fandomhigh | Poetry 101, Monday, July 2

"I asked Wikipedia to tell me what poetry was as I wrote this class," Romeo announced, once everyone seemed to be in their seats. It was a small group, so he'd pulled the desks into a circle, and there was a table of cool drinks near the door for anyone who might otherwise be too hot and thirsty to think. "It told me the word poetry comes from a Greek term, poiesis -- making. Though it is likely this is a mere accident of etymology, it struck me as entirely appropriate. For what is poetry if not a way to make our worlds by fitting words around them?"

"To go down some myths: Poetry does not have to rhyme. It doesn't have to fit into a certain form, though the constraint of working within such can heighten the art. In this class, we will write and read as much poetry as I can fit into two months. But I'd hardly buck tradition by depriving you of an introduction week. My suggestion, if you can, is that you fit your introductions into the form of either of two short poetic styles -- a haiku or a limerick. "

He went on to briefly explain the rules around both, while reading some famous examples.

"But if you find you've too much to say to fit into either form, write a different kind of poem and I will listen. You've fifteen minutes to write, then the rest of class is for sharing your poems."

"A few more bits of business, and then you may start. First, I have been informed Miss Cassie Blake is to be my assistant, for which I am profoundly grateful." A pause as Romeo reached for anything more that seemed important. "Oh, and I'm Romeo. Don't call me Professor Montague, I'm not nearly that aged."

And then he stopped, sipped from his water, and bent over a piece of paper, hoping the students would be encouraged to write by seeing the professor doing it as well.

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Once Fawn finished chewing her lip and tapping her pencil, she finally decided that she was going to stick with the first version of the poem that popped into her head when they started the assignment, reading it off quiet and shy:

"There once was a girl"--she hadn't exactly meant to emphasize it--"named Fawn
Who often went to bed with the dawn
Because the things in her head
Were grim like the dead
And dark like the shadows she'd drawn."

It was a little morbid and in complete contrast with the sing-song cant of the form, so, to her, it was practically perfect, and she'd managed to hide behind her hair through only half of it.

Edited 2012-07-02 15:24 (UTC)

Maeby put her hand up. "Is that a Goth thing?"

She was sensing a Goth vibe in like half of her classmates. She just wanted to know if there was a reason for that.

Edited 2012-07-02 20:51 (UTC)

"Er, no," said Fawn, after a long moment. She shrunk back a little, pulling her scribbles on the paper closer to her chest, and frowned at the other girl. "It's a...me thing."

Romeo smiled a bit, attempting to be encouraging.

"I know what you mean," he said, since he didn't want anyone to shrink in this class. "I used to shut myself in my room with the curtains closed when sorrow overtook me."

Which would be interesting, since shrinking was what Fawn did best. She pulled back a little more, her hair almost entirely obscuring her face. She couldn't have curtains in a classroom, but she could have her hair. "I just sort of made it up real quick, anyway," she said, as if to completely dismiss the poem.

Poetry 101, Monday, July 2

Re: Share Your Poems [7/02]

Re: Share Your Poems [7/02]

Re: Share Your Poems [7/02]

Re: Share Your Poems [7/02]

Re: Share Your Poems [7/02]