Download B - Creative Writing

Poetic Form #1: The Haiku
This is master Basho, the great
Japanese poet who invented the haiku as
we know it: a tiny poem filled with a love of
nature. He spent his life close to nature.
After a year in 1683 during which his hut
burned down and his mother died, he took
to the road. From the age of forty (in 1684)
he travelled from place to place, like a
tramp or wandering monk, walking through
the countryside, living by teaching poetry
in each town or village where he stopped.
His attitude to nature was humble,
selfless, and deeply respectful. He said,
"Go to the pine if you want to learn about
the pine, or to the bamboo if you want to
learn about the bamboo."
Mo’ on Basho
One of Basho's fans, a poetry student,
came to him and said, "I've got a great idea for
a poem! It goes: 'Pull the wings off a dragonfly,
and look - you get a red pepperpod!'"
Basho said, "No. That is not in the spirit of
haiku. You should write: 'Add wings to a
pepperpod, and look - you get a red dragonfly!'"
Cruelty, violence and sensationalism have
no place in haiku poetry. The natural processes
of suffering and death do, but the attitude to
creatures that suffer is compassionate.
Basho had hundreds of keen students all
over the country and some of them built him a
little hut. In the front garden they planted a
banana tree, which in Japanese is called a
basho, and that is how he got his name. He is
the poet of the banana-tree hut. Sitting in his
little hut he wrote this poem:
Evening rain:
the basho
speaks of it first
Traditional Haiku
Basho told his followers that the experience the poem was
based on was more important than fancy or clever language. The
poet should be absorbed in nature. The poet should not show off in
the poem. He told them to aim for simplicity with elegance in
expressing the "haiku moment," the truth of the original noticing.
Japanese haiku have seventeen syllables in three lines of 5, 7
and 5 syllables.
Here are two examples:
The red blossom bends
And drips its dew to the ground
Like a tear it falls
Curving up, then down,
Meeting blue sky and green earth
Melding sun and rain
Untraditional/Western Haiku
In the last examples, the first line is 5 syllables, the second 7,
and the third 5 again. This is all well and good but it's not
necessary at all! In fact, most modern haiku in the western world
no longer adheres to this structure. Here are some more
contemporary examples:
Are there
short-cuts in the sky,
summer moon?
How long the day:
the boat is talking
with the shore
Shelling peas –
hard rain falling
on the chimney cowling
Do this! Do that!
Spring cleaning
Mom’s in a bad mood
Scooping up water –
the moon in my hands, I pick up
nothing at all
By the flare
of each rocket
I see my friend
Snowflakes falling
watching from my window
sipping hot chocolate
Close circuit TV:
watching myself going
the other way
Your Assignment: 3 Haikus
• On a separate sheet of paper, please write
three haikus.
• Remember … they are supposed to be
about the natural world, but you can bend
the rules a little bit.
• K.I.S.S. ~ keep it simple, stupid
• Use the traditional pattern, or be a little
untraditional if you’d like.
Poetic Form #2: The Limerick
• A light humorous, nonsensical, or bawdy verse of
five anapestic lines usually with the rhyme
scheme aabba.
Limerick Pattern
--/ --/ --/ A
(da da DUM da da DUM da da DUM)
--/ --/ --/ A
(da da DUM da da DUM da da DUM)
--/ --/
B
(da da DUM da da DUM)
--/ --/
B
(da da DUM da da DUM)
--/ --/ --/ A
(da da DUM da da DUM da da DUM)
Examples of Limericks
(from kids in the UK)
There was a young lady from Ickenham
Who went on a bus-trip to Twickenham.
She drank too much beer,
Which made her feel queer,
So she took off her boots and was sick-in-'em.
There was a young man from Dealing
Who caught the bus for Ealing.
It said on the door
Don't spit on the floor
So he jumped up and spat on the ceiling
Examples of Limericks
(from kids in the UK)
There was an old person of Fratton
Who would go to church with his hat on.
'If I wake up,' he said,
‘'With a hat on my head,
I will know that it hasn't been sat on.‘
There once was an old man from Esser,
Whose knowledge grew lesser and lesser.
It at last grew so small,
He knew nothing at all,
And now he's a college professor.
Examples of Limericks
(from kids in the UK)
There was a young lady from Hyde,
Who ate a green apple and died.
While her lover lamented,
The apple fermented,
And made cyder inside her inside.
I once had a blind date with Cilla.
I took her to watch Aston Villa.
She sang to the crowd
And she sang very loud
And that's why they threatened to kill 'er.
Examples of Limericks
(some of my favorites)
I favor the limerick form,
For serious work not the norm;
A new way to capture,
A feeling of rapture,
Or visions of wild thunderstorm.
Well, it's partly the shape of the thing
That gives the old limerick wing;
These accordion pleats
Full of airy conceits
Take it up like a kite on a spring.
A decrepit old gas man named Peter,
While hunting around for the meter,
Touched a leak with his light.
