When? Why? How did you go about it, and what were your first poems like? Did you stick to traditional forms, or use free verse? etc.
Just curious.
Just curious.
When did you first start writing poetry?
- Thread starter Matty lll
- Start date
I wrote a lot of really terrible disgusting attempts at poetry from the time I could write words.
I tried everything. None of it was any good at all. Fortunately I didn't save any of that. I also read humongous amounts of poetry of all kinds, whatever I could find, whether I "liked" it or not. I figured if it was in a book there must be something to it.
The poems that I read which resonated in me, I tried to match that effect when I wrote. Usually unsuccessfully.
I had the idea (I think this is pretty common) that free verse would be easier to write than something in a traditional form. Later I had a similarly mistaken idea that adhering to a form -- even to a simple rhyme scheme or metric pattern -- alone would be enough to lift a poem from dullness into some improved quality.
I found that that wasn't as much fun, however, as playing with free verse, so I pretty much stuck to that.
At one point (in my early twenties) I took two years and focused on trying to learn to write decent poetry as my main endeavor. I made a little progress, enough that I did publish one poem I'd submitted, in a very small quarterly that I am sure no longer exists.
And then, life took me elsewhere.
I tried everything. None of it was any good at all. Fortunately I didn't save any of that. I also read humongous amounts of poetry of all kinds, whatever I could find, whether I "liked" it or not. I figured if it was in a book there must be something to it.
The poems that I read which resonated in me, I tried to match that effect when I wrote. Usually unsuccessfully.
I had the idea (I think this is pretty common) that free verse would be easier to write than something in a traditional form. Later I had a similarly mistaken idea that adhering to a form -- even to a simple rhyme scheme or metric pattern -- alone would be enough to lift a poem from dullness into some improved quality.
I found that that wasn't as much fun, however, as playing with free verse, so I pretty much stuck to that.
At one point (in my early twenties) I took two years and focused on trying to learn to write decent poetry as my main endeavor. I made a little progress, enough that I did publish one poem I'd submitted, in a very small quarterly that I am sure no longer exists.
And then, life took me elsewhere.
I don't have a story! But am interested in writing poetry, as well as prose, that's why I asked
a variety of responses to that questions are in the thread i linked to in my initial reply... 18 poets that frequent or have frequented this forum.
might be worth a perusal...
reposted link:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52315
might be worth a perusal...
reposted link:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52315
Someday perhaps! I tend to very withdrawn with my thoughts, so I feel that poetry could be a place to keep those... so naturally, I'd wanna keep them to myself. For now
Not to mention I dont have anything I feel that is worth sharing, only some that I have started, just some vague lines here and there.
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I started in the spring of 2012. The previous year Tomas Tranströmer had won the Nobel prize and I had begun to read him. This time when the spring light came it was different. I was on a high. I noticed so many things I had never seen before. I wanted to write down what it meant to me. Poetry had opened this noticing business for me and I felt more free than I had in ages.
I write so I don't forget and to not slip into darkness again.
I write so I don't forget and to not slip into darkness again.
First after leaving school would have been in the late 80's. Then I had a break during the 90's and took it up again in the late naughties. Of course I haven't improved at all in that time.
Of course I haven't improved at all in that time. 
My answer is in the link William provided.
However, based on this post:
This last few days I have been rereading the poetry I have written just since coming to AW (in 2006). The earlier work was horrible. Really horrible. Some of them are downright cringe-worthy. I had to resist the urge to delete some of them. I still sort of want to, but you know, if anyone takes the time to flip through the last 7 years of poetry I've posted, seeing the growth throughout the post history should be encouraging and enlightening, so I will endure the humiliation.
At the time, even knowing I wasn't very good, I shared it here anyway (which is a bit like self-torture), and I took the critiques very seriously. I worked at improvement. Abused myself a bit there, but hey, it was worth it.
I took some hard lashes, but gained good lessons. The poets here were amazing, patient, honest mentors and I still look to them to gain their insight and perspective and knowledge.
I read a lot of other poetry in that time, and critiqued a lot of others' work.
