1. AND THE FOUND POEM PROCESS POETRY BASICS

2. Poetry Basics Word choice Spacing Arrangement Punctuation Capitalization

3. Word Choice NO RHYME! No adjectives Focus on concrete nouns (real things, real people, real places) Use strong, active verbs (physical actions) No “ing” endings on verbs. Stay in present or past tense Use words in unexpected ways e.g. Her pepper-spray heart chewed up his excuses. Use figurative language. Appeal to the 5 senses—create imagery Compress your language! Each word will cost you $3.00. Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases e.g. “the, a, an, this, that, which, who, etc.”

4. Arrangement Line Breaks (organization and emphasis) Some words need to stay together Some phrases can be broken apart Ambiguities—surprise the reader. Create conflict/tension/contrast in the poem.

5. Spacing Emphasis Pacing (pause or full stop)

6. Punctuation Use it for a reason (pause, stop, change intonation of voice) Or don’t use it—use spacing instead

7. Capitalization Use for a reason (emphasis or organization) Or don’t use it (e.e. cummings)

8. Revision: FOUND POEM “Find” the poem in your freewrite Look for the most vivid description—there is always one line that stands out Add line breaks with your pencil Think about how you would break up the freewriting and make it look more like a poem on the page. Keep revising: add active verbs, figurative language, concrete nouns (real things, names of places, colors etc.) Cross out unnecessary words and phrases E.g. “this, that, these, those” Get rid of passive verbs: is, are, was, were, has, have, had

9. Reading and Writing If you want to be a better writer, you need to read, read, read, and read some more. “If anything can be taken from my experience as a teenage writer, it is that writing begins by imitating other writers” (Collins). “Writers learn by reading just as musicians learn by listening and painters learn by looking closely at the paintings of others.” -- BILLY COLLINS is the author of seven collections of poetry. He served as United States Poet Laureate (2001-2003).

10. I Hear America Singing Version #1—Use any noisy place as your subject for the poem. See directions and examples in the packet. Version #2—Poetry as social commentary. Politicize the poem. Write about the America that you know today.  Whitman’s version is a “praise” poem, but Hughes’s version is social commentary.