He arose out of sight,
And, as anyone can see by reading
this, he also destroyed the meter.
Your Assignment: 2 Limericks
• On the same sheet of paper as your
haikus, write two limericks.
• Remember … they are supposed to be
funny, light, and humorous. Please don’t
write some dark, dreary, & depressing
limericks. It just won’t work.
• Use the traditional (da da dum) pattern.
Try not to screw with the meter too much.
Poetic Form #3:
Epitaphs/Epithet
An Epitaph is an inscription on or at a tomb or a
grave in memory of the one buried there.
An Epithet is a brief poem commemorating or
epitomizing a deceased person.
Bonney, William H.
(Billy the Kid)
Truth and History.
21 Men.
The Boy Bandit King
He Died As He Lived
William H. Bonney "Billy
the Kid"
Benjamin Franklin
The Body of
B. Franklin, Printer
Like the Cover of an old Book
Its Contents turn out
And Stript of its Lettering &
Guilding
Lies here. Food for Worms
For, it will as he believed
appear once more
In a new and more elegant
Edition
corrected and improved
By the Author
Poe, Edgar Allan
Fly
Quoth the Raven,
"Nevermore.”
Ruth, George Herman
"Babe"
May
That Divine Spirit
That Animated
BABE RUTH
to Win the Crucial
Game of Life
Inspire the Youth
of America
Maris, Roger Eugene
61/61
Against all Odds
Shakespeare, William
Good frend for Jesus
sake forbeare,
To digg the dust
encloased heare!
Blest be the man that
spares thes stones,
And curst be he that
moves my bones.
Unknown U.S. Soldier
Here Rests in
Honored Glory
An American
Soldier
Known But to God
Capone, Alphonse
My Jesus Mercy
Chris Farley
The Clown's Prayer
"As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears,
dispense more happiness than gloom,
spread more cheer than despair.
Never let me become so indifferent
that I will fail to see the wonder
in the eyes of a child
or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.
Never let me forget that my total effort is to
cheer people, make them happy
and forget at least momentarily
all the unpleasantness in their lives.
And, in my final moment;
may I hear You whisper:
When you made My people smile,
you made Me smile."
Your Assignment:
2 Epitaphs or Epithets
• On the same sheet of paper as your
haikus & limericks, write two epitaphs or
two epithets: one for you and one for
someone else (anyone alive or dead).
• Incorporate morals/values/activities you’re
involved in
• Your personality should be reflected in the
epitaph – if you’re funny, it’s funny; if
you’re beautiful, it’s beautiful; if you’re sad,
it’s sad
Poetic Form #4: Acrostic Poem
• From the Greek words ákros "top" stíchos
"verse“
• A poem or other form of writing in which
the first letter, syllable or word of each line,
paragraph or other recurring feature in the
text spells out a word or a message.
• There are extremely complex and coded
acrostic poems, but we’ll just play around
with our names to describe our character.
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R eally hungry right about now.
Y ogurt is good; it comes from a cow.
A rtichoke hearts make great dip for veggies.
N oodles I eat with my friend named Reggie.
B urritos.
E ggs, scrambled, with sausage, cilantro, and toast.
R ice with tikka masala on a chicken roast.
N uts: pistachio, almonds, peanuts, and pine.
S alad is fine from time to time.
T urkey on Thanksgiving is what I eat.
E nglish muffins are a nice morning treat.
I just don’t think I can entertain dessert.
Now, get real, on to some orange sherbert.
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M ore def than Mos Def.
A lways know more ball that the ref.
T rickin’ suckas with the greatest of ease.
T oo bad you can’t compete, you with all your fleas.
S ick is what they called me back in Generation X.
C hickow is what they say when they see me flex.
H owever, hoops was never my game
A nyone who’s seen me play knows I’m lame.
C itin’ poetry ‘cause I’m to cool for the R.E.
H ey, ever seen me do T’ai Chi
Tight, yo.
Your Assignment:
2 Acrostic Poems
• On the same sheet of paper as your
haikus, limericks & epitaphs, write two
acrostic poems: one for you and one for
someone else
• Use the entire first and last names
(middle, too, if you want).
• Words or phrases/sentences can follow
the letter.
Poetic Form #5: Found Poem
• Found poetry is a type of poetry created by
taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole
passages from other sources and reframing
them as poetry by making changes in spacing
and/or lines (and consequently meaning), or by
altering the text by additions and/or deletions.
• The end result is a poem that is “treated”
meaning the word order has been profoundly
changed, or “untreated” where words and
phrases are virtually unchanged in order
(syntax) or meaning.
Found Poem Examples:
This found poem was created from a expository text on
mechanics: William Whewell’s "An Elementary Treatise
on Mechanics”.
Hence no force, however great,
can stretch a cord, however fine,
into a horizontal line
which is accurately straight.
