Ways of approaching form


title: “Ways of Approaching Form”

layout: note

date: 30-08-2022

last_modified_at: 2023-12-08 12:09

rules so it can be hard to know where to start. Here are some approaches.

  • Jacob Samuel Rose in Apples and Snakes workshop I was in (Red Sky Session 2) said to try different parts of the form in stages. So for a Sonnet you might try writing a fourteen line poem, then you might add in a turn, then maybe try iambic pentameter, then add in rhyme. In this way you build up the elements of the form slowly and get used to what each part does.
  • Similarly, immerse yourself in one form for a bit. write lots of examples and see what they can do. See where the limitations are and where the flexibility is.
  • Just mess around and remember Art is Play. Remove the pressure to get it ‘right’.

Check out Loud poets Return to form series (link in the Poetry Resources)

Notes mentioning this note