Perhaps I am a slow learner that after decades of writing poetry, I was still not so good even 10 years ago, but I would say that it has only been in the last 4 (maybe 5) years or so that I have written anything that, to me, feels worthy of sharing (even though I spent years before that sharing it anyway, and using them as building blocks to improve the craft). I don't think I could have improved if I had kept them to myself all that time.
I still have recent works that piss me off and make me cringe because I don't believe they are as good as they can be, but they are no longer as embarrassing as the earlier works.
It was good for me to go back and read them, though, and even though I hate the thought of people seeing them now, I was glad I showed them then, and that I learned from them. Looking back, AW was a giant, intense workshop for me. I used the hell out of it, and recommend the experience to anyone who wants to be a better poet.
It is humbling, to go back years later and see where I started, and to know that I have gotten better because of this place and my own hard work. I am someone who believes that all of my poems are a work in progress, and always will be. I am rarely completely satisfied, but going back made me appreciate the forward steps. I encourage everyone to do the same with their own work. Take comfort in your forward steps.
And for those who haven't posted yet, or don't believe it is good enough to share, I highly recommend posting for crit anyway. Do it anyway! If you are sincere in your desire to improve, and want to hone your poetic skill, there is no better way to learn than by sharing it.
However, based on this post:
I want to say something else:
This last few days I have been rereading the poetry I have written just since coming to AW (in 2006). The earlier work was horrible. Really horrible. Some of them are downright cringe-worthy. I had to resist the urge to delete some of them. I still sort of want to, but you know, if anyone takes the time to flip through the last 7 years of poetry I've posted, seeing the growth throughout the post history should be encouraging and enlightening, so I will endure the humiliation.
At the time, even knowing I wasn't very good, I shared it here anyway (which is a bit like self-torture), and I took the critiques very seriously. I worked at improvement. Abused myself a bit there, but hey, it was worth it.
I took some hard lashes, but gained good lessons. The poets here were amazing, patient, honest mentors and I still look to them to gain their insight and perspective and knowledge.
I read a lot of other poetry in that time, and critiqued a lot of others' work.
Perhaps I am a slow learner that after decades of writing poetry, I was still not so good even 10 years ago, but I would say that it has only been in the last 4 (maybe 5) years or so that I have written anything that, to me, feels worthy of sharing (even though I spent years before that sharing it anyway, and using them as building blocks to improve the craft). I don't think I could have improved if I had kept them to myself all that time.
I still have recent works that piss me off and make me cringe because I don't believe they are as good as they can be, but they are no longer as embarrassing as the earlier works.
It was good for me to go back and read them, though, and even though I hate the thought of people seeing them now, I was glad I showed them then, and that I learned from them. Looking back, AW was a giant, intense workshop for me. I used the hell out of it, and recommend the experience to anyone who wants to be a better poet.
It is humbling, to go back years later and see where I started, and to know that I have gotten better because of this place and my own hard work. I am someone who believes that all of my poems are a work in progress, and always will be. I am rarely completely satisfied, but going back made me appreciate the forward steps. I encourage everyone to do the same with their own work. Take comfort in your forward steps.
And for those who haven't posted yet, or don't believe it is good enough to share, I highly recommend posting for crit anyway. Do it anyway! If you are sincere in your desire to improve, and want to hone your poetic skill, there is no better way to learn than by sharing it.
Last edited:
Stew's post inspired me to look back through my notebooks.
I was in the ninth grade when my first recorded poem was composed. At least, it's the earliest I have a record of. The date is October, 1983.
Day Dreams
I know the way it feels,
You seem to be inferior.
Nobody talks to you.
You just sit and day dream.
I dream about people
The ones I want to be
They are always the best
Like the ones on T.V.
Different adventures
In different places
Always playing the lead
If she could just be me
I wish I could live dreams
If only it could be
Yes, I know how it feels.
The dreamer is me
I've kept the punctuation and capitalization of the original. There is a four line stanza crossed out above it and a deleted line from a second stanza as well.
This is the girl I was then. I'm neither proud nor ashamed of her or the work she did. It was all she knew.
I think I just wrote and revised for clarity and feeling. The emotion made me feel this was poetry.
Looking at this piece, I can see the fiction writer I'm becoming too.
I was in the ninth grade when my first recorded poem was composed. At least, it's the earliest I have a record of. The date is October, 1983.
