Jeff Guess

What are the 'Essentials' of a Good Poem? 1. Is the poem about something you actually know about (in other words a failure to write about the known usually guarantees flawed writing). 2. I recall someone responding to the question, 'What makes a good poem?' by saying 'Good poetry gives you a buzz and it's a buzz that lasts!' This simple response underscores the importance of emotion is poetry: e.g. hurt, guilt, anger, love. Make some brief comments about this on your poem. 3.

23 Writing Ideas! * Imagine writing to a friend about a time you spent away from school, perhaps a holiday. What are the SIX most important things that you would tell him/her about the things you are experienced. Put these SIX things into a poem in which you expand upon each one in turn. The poem or the writing this time is not necessarily addressed to your friend but to a much wider audience. * What's going on inside your head at the moment. Write a poem about your thoughts

Some poets have in the past tried to express a connection between colours and the feelings we have. For example, we often hear people talk of being ‘purple with rage’ or ‘green with envy’, and these are commonplace ideas. In this poem you are asked to be more adventurous and original in connecting colours to moods and feelings. Write down the name of a colour in the middle of a sheet of paper. All round the outside of the name note down any feelings, moods or images that you

The seventh in a series of writing poetry as a way of healing. TOUCHING THE EXPERIENCE OF CANCER: ‘I DON’T KNOW’ Before teaching writing to children through California Poets in the Schools and to adults at the San Diego Writing Centre, Joe Milosch worked as a trail locator and heavy equipment foreman for the National Forest Service. He wrote the following poem about his wife’s cancer exactly when he was not trying to write it: Why is a scar on a man a mark of distinction, on

The sixth in a series of writing poetry as a way of healing. The Healing Power of Images A morning glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books. —Walt Whitman Images are drawn from sensory experience and help us to feel what the writer or speaker is communicating. Whitman is more satisfied by the morning glory because it is real and alive, it communicates something to him about reality that is particular, clear and unmistakable. Images offer us direct

The fifth in a series of writing poetry as a way of healing. Poetry as Natural Medicine Natural Medicine. Reflect on poetry as a natural medicine. What is your medicine made of? This medicine is not like a drug, intended to suppress and cover over pain or illness. It has the quality of a naturopathic or homeopathic remedy made to permeate, support and enhance the natural healing abilities of your immune system. What sort of physical, mental and spiritual attributes do your po

The fourth in a series of writing poetry as a way of healing. Poetry and Relationships Fill in the following. You may need to think about them carefully first. If I wrote and sent a poem to someone, that person or persons would be: _____________________________________________________ My favourite poem I’d give as a gift to a spouse, family member, lover or friend is: _____________________________________________________ The favourite poems or poets of my spouse, family membe

The third in a series of writing poetry as a way of healing. METAPHORS: AN ALCHEMICAL BOND OF LANGUAGE Metaphor is an alchemical bond of words that unites two different things. This occurs in various ways. In some metaphor the correspondence between two things is precise and exact: I am water rushing to the well-head filling the pitcher until it spills. —Jane Kenyon My rage is a cloud of flame. —Marge Piercy In other forms of metaphor the connection is not an exact equation b

The second in a series of writing poetry as a way of healing. LINE LENGTHS CRAFTING YOUR LINE TO THE TUNE OF YOUR HEALING Line lengths and layout construct the images of a poem just as atoms unite to form a stoneware mug, a pouting lover or a grizzly bear. Atoms arrange themselves to make it possible for you to drink your morning coffee, decide to stand very still or recognize one of the many faces of your lover. Lines, similarly, compose the structure, or the gestalt, of a p

The first in a series of writing poetry as a way of healing. Heart, who will you cry out to? Giving silence words * Choose one of the following. * Spend a few minutes quietly reflecting upon it. * What are some of the thoughts, memories, ideas that you experience? * Write a poem that takes your thinking to another level or stage: as words on a page. Poetry gives you permission to feel. – James Autry Poetry came before language, for it was the poetic spirit in man that made la