08-19-2011, 04:05 AM
One of the books that I've found helpful is The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo. I don't know if this will be useful to anyone but just in case. 
Hugo points out that when you write a poem there are really two subjects: the initiating (or triggering subject) that got you started, and the real subject that the poem is about. The poet may be only intuitively grasping at the real subject and just know when the poem "feels" done.
Hugo talks about the difficulty young poets have of freeing themselves from the initiating subject. His example is a poet writing about Autumn Rain. They put down 2-3 good lines and then can't find anything else to say about Autumn rain. They begin to make things up, go abstract, and the poem suffers. Essentially, they feel obligated to write about a subject that isn't the true subject of the poem.
So, if the triggering subject runs out of steam Hugo suggests that you simply jump ahead. If autumn rain is no longer cutting it, change the subject entirely in the next sentence you write and keep going. Don't worry about the reader at all yet. Just keep changing the subject as needed. So, you may look at the finished product and think I'm not sure what all of this has to do with Autumn Rain, but that isn't the main issue. The triggering subject is just there to get you started it may not be what the poem is really about.
I've noticed in my own writing that I will often free write 5-10 pages of a poem (different approaches, different angles, etc), and then I will find 4-5 lines that encapsulate what I'm trying to say--even though they were arrived at well after the triggering line. I find it helpful to remember that the topic that started you writing may not be the point of the poem, and you are not obligated to keep writing about it. Often I also find myself cutting the first couple of lines in a poem realizing that the real poem came later.
Oh, well hopefully his thoughts will be helpful to someone else (if that's been anyone else's experience).
Best,
Todd
Hugo points out that when you write a poem there are really two subjects: the initiating (or triggering subject) that got you started, and the real subject that the poem is about. The poet may be only intuitively grasping at the real subject and just know when the poem "feels" done.
Hugo talks about the difficulty young poets have of freeing themselves from the initiating subject. His example is a poet writing about Autumn Rain. They put down 2-3 good lines and then can't find anything else to say about Autumn rain. They begin to make things up, go abstract, and the poem suffers. Essentially, they feel obligated to write about a subject that isn't the true subject of the poem.
So, if the triggering subject runs out of steam Hugo suggests that you simply jump ahead. If autumn rain is no longer cutting it, change the subject entirely in the next sentence you write and keep going. Don't worry about the reader at all yet. Just keep changing the subject as needed. So, you may look at the finished product and think I'm not sure what all of this has to do with Autumn Rain, but that isn't the main issue. The triggering subject is just there to get you started it may not be what the poem is really about.
I've noticed in my own writing that I will often free write 5-10 pages of a poem (different approaches, different angles, etc), and then I will find 4-5 lines that encapsulate what I'm trying to say--even though they were arrived at well after the triggering line. I find it helpful to remember that the topic that started you writing may not be the point of the poem, and you are not obligated to keep writing about it. Often I also find myself cutting the first couple of lines in a poem realizing that the real poem came later.
Oh, well hopefully his thoughts will be helpful to someone else (if that's been anyone else's experience).
Best,
Todd
The secret of poetry is cruelty.--Jon Anderson