A Poetry Guide for Fellows, Writers, and Students

POETRY

Fellowing Poetry

One of the key takeaways from poetry fellowing is the distinction between the abstract and the concrete. The process of fellowing a poem moves the writer’s abstract ideas into the realm of the concrete, such that the reader can access them more fully.

This is done through questions about structure, word choice, punctuation, imagery, and page usage.

  • Where do you feel like the form you had in mind doesn’t match the form on the page?

    Where do you feel like the form is working?

    What feeling does your structure right now invoke?

    What feelings are attached to the images in your poem?

    What feeling do you hope to invoke by breaking your line here?

  • What role does the title serve in this poem? Is it meant to be read as the first line? Is it sourced from the poem? Is it something different altogether? Describe your decision-making process for me.

    What association do you have to the word/image [X]? It comes up a lot in your work.

    What did previous iterations of this poem look like?

    Why does [X] preoccupy you/your poem?

    Why do you want your poem to have this effect? 

    How do you think this structure is serving/benefiting the piece?

    How has this poem evolved? What has contributed to its evolution?

  • I feel [X] after reading this poem, because of these elements, [X,Y,Z]. Is that what you intended when you wrote them?

    This image invokes this memory in me. What memories are associated with this poem that we, as readers, do not have access to?

    What role does the title serve in this poem? Is it the first line?

    What is an idea that exists abstractly in this piece? How can we move it into the piece concretely?

    What do you want to keep abstract?

    How can the formal qualities of this piece reflect the ideas that we are talking about together in this session? I.e. poetic structure, use of punctuation, use of the physical page.

Poetry Prompts for Writers

  • Remove all link breaks and rebreak the lines without looking at the original. 

    Remove all punctuation, then add punctuation in again.

  • Rewrite your poem without verbs.

    Rewrite your poem from memory.

    Rewrite your poem without any personal pronouns.

    Choose a different central image and rewrite the poem, accommodating that. 

  • Choose a stanza that is working, and free write about why you think it is working.

    Free-write about how this poem made you feel as you wrote it.

    Give three more examples of how [X] can be used in this poem.