by Roger Noons
At the latest Zoom meeting, members again welcomed Emma Pursehouse to lead a Workshop on Poetry Form and Juxtaposition. A Grid Document which had been circulated prior to the meeting formed the basis of the first exercise. We had to choose a character and place them in an appropriate setting, then list things that might be found in that setting. Opposite, and with the first list covered, we were invited to write down describing words which could be visual or relate to sounds. Once completed, we were able to view such juxtapositions as coughing carpet and hushed whisky glass.
An opportunity was given to place some of our examples in a short piece of writing, the essence being short and after completion we were encouraged to cut some of the phrases, pare the piece to the most powerful minimum. This introduced the subject of short forms of poetry and Emma told us of Cinquain, Fibonacci, Triolet and Specular showing examples produced by such poets as Thomas Hardy, EE Cummings, Adelaide Crapsey, Amy Lowell and Margaret Atwood, as well as one of her own.
There followed three brief sessions of writing, using our original character or current conditions, even confessional topics, trying out the shorter forms. Emma did however stress that a poem should not be forced into a form. If the subject was suitable, then apply it! Form is always the secondary feature. Each member was then invited to read something with which they were pleased or that had posed problems. All present met the challenge and some satisfying pieces were shared.
Finally, Emma described some of the publications that are open to receive short poetry and her special tip, a short piece is always useful when there is a small area on a page to fill.
Emma Purshouse was the first Poet Laureate for the City of Wolverhampton. Her poetry collection, Close, is available from Offa's Press. And her first novel, Dogged, from Ignite Books. Her website is at emmapurshouse.co.uk
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