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Poetry workshop
29/6/11
Martin Locock
Outline
What is poetry?
Poetry as a thought tool
The haiku in theory and practice
Death of Chatterton Thomas Wallis
What is poetry?
“Emotion recollected in tranquility” William Wordsworth
“Memorable speech” W H Auden
“Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” Leonard Cohen
“The poet doesn't invent. He listens.” Jean Cocteau
“Carefully chosen words” Martin Locock
• Authentic• Humorous• Intellectual• Reflective• Structured
What can poetry be?
What poetry isn’t*
• A private language• Unedited thought or feeling• A definitive or balanced view• A puzzle or word game
* according to me
Managing creativity
• Leadership and creativity• Creation is easy• The creative paradox (or, “There
was a young man from Hong Kong”)
Poetry and reflection
• Capture moments of transformation• Capture feelings and texture of
experience• Jack Mezirow – critical reflection
transformational learning re-thinking past experiences
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Flow : Optimal experience, the combination of absorption, effort, and discipline
Seeking to transform experience into poetry can trigger flow at will The flow of thought finds its own path when you cease trying to direct it.
Poetry and flow
The haiku
Charity and trust
She resists the man
Panhandling for a pound coin,
Doubting his motives
Rules
• Japanese tradition
• A title
• Three lines
• Five, seven, five syllables
• Words can be omitted
• Changing moment: external > internal, describe > feel/think; two aspects of something
Examples
Charity and trust
She resists the man
Panhandling for a pound coin,
Doubting his motives
Kijo Murakami
First autumn morning:the mirror I stare intoshows my father's face
Haiku exercise
• Topic: a discovery or insight• Content: context and event• Focus on how it felt, how it
changed you• No room for irrelevancies
Having a go
• Find a thought 3 minutes• Write it down as a phrase• First draft (title last) 5 minutes• Write it neatly• Pairs: swap and read partner’s aloud
– What was best, what needs work 5 minutes• Quick revision 2 minutes• Final version: reading
Judging a poem
• Does it contain a truth?• Does it express that truth?• Does it communicate that truth?
Irrelevant questions:• Is the idea new?• Is the idea one you are committed to?• Would someone else have written it
differently?
More words
http://changingmoment.blogspot.com
The Great Wave, Hokusai (1760-1849)