What is Poetry?
A Definition of Poetry
Poetry is one of the most popular forms of creative writing. And yet, writers will never get rich by writing poetry. There are also many ways to write a poem, such as metrical verse, free verse, haiku, and limerick. The most common type is free verse. There are also many different definitions of poetry. Here are few:
- “Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.”—Leonard Cohen
- “Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.” —Kohil Gibran
- “Poetry is what gets lost in translation.”— Robert Frost
- “A poem is never finished, only abandoned.”—Paul Valery
- “God is the perfect poet.”—Robert Browning
- “Poetry is life distilled.” Gwendolyn Brooks
- “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found its words.”—Robert Frost
- “A poet looks at the world the way he looks at a woman.”—Wallace Stevens.
There is no single definition of a poem. It means different things to different people. Yet, if you analyze a few poems, you will learn that all poems have several common attributes. Most poems include the following:
- Form. All poems have a particular structure or form. For instance, a poem can be free verse, metrical verse, blank verse, limerick, or epic.
- Subject. Every poem is about something—life, death, hope, fear, love, and so forth.
- Rhyme and meter. Some poems have a particular rhyme scheme, such as end rhyme. Other poems have no rhyme scheme. Instead, the poet uses rhythm or meter to create a memorable poem.
- Diction. Poems are made up of words. These words have a particular meaning. A word can denote a particular meaning, or have a connotation, an implied meaning.
- Imagery. Poets use word pictures that appeal to the senses to create meaning. They use words to appeal to sight, sound, touch, smell.
- Figurative language. Poets use the devices of simile, metaphor, personification, etc., to create a specific meaning and invoke a particular emotional response.
- Voice and tone. A poem has a particular voice—the person who is speaking in a poem. A poem also has a particular tone. It refers to the poet’s attitude toward the subject and the reader. Tone can be formal or conversational, serious or humorous, and so forth.
- Line and syntax. The poet uses different line lengths to speed up or slow down the tempo of the poem. He/she can also alter the arrangement of words to create emphasis or invoke an emotional response.
- Sound. All poems have a particular sound. A poet can use different sound devices to create an emotional response, such as alliteration, assonance, rhyme, and onomatopoeia.
Essentially, a poet composes a poem about a particular subject by using carefully chosen words, poetic devices, figures of speech, and imagery to create deep meaning and an emotional response.
Creative Nonfiction
What is creative nonfiction?
It is writing about real people and events. It is writing that is based on fact. It is writing that is well-researched. It is writing that uses the tenants of reportage. It is writing that uses the elements of fiction—such as setting, characterization, and plot—to write about real people and real events. It is writing that uses the literary devices, including metaphor, simile, and imagery.
What can you write? Popular types of creative nonfiction include the personal essay, biography and autobiography, memoir, essay, article, and literary journalism.
Popular Works
Here are a few classic examples of creative nonfiction:
• Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”
• Norman Mailer’s “The Executioner’s Song”
• Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff”
• George Plimpton’s “The Paper Lion.”
Resources
If you want to write creative nonfiction, here are two books you should read:
• “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser
• “The Art of Creative Nonfiction” by Lee Gutkind
Next, I will define poetry.
Popular Types of Creative Writing
What You Should Read and Write
What are the popular types of creative writing that you can write? Examples of creative writing are everywhere—in newspapers, magazine, or on the Web. Popular types of creative writing include poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Here is a brief explanation of each:
Poetry
What is it? There are many different types of poetry, including traditional, modern, and contemporary poetry. Essentially, a poem is written in verse, based on line and stanzas. The poet uses literary devices, such as simile, metaphor, and imagery to write about a subject, with the intention of evoking an emotional response and communicating deep meaning to the reader.
Popular contemporary poets include Charles Simic, Billy Collins, and Kay Ryan. To find out more, visit www.poetryfoundation.org or www.poets.org .
Fiction
What is fiction? It is a fictional story. The story is about made up a setting, characters, plot, and conflict. A typical story begins with an exposition in which the inciting incident occurs, the setting is described, and the protagonist is introduced. The story includes a conflict that the protagonist must overcome. The story includes a climax or turning point. And the story includes resolution, where by the author ties up loose ends and answers any unanswered questions raised earlier in the story.
There are several genres, including popular fiction and literary fiction. Genre fiction is a term for fictional works (novels and short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. Examples include romance, mystery, and science fiction.
Literary fiction is a term used to distinguish serious fiction or works that claim to have literary merit. It focuses more on writing style and character development than narrative and plot development. It is also associated with those criteria used to in defining eligibility for literary awards.
You can write three types of fiction: a short story, novella, or novel.
The short story can be read in a single-sitting. It is shorter than a novel or novella. Most contemporary short stories are between 1,000 and 20, 000 words.
The novellais longer than a short story and shorter than a novel. According to “Creative Writing” by Culin Bulman, it is between 25,000 and 40,000 words in length. Examples: Truman Capote’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Joseph Conrad’s “The Heart of Darkness”, Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”, George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”
Unlike the short story or novella, most novels are 300 to 400 pages or 100,000 to 175,000 words. Some novels are longer. For instance, Don Quixote is 700 pages, and Ulysses is 783 pages.
Creative Nonfiction
Creative nonfiction is the most read type of creative writing. It is writing about real people and real events. It is writing that is based on good research and the tenants of reportage. It is writing that uses the elements of fiction, such as setting, plot, and characterization to tell a true story or write about a real person. It is writing that uses literary devices such as simile, metaphor, and imagery.
Popular types of creative nonfiction include the personal essay, memoir, essay, article, and biography.
Where to Read Creative Writing
Here is where you can read well-written articles that fall under the different genres of creative writing:
- The New Yorker magazine (www.newyorker.com )
- The Atlantic (www.theatlantic.com )
- Harper’s Magazine( www.harpers.org )
- Walrus (www.walrusmagazine.com )
- The Smithsonian (www.smithsonian.com)
- Reader’s Digest (www.readersdigest.com )
- Saturday Evening Post (www.saturdayeveningpost.com )
- The Ryerson Review of Journalism (www.rrj.ca )
- Mother Jones (www.motherjones.com )
- Adbusters (www.adbusters.org )
- The Skeptic (www.seskeptic.com )
Next, I will define creative nonfiction, fiction, and short fiction in greater detail.
If you have any comments, please post them to this blog.
Find Your Creative Muse 