Shaping a poem
the body builder
pumps
flexes
tones and
tautens
as
snip
snap
snip –
the gardener
prunes and shapes
and
whoosh!
the very
clumsy clown
colours the sky
with brightly bobbing
balloons of
thought
© Kathryn Apel 2010
Playing with words to inspire creativity
I write poetry. And I write picture books. And this is a good thing, because poetry and picture books go hand-in-hand… beautifully!
If I’m stuck for inspiration or enthusiasm in my picture books, or I’m at that point of doubting that I’ll ever find ‘the’ perfect word (or any words, for that matter)—I write poetry. Poetry prompts me to play with words again.
We all know the cliché that writers paint pictures with words, but when I’m writing poetry, I get three distinct visual images—and they’re all of me! Let me put you in the picture, too…
The first is a bit of a joke, because in reality I can’t lift more than a bar of chocolate… BUT—I see myself as The Body Builder toning up by pumping poetry. Composing poetry flexes creativity. It hones vocabulary and encourages wordplay. It pinpoints weaknesses and forces me to focus on specific ‘muscles’. The more poetry I write, the greater my control of my writing muscles—of words. And that is vital when writing picture books!
As The Gardener, I am a topiary artiste, intent on pruning and shaping; looking at the bigger picture and trimming it into a recognisable form. There is a certain ruthlessness in laying bare a thing of beauty. Poetry is a lot like a topiary tree—each word carefully placed to create a sharp, clear image. Excess words snipped away. There is no room for clutter. Each word must earn its place. A lot like … a picture book!
And then I see myself as The Clumsy Clown clutching fistfuls of colourful helium balloons… but can she keep them all in her grasp? No way! Poetry has a way of releasing thoughts to, float, fly, drift and swirl like a bunch of brightly bobbing balloons. Thoughts that could become a poem… or even a picture book… For me, a tramp over paddocks (with notebook in hand) is the perfect time to release the balloons, where they can dip and sway and soar to greater heights in the vast, open sky.
When writing poetry, I am carried away by my imagination.
Come fly with me!
Kathryn Apel is the author of the rhyming picture book This is the Mud! published by Lothian/Hachette Australia in 2009 and read on ABC Play School in 2010. You can follow @KatApel on Twitter, or visit her website, katswhiskers.wordpress.com. Kat is also the co-founder
what a great way to look at ‘working out’ your ideas!
In college, I wrote all the time, it was not difficult for me to come up with a poem or story when I had some spare time. I’m just getting back into it and with two children, I have so many ideas. I find myself walking around with ideas flipping around in my head and then I sit down and my mind goes blank. Well, not completely blank, just foggy. I’m finding that I’m very out of writing shape and practice. PiBoIdMo is helping me! Thank you!
Beautiful, Kat! I love your imagery and your anaolgies. While The Clown is the one that most fascinates me, The Body Builder and The Gardener funnel frustration and chaos into satisfaction and order.
I adore poetry, but used to find it intimidating–a playground for intellectuals, visionaries, and manic depressives. Now I see it as not only a private, solitary art for anyone with a memory and a mind, but as a public, social one as well. I can see the connection between poetry, wordplay, rhythm, and picture books – especially as they relate to the SPOKEN word.
I have also come to think of picture books as songs. Repetition, refrain, what is said, and what isn’t. Incorporating our bodies and our voices as well as our imaginations.
There’s a picture book for every mood – one to read, and one to write. I wonder what mood will spring tonight?
Great article, Kat! Loved the poem! And, it’ll be nice to picture a face when we’re chatting on pb’s only tonight. Great Job!
Thanks, Kat! Love the poem!
Great article! I loved the images/symbolism of your poem. I’ve never thought of myself as a poet; I’ve always thought of poetry as my weakest area of writing, even though when I first started writing back in elementary school, that’s what I wrote. Maybe it’s because my younger sister is so good at it. She’s soooo much better than I am. When we get together, we pull out my poems and laugh at them. But your article gives me hope. I started with poetry that people enjoyed enough to encourage me to keep going. Somewhere along the line I stopped and focused on prose. Nothing wrong with writing prose, obviously, but that doesn’t mean I had to give up poetry. Thanks for pointing that out to me.
Pam Zollman
http://www.pamzollman.com
http://www.anauthorworld.com
http://www.hurtthebunnies.blogspot.com
[...] be popping up on Tara’s blog on the 7th November (US) to talk about what inspires me. (Here) And all week I will once again be chasing ideas … while sharing the journey with Tara and [...]
I love your poem Kat and the way that you use poetry to hone and tone your mind! I am no good at poetry but have always loved reading it and whenever I am truly struggling for inspiration I curl up with one of my many poetry books and read until I am feeling inspired once more.
Thank you so much for your post!
Heehee… Yep, that’s me. I do have photos on my blog – just like the katswhiskers for my avatar. Catch you later for #pblitchat.
Very nicely said, Heather. Thanks.
Thanks for the great responses. I love to hear how this relates to your writing too.
Pam – I am so glad you’re finding permission to write poetry again. Enjoy!
Kathleen – You’re so right. The inspiration doesn’t just come from writing poetry – it is in the reading too. It still lets those balloons fly free in your imagination.
I so agree that poetry and picture books go hand-in-hand. Fun post!!