6 Tips: On beginning writing – poetry

6.Tips: On beginning writing – poetry

1. For being a poet, one must read, listen and enjoy good poetry. That gives the aspirant a general idea about poetry and inspires him/her to try to write. He/she learns about the nature, content, form and other elements of poetry.
2. In a poem, the poet expresses his/her feelings and emotions in an artistic form. These are revealed through suitable images, figures of speech etc.
3. Poems make use of rhyme and metre to give a certain musical tone to the lines and stanzas. English poetic forms (rhymed) mainly include – sonnets, odes, elegies. Blank verse, also known as free verse, is the unrhymed form which is quite common now-a-days.
4. You can start writing poems at any age. Did you notice, even children sometimes make and sing funny parodies of songs they hear on radio/TV. Parody is rather a remake of some song. If they can do that, why can’t you? Find out what kind of poems you would like to write, and get down to it.
5. Make a diary of your poems. When you feel happy with your own creation, i.e., poems, you may recite and share them with friends and others. Their appreciation would encourage you to write more. Also, don’t forget to hear and enjoy their poems.
6. If you learn about some poetic forum(s) in your town, join them and actively participate in those. They would give you much needed exposure of the creative field and keep your poetry automatically updated and growing. The more you practice the art, the more perfect it would be.

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         # Ashok Misra