Writing Poetry Begins with Free Associationby Emily Erickson

The mystique. Everyone wants to be A Poet. Don't we? Poets can flaunt their self-discovery...and their moods. Poets take their brains and their hearts out and play with them...in public...and no one can say anything about it because they're poets. Just as the second million is much easier to make, the second hundred poems go down smoother. So... the first hundred don't count. You are encouraged to mess up.

The juxtaposition of unrelated concepts is featured in poesy just as the juxtaposition of unrelated ideas is featured in free association in the psychologist's office.

Here is what you do: Put your gut on paper. No one knows you are keeping this secret stash, more private than a diary. Free associate. It doesn't have to make sense; in fact, it should not make sense. Let go. Remember: You are going to throw these out! It helps if you write them on scrap paper so you know they aren't 'important.' And put them in a shoebox under the bed. Write when you have the flu.

The question is: Do you got rhythm? Word rhythm, and sound rhythm, are what separate poetry from prose. Develop a knack for a bouncy way of putting things that is also in the pithy category. Mood counts. Clichés detract. You can start with a cliché and modify it. Check out iambic pentameter in the library or the web if you want to: It's good to know.

Write away and don't read it. Trust me, most of it stinks, but there will be gems. These gems can be stitched together as maybe some of your best work later. When the shoebox is full, which should be about 100 poems, and should take at least three months, you may now read. On a day when you are calm.

This is the beginning. Even if you aren't ever to be a polished or published poet, these scribbles are precious to you. Even if you have little commercial talent, you will have the satisfaction of listening to your self.


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