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/lit/ - Literature

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15685572 No.15685572 [Reply] [Original]

Beginner here.
Any advice on writing poetry?

>> No.15685597

>>15685572
Read and write a lot and you'll start to improve. I can't remember who said this or where I saw this but someone said you should only write one poem for every ten you read. So yeh read a fucking lot of poetry.

>> No.15685623

thanks

>> No.15686247

>>15685572
read a thesaurus and youll sound cooler

>> No.15686284

>>15685597
This. I would add and emphasise the importance of reading poems from different eras and places. Poetry changes tremendously every decade. Start with the Greeks obviously. Take detours to every ancient poetry. Speedread through the Middle Ages until you're ready for Renaissance Poetry, Shakespeare, Romanticism, Modernism, the Beat Generation, late 20th century, early 21st century, and, popular poetry of today. Not only to train one's taste buds, but also to know what to avoid.

>> No.15686322

>>15685597
this.
part of drawing is learning to draw the actual shape of things instead of mental symbols for them. I think people that start writing poetry have a similar problem of having a really narrow idea of what a poem is, and so every they write is filtered through a cliche. Reading a lot of poetry just means better understanding the medium and over time eroding the symbol you got in your head of what a poem is until you can write poetry instead of approximations of it.
don't think of the reading as a chore. Its an enriching thing. You'll start to enjoy poetry more in general.

>> No.15686324

>>15686284
>Start with the Greeks obviously. Take detours to every ancient poetry. Speedread through the Middle Ages until you're ready for Renaissance Poetry
Uhh, reading poetry in translation is bad taste, y'know.

>> No.15686338

>>15685572
I write w a beat in head or a rhythm

>> No.15686345

don't

>> No.15686357

>>15686324
WHOever said ANYthing about reading ANYthing in translation? damn you pretentious pseudointellectual dimwit!

>> No.15686377

Find poets you like, and see if they've given any lectures or talk about poetry. If they mention specific poets look into them. Billy Collins isn't the best poet around but I've gotten some mileage out of what he says about poetry in lectures and interviews.

On a kinda gay note I think the most important thing is to really truly love poetry

>> No.15686392

>>15686357
>Start with the Greeks obviously
Or so you speak Koine Greek? inb4 I'm just giving recs. Don't recommend something you've never actually read.

>> No.15686408

>>15686392
I do. There's a chance me reciting and chanting the ancient texts differs from what it sounded like originally, but that just happens after hundreds of years. Now stop seething.

>> No.15686425

>>15685572
Read of ton of good poetry. And by good, I mean nothing after about 1965 or so. About writing: it's an art, so there is no advice. Just let her rip and write from the heart. Don't approach it from a technical standpoint. And remember, literature (poetry, fiction, etc...) is art, and has no obligation to the grammar or rules of language.

>> No.15686433

>>15686408
Okay, let's suspend our disbelief for a minute and admit you actually know Koine Greek (which I doubt). But then
>Take detours to every ancient poetry.
You speak Latin? You speak Sumerian? You speak Sanskrit? You speak Hebrew?
And I'm not even asking about all the European languages in which Middle age and Renaissance poetry was written.

>> No.15686512

>>15686433
Dude, this is an anonymous forum for literature geeks. Where I live it's absolutely common to learn Latin or Greek plus several European languages. Of course I don't speak every language ever on the same level. But you may or may not believe the fact that I wasted a good portion of my life reading, reciting, and often having fun with poetry of various languages. My point stands. Any experience you want to share apart from being resentful?

>> No.15686513

Desu bros I'm not OP but what troubles me most is the lack of material. Say I have the erudition and stacks of paper but what I fear I'd still be lacking is the ink, the the substance and the content that goes with the form. There isn't much happening in the life of a neet and there isn't much that this brain can hold. What do about this lack of inspiration, this lack of a maelstrom in the soul that sends volleys flying to my reader's heart, if there ever be any

>> No.15686532

>>15686512
My point is, your advice is absolutely useless and nobody will actually do what you have proposed here because it requires an inhuman effort. And it's not even that crucial to writing poetry. Many poets were only familiar with contemporary literature written in their language. Some didn't even bother with reading much poetry at all. What is more important is having a great command of your own native language. That means reading a lot in it. That is way more beneficial.

>> No.15686535

>>15685572
Only write when you have a strong feeling. If you dont feel much of anything then do not write in that state

>> No.15686550

>>15686513
Go to the park and look at ducks, get calm and write tranquillity poems. Get in a relationship and write sappy poems. Cheat and write guilty poems. Get dumped and write sad poems. Just find a feeling before you write the poems

>> No.15686619

>>15686550
Yeah I guess I'm ngmi. Thanks tho, will give it a shot

>> No.15686813

>>15686619
You shoot write poems about being a neet, that's what Tao Lin did

>> No.15686825

>>15685572
avoid purple prose if you want to be taken seriously

>> No.15686832
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15686832

>>15686825
>poetry
>prose

>> No.15686849

>>15686532
everything you say is bullshit on top of bullshit. every good poet started with studying the history and traditions of poetry. Pound, Poe, Rimbaud, you name them. it requires no inhuman effort to read a bilingual copy of classic ancient material. it requires an IQ above 100 and 2 dollar library card. the rest of what you say is just goalposting, strawmen fighting, and confusion about what to argue. If you read my first post again, you'll see that I highlighted the past 100 years. not everybody is a pleb like you for fuck's sake.

>> No.15686910
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15686910

>>15685572
Butterfly sends her regards

>> No.15686975

>>15686849
>everything you say is bullshit on top of bullshit.
Somebody was talking about being resentful?
>every good poet started with studying the history and traditions of poetry
Mayakovsy and Esenin haven't. Obviously, the classic Greek poets haven't because there was barely any tradition prior to them besides Homer and Hesiod. Reading poetry for leisure (that is what it is intended for) and studying the history and tradition of poetry (like a dork you are) are different things.
>it requires no inhuman effort to read a bilingual copy of classic ancient materia
Absolute pseudomy. If you don't know the original language and have no idea how it works, there is no point in bilingual reading.
>the rest of what you say is just goalposting, strawmen fighting, and confusion about what to argue.
Blah-blah. An impotent rant.
> If you read my first post again, you'll see that I highlighted the past 100 years.
>I would add and emphasise the importance of reading poems from different eras and places.
You seem quite forgetful of your own words.

>> No.15686999

>>15686849
Also if you don't know the original language and can't fluently speak it, how do you read and pronounce poetry? Don't tell me you do it subvocally, as it will only ground your level of pretentiousness.

>> No.15687007

>>15685572
Write along a river.

>> No.15687040

Other than reading poetry, it's probably a good idea to read analyses of poems. I mean, if you're a complete beginner, then, even if what you read appeals to you, you're likely to miss some of the more technical aspects, familiarity with which doesn't hurt. Also, just read about language in general, so that you'll know what sounds natural, good, bad, etc., and, just as important, why.

>> No.15687094

>>15686975
>implying I'm anything but laughing at you
>implying the Greek poets we know had no predecessors
>implying I haven't gone further than bilingual editions
>implying I haven't studied ancient languages
more of your cherrypicking, twisting, and bullshitting... I am sure you will be the greatest poet of all time with zero knowledge of any traditions. this is the end. I accept your absolute defeat. I will stop beating a dead horse now.

>> No.15687126

>>15687094
The pain behind these words...

>> No.15687148

>>15686345
This. Write a real book ya homo

>> No.15687174

>>15685597
This, but every day

>> No.15687441

>>15685572
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVv2dEUsYKI

>> No.15688895

>>15686532
Best advice here