* This is a “treated” found poem. The poet changed word
order when they saw end line rhyme like fine and line.
In 2003, Hart Seely, a poet, heard a Department of
Defense news briefing, took the transcript, and wrote this
found poem:
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.
* This is an “untreated” found poem; all Seely did was add line breaks.
He did not change word order (syntax) at all.
Ten Things He Does Not Want You to Know
Religion has actually convinced people
that there’s an invisible man.
Living in the sky.
Who watches
everything you do
every minute
of every day
of your life.
And he has a list of ten things
he does not want you
to do.
And if you do any,
any, of these ten things,
he has a special place
full of fire and smoke and ash and torture
where he will send you
to suffer and burn
and scream and cry
forever and ever
until the end of time. …
But he loves you.
George Carlin ( 1937-2008 ) “There Is No God”, You Are All Diseased (1999)
Don't Stop At This Restaurant
Next Exit
Taco Bell
Food
Gas
Miles of Smiles
Smoke Coca-Cola cigarettes,
chew Wrigley's spearmint beer,
Ken-L-Ration dog food
makes your wife's complexion clear.
A leap of faith . . .
• Get out a text (could be a textbook, a
novel, an instruction guide, an informative
text, or directions for programming your
mp3 player.)
• The more obscure the text the better.
• Develop two separate found poems with a
minimum of 15 lines.
Flowetry
1.
Write two lines of a poem about a topic of your choice. Each line
should be 5 - 7 syllables. Underline the last word in each line.
Waves crash upon the shore
As I walk down the beach.
2.
Pass your poem along to the next person. Write two more lines to
the poem you get. Each line should 5 – 7 syllables. The last word of
the 3rd line should rhyme with the last word of the 1st line. Similarly,
the last word of the 4th line should rhyme with the last word in the 2nd
line.
A
Waves crash upon the shore
As I saunter down the beach. B
Enticing me to the core
A
It seems just out of reach.
B
Hopefully, so far, you’ve just introduced the topic the poem will
cover. Let’s review the rhyme scheme.
Floetry
3.
Pass the poem again. This time, start a new stanza. A stanza is to a
poem like a paragraph is prose. Separate the first quatrain from the
second with a line. Write two new lines, 5 – 7 syllables. Be sure that
the last words do not rhyme with any of the lines you already have.
Waves crash upon the shore,
as I saunter down the beach.
Enticing me to the core,
it seems just out of reach.
You see, it’s looks refreshing,
But I’m all dry and warm.
Floetry
4.
Pass the poem again. Finish the second stanza. Be sure to keep the
rhyme scheme & meter intact.
Waves crash upon the shore,
A
as I saunter down the beach. B
Enticing me to the core,
A
it seems just out of reach.
B
You see, it’s looks refreshing,
But I’m all dry and warm.
Not swimming is depressing,
but I can’t break this norm.
C
D
C
D
Hopefully, at this point, you’ve introduced some type of problem into
the poem. In my example, there is inner conflict with the narrator.
He wants to swim, but can’t find the motivation. Let’s review the
rhyme scheme.
Floetry
5.
Pass the poem again. And again, start a new stanza. Be sure to keep
the rhyme scheme & meter intact. This time, try to either solve the
problem in the poem or complicate the problem even more. This is
called a “turning point” or “shift” in tone, and is noticeable in a lot of
poems.
Waves crash upon the shore,
as I saunter down the beach.
Enticing me to the core,
it seems just out of reach.
You see, it’s looks refreshing,
But I’m all dry and warm.
Not swimming is depressing,
but I can’t break this norm.
Then I say, “screw it!”
And run to grab my trunks.
Floetry
6.
Pass the poem along again. Finish the third stanza.
A
Waves crash upon the shore,
as I saunter down the beach. B
Enticing me to the core,
A
it seems just out of reach.
B
You see, it’s looks refreshing,
But I’m all dry and warm.
Not swimming is depressing,
but I can’t break this norm.
C
D
C
D
Then I say, “screw it!”
And run to grab my suit.
First wave comes, jump right through it.
Excitement in me lets out a hoot.
Let’s review the rhyme scheme.
E
F
E
F
Floetry
7.
Uno mas. But this time, we’re going to add some finality to the poem. Try to
finish the idea in the poem. Aim for 10 syllables in the last two lines. The
lines should rhyme with each other, but shouldn’t rhyme with previous lines.
Waves crash upon the shore,
as I saunter down the beach.
Enticing me to the core,
it seems just out of reach.
A
B
A
B
You see, it’s looks refreshing,
But I’m all dry and warm.
Not swimming is depressing,
but I can’t break this norm.
C
D
C
D
Then I say, “screw it!”
And run to grab my suit.
First wave comes, jump right through it.
Excitement in me lets out a hoot.
E
F
E
F
G
I’m so glad I went for a swim today.
You should let your inner child out to play. G
I just tricked you!
This is called a sonnet.
Shakespeare used to write them.
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.