Day Dreams
I know the way it feels,
You seem to be inferior.
Nobody talks to you.
You just sit and day dream.
I dream about people
The ones I want to be
They are always the best
Like the ones on T.V.
Different adventures
In different places
Always playing the lead
If she could just be me
I wish I could live dreams
If only it could be
Yes, I know how it feels.
The dreamer is me
I've kept the punctuation and capitalization of the original. There is a four line stanza crossed out above it and a deleted line from a second stanza as well.
This is the girl I was then. I'm neither proud nor ashamed of her or the work she did. It was all she knew.
I think I just wrote and revised for clarity and feeling. The emotion made me feel this was poetry.
Looking at this piece, I can see the fiction writer I'm becoming too.
My answer is in the link William provided.
However, based on this post: I want to say something else:
This last few days I have been rereading the poetry I have written just since coming to AW (in 2006). The earlier work was horrible. Really horrible. Some of them are downright cringe-worthy. I had to resist the urge to delete some of them. I still sort of want to, but you know, if anyone takes the time to flip through the last 7 years of poetry I've posted, seeing the growth throughout the post history should be encouraging and enlightening, so I will endure the humiliation.
At the time, even knowing I wasn't very good, I shared it here anyway (which is a bit like self-torture), and I took the critiques very seriously. I worked at improvement. Abused myself a bit there, but hey, it was worth it.
I took some hard lashes, but gained good lessons. The poets here were amazing, patient, honest mentors and I still look to them to gain their insight and perspective and knowledge.
I read a lot of other poetry in that time, and critiqued a lot of others' work.
Perhaps I am a slow learner that after decades of writing poetry, I was still not so good even 10 years ago, but I would say that it has only been in the last 4 (maybe 5) years or so that I have written anything that, to me, feels worthy of sharing (even though I spent years before that sharing it anyway, and using them as building blocks to improve the craft). I don't think I could have improved if I had kept them to myself all that time.
I still have recent works that piss me off and make me cringe because I don't believe they are as good as they can be, but they are no longer as embarrassing as the earlier works.
It was good for me to go back and read them, though, and even though I hate the thought of people seeing them now, I was glad I showed them then, and that I learned from them. Looking back, AW was a giant, intense workshop for me. I used the hell out of it, and recommend the experience to anyone who wants to be a better poet.
It is humbling, to go back years later and see where I started, and to know that I have gotten better because of this place and my own hard work. I am someone who believes that all of my poems are a work in progress, and always will be. I am rarely completely satisfied, but going back made me appreciate the forward steps. I encourage everyone to do the same with their own work. Take comfort in your forward steps.
And for those who haven't posted yet, or don't believe it is good enough to share, I highly recommend posting for crit anyway. Do it anyway! If you are sincere in your desire to improve, and want to hone your poetic skill, there is no better way to learn than by sharing it.
Thank you for this post,I am sure that I will share someday in the future, but really what I meant is that I have literally just started even thinking about writing poetry, or prose, and so I don't even have anything to share yet, just some half-thought thoughts and partial lines here and there, not that I had written stuff that I thought wasn't any good. I am sure when I get something solid on paper, I might think it is good!
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Matty III, Check out some of the poetry games and prompts. Play a bit. We don't bite. At least not hard enough to leave marks.
I started when I was eleven. My youth pastor, Greg moved all the way to Texas and I was so upset. He was awesome and we got along really well. I wrote him a goodbye poem (it was crappy, I promise) but I guess it was kind of cute and genuine too, because he kept it and said he would frame it. (Don't know if he actually did - I can't blame him!)
Anyways, I was kind of proud that my poetry was framed so I kept writing more and more stuff. I fell in love with Robert Frost and tried to be him, so I learned structured poetry and got quite good at it. Somewhere along the line within six or seven years I started winning awards and being published in the school magazines and little triumphs here and there. I just kept at it, took poetry courses in school and things of that nature.
I still wouldn't consider myself awesome, but I can manage a good poem from time to time. Actually, one of my poems got chosen as the Daily Deviation on Deviant Art last month which was kind of cool. I'm not published in any bigtime places, but it's cool to be recognized.
Poetry is interesting because it really shows your maturity. At least, the poems I wrote make me realize how immature I was ten years ago. And ten years from now, I'll probably say the same thing.
