the rest (14 in all) are long. To name but a few for example: the middle sounds in pool/paid/peel/pout/pipe/part/pert/port/pose.
The consonants on the other hand (25 in all) are the first one or two and the last sounds in all the examples above – apart from “through” where the last sound is “oo” (as in “soon”). Quite clearly, spelling in our written language and the sounds of the spoken language seem to bear little relationship to each other. But in saying that I’m teaching my grandma to suck eggs; aren’t I? Regardless of the fact that it is syllables and therefore the sounds of those syllables that are critical to rhythm I won’t go into all the intricacies here as it distracts from what I need to say about rhythm in poetry.
If the rhythm doesn’t “sing” properly when you read your poem aloud it is the syllables you must consider: maybe change a three or four syllable word to one of two or three (or vice versa) or remove a word; or add another; or repeat a word or a whole line or… Maybe you need to change a short vowel for a long one (or again, vice versa!).
The permutations can be seemingly endless. Just keep playing with it until it feels right when you read it aloud. Remember: poetry is music using words instead of notes and, like music, is meant to be performed. We miss much of the joy of poetry if we simply skim the words on the page; eyes only.
Secondly, prose marches across the page, words side by side like an army, ranks of soldiers filling the space. Poetry is more like a company of dancers, short lines, long lines, single words, spaces, positions on the page…
By simply changing the length of lines in a poem you can change the mood entirely. By way of example consider two versions of the A.A. Milne poem “Happiness”:
These 16 short lines give a beautiful, clear picture of John’s joy as he stomps around; jumping in puddles; splish, splashing in the rain. No words detailing any of this. But no words needed. Now read aloud those same words arranged differently:
How did that feel to you? Much slower; much more thoughtful is how it seems to me; almost as if he’s looking at his wet weather gear and wondering if it’s worthwhile going to the bother of putting it all on just to go out in the rain. Wouldn’t it be better to stay inside by the fire and read a book?
By the by, in the second, longer, more discursive version I found myself saying “has” instead of “had” as I was reading it. A small point indeed. But this is a lot of what poetry is about – small points can have a big impact!!
And another small point with a big impact: all the capital letters in the original provide emphasis plus; an emphasis that adds to the mental picture of a small boy stomping around, splashing in puddles, having a joyously wonderful time and to hell with the rest…
Do you too feel that it adds to the whole thing in a way that mere words alone could not possibly do?
© Mary McDee 2023
Feature Photo: Singing Under the Sprinkler © L.M. Kling 2019
Do you write poetry? Do you wish you could write poetry but are not sure how to go about it? And just what is poetry anyway; what is it that makes it different from ordinary prose?
It might help if we start with a definition. The Macquarie Dictionary tells us that poetry is:
1. A literary work in metrical form.
2. The art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative or elevated thoughts.
There are two phrases in there that are the nub of the matter: “metrical form” and “rhythmical composition” both of which seem more applicable to music than to stringing words together (which is, after all, what we do when we’re writing). But this is as it should be for poetry and music have a lot in common – not only rhythm and metre but performance.
As far as music is concerned this is obvious. As far as poetry is concerned however many of us don’t realise that it is meant to be either recited or read aloud in such a way that one can feel the rhythm; a rhythm that can be quite subtle; a rhythm that can change to reflect a change of mood… But a rhythm that must be there.
In order to achieve this we have to, at times, adjust or deviate from the conventional rules we must adhere to when writing prose in order to maintain the rhythm and/or produce a desired effect. There are many ways to do this: by omitting a word like ”a” or “the”; repeating a word or words; using a word with a different number of syllables; using a word with a different sound e.g. changing a short vowel to a long one or vice versa…
Breaking the rules in this way is called poetic license and is perfectly acceptable when writing poetry – so long as it is done carefully and with good reason.
By way of example consider and compare the first (abandoned!) version of one of the verses from the poem “I want to be a writer but how do I do it?” that we blogged recently.
When I read this aloud to myself it didn’t “sing” right; it sounded clunky, clumsy and the reading didn’t flow easily. So it was “back to the drawing board” and I wound up with:
Much better, easier to read, flowed well to my mind. However, on re-reading since then I realise “precise” at the end of line 3 should be ditched, done away with, not necessary… Read it aloud both ways for yourself and see what you think re that word; those seven letters.
As with all writing – a work in progress!
By the way; poetry can rhyme; in fact rhymes often add a dimension and a level of enjoyment that would be lost in some poems. But rhyme is not the essential pre-requisite that rhythm is. Non-rhyming poetry is known as blank verse and is a legitimate form of writing; produced by such skilled practitioners as Milton (“Paradise Lost”) and Shakespeare.
© Mary McDee 2023
Feature Photo: After a Rain Shower (c) Alison McDonald 2017
Indie Scriptorium -- Self Publishing Collective 