Wednesday, April 18, 2012

P is for Poetry

I cannot stand writing poetry. It's like bleeding a long and painful death. But I admire people who can and appreciate the beautiful play of words of a meaningful poem. Last November, my NaNo was an MG novel where one of the characters was a talking owl. And I decided he would only speak in rhyming iambic pentameter. Yeah.


It wouldn't have been so bad if he were a minor character, but he wasn't. And of course I had this brilliant idea that every once in a while, this owl would tell a story comprising the length of an entire chapter in said rhyming iambic pentameter. (Where the Mountain Meets the Moon style).

Seeing as how NaNo is a competition of speed and high word count, this may not have been the best decision I ever made. I did, however, grow as a writer doing something that stretched my definition of a joyful hobby. I don't think it turned out so bad in the end, but still.

Although we don't see much poetry on the publishing market today, I believe lyrics to music are a big part of today's offering of poetry-so it's just as viable as ever.

Do you like to read/write poetry?

I'll leave you with the only form of poetry I've written this year, a paranormal haiku I had to write for a writing challenge:

*that moment when your
in-laws grow fangs and drink blood*
Yep. I told you so.

(this is in no way a reflection of my personal experience with my own in-laws and any similarities found are merely coincidence :)

16 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I hated poetry at school then as life went on and I lost two people
close to me I started to write poetry on how I felt 14 yrs down the line I have had two books published and am still writing.
hence the title of my blog "Welcome to my world of poetry."
Poetry is not everyone's cup of tea if we all like the same things life would be boring.

Yvonne.

Karen Baldwin said...

Aw, see? You write haiku? You ARe a poet. Also, rappers rap rhyming lyrics. I gots to give them their due.

Tonja Drecker said...

I really like your vampire thing. But I really don't like haiku. IF I write poetry, which doesn't happen that often, then it has to rhyme. Just a silly, traditional, small minded thing of mine.

Suzi said...

Ahh, you lost me at iambic pentameter. (Did I spell that right?)

I don't read much poetry. I've just never enjoyed it that much. Most that I do read involves children's stories.

I started a story a while back where the male teen mc wrote love poems. The story got set to the side, more because of other issues, not because I couldn't attempt to write his poetry though. Maybe I'll go back to it someday. I'd have to study up on it though.

Sharkbytes said...

I laughed out loud at the roses are red poem, and also liked the haiku for sure! I'm trying to visit all the A-Z Challenge Blogs this month. My alphabet is at myqualityday.blogspot.com

jaybird said...

I love poetry! BK (before kids) I used to read a poem a day. Three kids later and you know what happened to that tradition, LOL

I also used to write a whole lot of poetry. Personally, I don't think any of it was very good, but I always feel better after I put my feelings down on paper, in any style/form.

Recently, I wrote a poem that an evil MC in my WIP would have written, as a kind of writing exercise. Again, probably not the best poem, but I think it helped me with his wicked voice. :)

ilima said...

Yvonne-I am in awe of people like you. Way to go.

Em-Musing-Yes, rappers. And off the cuff...it's amazing what they can do.

T. Drecker-I like haiku only because it's short and I can be done. :)

Suzi-If I wrote a book where my MC wrote love poems, I'd probably pay some other writer to compose them for me. Seriously, it's like pulling my hair out.

Sharbytes-Good luck hitting all the blogs and thanks for stopping by.

Jaybird-Wow. That is truly inspiring. I wish I had that kind of talent/motivation.

Robin said...

Um, yeah, poetry is not my thing. Writing it is next to impossible. (iambic pentameter-kill me now), that said, I'm working on composing one for Lovesense. Yup, glutten for punishment, that I am.

And my 1st MS-I tried writing riddles in poem form. Awful. Will not do that ever again (hopefully)

Cortney Pearson said...

LOL that poem made me laugh! I'm no good at writing poetry either, although I LOVE to read it!! :D

Christine Rains said...

I've never been a fan of poetry and I can't write it. Love that paranormal haiku, though!

Sara Hill said...

haha! love your haiku. I used to try to write poetry; most of it was VERY bad.

Emily said...

I took a poetry class in grad school (reading it, not writing it). It was, next to statistics, my hardest class.

Hands down.

I have a lot of respect for good poetry.

ilima said...

Robin-Ooh. A poem for Lovesense. I want to see...

Cortney-I hope it's a laughing with me and not at me kind of laugh. :)

Christine-Thanks for the haiku love.

Sara-That sums up my relationship with all things poetry--VERY bad.

Emily-You are so brilliant, Em. I have a lot of respect for it too.

Suzi said...

Actually that thought crossed my mind, hiring someone to write the poetry. Of course nobody says the mc has to be a good poet.

Kathryn Purdie said...

I was driven to write a lot of depressing poetry during my junior high school days. Then in high school, when I was happier, I wrote many love poems. :-) I've only written a handful in the last few years, but I really love poetry. And with all the Shakespeare plays I've done, that's poetry in and of itself. (You rock that your owl spoke in rhyming iambic pentameter! I didn't know that!) Having said all that, I'm not the kind of person who's going to go out and purchase a book of poetry. Still, I like to write it sometimes, just for me.

Angela Cothran said...

OH MY GOODNESS!!! That poem at the beginning is the best poem ever!!! I couldn't stop laughing.