Anyways, I was kind of proud that my poetry was framed so I kept writing more and more stuff. I fell in love with Robert Frost and tried to be him, so I learned structured poetry and got quite good at it. Somewhere along the line within six or seven years I started winning awards and being published in the school magazines and little triumphs here and there. I just kept at it, took poetry courses in school and things of that nature.
I still wouldn't consider myself awesome, but I can manage a good poem from time to time. Actually, one of my poems got chosen as the Daily Deviation on Deviant Art last month which was kind of cool. I'm not published in any bigtime places, but it's cool to be recognized.
Poetry is interesting because it really shows your maturity. At least, the poems I wrote make me realize how immature I was ten years ago. And ten years from now, I'll probably say the same thing.
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I have been writing since my youth and it has turned a passion.
Here's a sample ... let me know about what you think about the verses
It is true among couples who are far away and barely see each other.
You mean everything to me,
Even if you are not here by my side
You are my world
So I’ll do everything even if we are apart.
Here's a sample ... let me know about what you think about the verses
It is true among couples who are far away and barely see each other.
You mean everything to me,
Even if you are not here by my side
You are my world
So I’ll do everything even if we are apart.
I don't remember when I first attempted poetry. I can recall a poem I wrote for our dog who was very old and ill and needed to be put down. I was 8 at the time.
I wrote a poem in fifth grade that was entered into some local young writers' challenge, and it won something that allowed me to miss a few days of school that month.
I was raised on poetry, though. My mom used to read nursery rhymes and then other poems to my siblings and me from an old set of Childcraft books (with orange spines, long out of print). Some, she put to song, and others were simply read. Poetry was always an intrinsic part of communication to me.
I have ADD and use too many words sometimes. Writing poetry in adolescence and beyond allowed me to trim words and condense concepts, and I strongly preferred strict meter, even as a preteen. Emily Dickinson's near rhymes drove me batty, but as an adult, I decided to acquiesce to her use of them, since they were intentional. Any other poet who switches from rhymes to near rhymes invokes a bizarre kind of private wrath from me, though (but I never state it openly).
Poetry gave me an outlet for hormone-fueled adolescent angst. In addition to the horribly cliche (but structurally sound) bad poetry I wrote, I read a lot of it. I spent a good bit of time in high school memorizing my favorite poems (usually during tedious classes, and all classes were tedious) so I could carry them with me throughout life. I can't remember how many poems I memorized... it was enough that if I tried to list them, I'd forget many, recalling them later after hearing a word or line that reminded me of that poem.
I wrote a poem in fifth grade that was entered into some local young writers' challenge, and it won something that allowed me to miss a few days of school that month.
I was raised on poetry, though. My mom used to read nursery rhymes and then other poems to my siblings and me from an old set of Childcraft books (with orange spines, long out of print). Some, she put to song, and others were simply read. Poetry was always an intrinsic part of communication to me.
I have ADD and use too many words sometimes. Writing poetry in adolescence and beyond allowed me to trim words and condense concepts, and I strongly preferred strict meter, even as a preteen. Emily Dickinson's near rhymes drove me batty, but as an adult, I decided to acquiesce to her use of them, since they were intentional. Any other poet who switches from rhymes to near rhymes invokes a bizarre kind of private wrath from me, though (but I never state it openly).
Poetry gave me an outlet for hormone-fueled adolescent angst. In addition to the horribly cliche (but structurally sound) bad poetry I wrote, I read a lot of it. I spent a good bit of time in high school memorizing my favorite poems (usually during tedious classes, and all classes were tedious) so I could carry them with me throughout life. I can't remember how many poems I memorized... it was enough that if I tried to list them, I'd forget many, recalling them later after hearing a word or line that reminded me of that poem.
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When I was in middle school, I read Steve Martin's book Cruel Shoes. It then began.
I had already penned my first picture book at 4, When Grose Got Married, and my first sci-fi Novel at 8 (one and a half pages about a Venutian invasion, because Martian invasions were overdone).
I had already penned my first picture book at 4, When Grose Got Married, and my first sci-fi Novel at 8 (one and a half pages about a Venutian invasion, because Martian invasions were overdone).
