Poetry class at City Lit

I think poetry could be my next addition to my sketchbooks.  I've only written one poem, inspired by a competition entry for sketchbooks, that required an Oulipo poem. This is a poem, one word on each line, but with increasing numbers of letters in the words.  When added to my sketchbook it made it really powerful.  So I needed to find out more about poetry.

I found a poetry introduction day class at City Lit and it met my needs.  We covered what poetry is - an expressive form of words; invocation of images; or a stock cube of language (condensed and saying a lot in few words); a song without music (makes poetry more accessible); gives heightened status (excluding???).  Some definitions of words: Volta - a turn; caesurae - a break, a pause for breathing; anaphora - repetition; onomatopoeia - a word that sounds like what it means eg pop.

We looked at various poetic forms: free verse; blackout; concrete; acrostic; Haiku; couplets; quatrains; sonnets; villanelles, and had a go at writing something in many of the forms.

Free Verse

A bike ride to A&E

I rode over a squirrel and it scratched me.
I rang 111.
"Wash it in soapy water.  Go to A&E within an hour!"
I rode past a gardener.
"Can I use your bathroom? - I've been scratched by a squirrel."
She gave me a new bar of soap.
A&E were expecting me!
They mentioned sepsis.
I only waited 3 hours (not 4!)
Tetanus jab, antibiotics and a sore arm for a week.
Thank you A&E.

Blackout
Taken from tutor's instruction sheet with quote from Luke 23:34-43.

A Poet

Open the door
Verse
Share
Living
Doing
Watched
Saved
Offering
Deserve paradise!

Concrete   These poems are written in a specific shape, where the shape adds to the interpretation of the writing.  I drew round my hand, and wrote within the shape.

My hands are how I make my art.
They are so precious to me.
But when I ride my bike, I do not repair my own punctures.
Puncture repairs are too hard on my hands for me to damage them,
prising off types, getting covered in oil and dirt.
My solution to a tyre puncture,
is to give the bike (or the problem) to my husband
so he can repair it.
While I make him a cake.
Which he enjoys.
And we each use our optimal skills.

Cathy MacTaggart, "My Hands"

Acrostic

Theme of where we live

Bike ride to Maldon

Riding downhill

Across the railway lines

Into Kelvedon

Next up the hill

Through Tiptree

Riding the flatlands to the

Estuary at Osea

Easy Riding.

Haiku

5-7-5 syllables. About nature and zen moments

Bike ride in winter

Careful in the ice and snow

Do not slip or slide

Bike ride in springtime

Cycle quickly to keep warm

Cafes need bike trade

Bike ride in summer

Essential to wear sun cream

Dry and bright and hot

Bike ride in autumn

Gravel and leaves - I can skid

Rising mist on fields

Couplets

Purely for pleasure I ride my Bike
Most of the time I go where I like
Breathing hard as I warm up slowly
Fell off hard, now my knee is hole-y.
Brush off gravel, spit on the graze
This slight slip-up won't leave me fazed.
Pedalling on, attacking the hill
Ride the chicane, precluding a spill.
Drop down the gears to maintain cadence
Spin, spin, and spin, this is sport science.
Cresting the hill and freewheeling down
Ecstatically laughing, just like a clown.
Desperate with thirst, I spy a tea shop
Perfectly timed, as I'm ready to drop
Search for the padlock, remember the number
Spin the digits and run to the counter
"Your largest scone, and tea on the side
With extra hot water as we are so dried"
Refreshed and renewed we're back on our bikes
Next time we go out - could use our trikes?

There were about 12 class members, all women, from early 20s to 60ish.  I was surprised at how many young women were there.  Quite a few had done an English degree, but most claimed not to have done poetry there.  Most (not all) were confident enough to read their work out loud, and I was amazed at the power of what could be said, using comparatively few words.  Quite a few of the youngsters were working in marketing and disliked the quality of writing by journalists and copy writers, yet were aware that the calibre of output was due to restricted word count, soundbites and clickbait.  One said she was trying to build confidence to resign, go freelance and actually start introducing herself as "I am a writer".    I so understood this, as I spent 10 years saying "I am a student", and only recently have been able to say "I am an artist".

We went round the table for participants to read out a poem they had written - either in class or one they had brought in.  Oh My Word!  The power of what was read out.  Very diverse.  One youngster read a short poem where a lecturer told her she was toxic, and then tried to make a pass at her!  I bet that really happened!  Another older lady (who said she was depressive - which many of the class were) read a poignant poem written to her mother when she was dying. So impressively articulate!

My poems were all at the lighter end of the scale.  But when it was my turn, I got out my Toilet Cleaners sketchbook, explained I had come to poetry because of an art competition entry, where I learned what an Oulipo poem was, and had decided to find out about more forms of poetry.  I explained how I had discovered that poetic words made the art more powerful.  I showed the sketchbook, and read my poem.  It was relieving and encouraging that the class gave it a good reception.  I received feedback that I had turned it into a performance (one class member was a Performing Arts teacher - who gave us the definition "a poem is a song without music").  This made me think about my exhibition, and the Private View, when I will stand up and give an introduction to my work.  I will do the usual thanks to my supporters and lecturers, but I also want to focus on one body of work - Gifti, Mavis and Sarpong.  Based on the feedback from class, I will read the Oulipo poem, which ends I, We, Can, Will, Thank Toilet Cleaners. Then go on to explain that Medasi is the Twi word for thank you, and get the audience to say, with me, "Medasi" to Gifti, Mavis and Sarpong, for the work they do.

This class gave me exactly what I needed.