RichardGarfinkle
Rereading and Rewriting
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2012
- Messages
- 11,755
- Reaction score
- 4,747
- Location
- Walking the Underworld
- Website
- www.richardgarfinkle.com
I write poetry when poems appear in my mind to be written.
But I write prose with an awareness of the poetry in what I’m writing.
It’s always there, that sense of the interplay of words, phrases, sounds, meanings, memories, invocations, illuminations, humor, and potential beauty.
Even when I’m writing STEM textbooks, there’s an explicit awareness that it is not only impossible to write prose that is bereft of poetry, it’s foolish to try.
No matter what I’m writing my mind has the poetic awareness of hidden music and play within language.
If I need to show that two things are really one thing shown from two different perspectives, I use different poetic voices to describe the seemingly separate things and then reveal how what is shown by one voice is hidden by the other and vice versa.
If I need to show that one word is really referring to many distinct ideas, I will juggle that word relative to other words to show what emerges.
When I’m helping people get better at writing I will point to poetic methods. Too many writers try to find the right word for the idea they are trying to express and are stymied if there is no such word. I tell them about kennings, about the ability to make phrases that sparkle and illuminate by bringing together unconnected words like whale and rood to make whaleroad for the sea as a place to travel on.
Poetry in mind can make prose writing more fun, meaningful and interesting. Embedding poetry in prose is an older writing practice that has fallen out of favor. I think it needs to be restored and used more.
What say ye, poets?
But I write prose with an awareness of the poetry in what I’m writing.
It’s always there, that sense of the interplay of words, phrases, sounds, meanings, memories, invocations, illuminations, humor, and potential beauty.
Even when I’m writing STEM textbooks, there’s an explicit awareness that it is not only impossible to write prose that is bereft of poetry, it’s foolish to try.
No matter what I’m writing my mind has the poetic awareness of hidden music and play within language.
If I need to show that two things are really one thing shown from two different perspectives, I use different poetic voices to describe the seemingly separate things and then reveal how what is shown by one voice is hidden by the other and vice versa.
If I need to show that one word is really referring to many distinct ideas, I will juggle that word relative to other words to show what emerges.
When I’m helping people get better at writing I will point to poetic methods. Too many writers try to find the right word for the idea they are trying to express and are stymied if there is no such word. I tell them about kennings, about the ability to make phrases that sparkle and illuminate by bringing together unconnected words like whale and rood to make whaleroad for the sea as a place to travel on.
Poetry in mind can make prose writing more fun, meaningful and interesting. Embedding poetry in prose is an older writing practice that has fallen out of favor. I think it needs to be restored and used more.
What say ye, poets?
