In addition to the interior details of the poem—word choice, metaphor, turns-of-phrase, etc.— I pay close attention to the visual and auditory components. I am a graphic designer by training and I organize typography on a daily basis.
This ties in amazingly well with the visual aspect of poetry. Unlike prose, poetry has white space (think paper). Line length, line breaks, indents, and hard returns all play a part in how a poem looks on the page. Careful choices about white space can add structure to the poem, aid reader comprehension, and add meaning.
I feel that poetry literally has a voice—the type with pitch and cadence. I read my writing out loud and make adjustments because of the way it sounds. For example, an angry poem will sound grating, and a contemplative one will sound hesitant. Occasionally, this technique has gotten me into grammatical trouble, but my editor was kind enough to point these moments out to me.
So my advice to poets is to take a minute to both look at and listen to your poetry.
Want to learn more about Sarah and her writing? Click through!
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I’m a visual person myself and always have pictures in my mind and in my poetry.
I think that’s excellent advice! :o)
I’ve read LOVE THAT DOG, HATE THAT CAT, and Ivan’s up next. Even more excited to read it after this post. 🙂
I really like how she uses fonts and visual layout to help create her poetry. I can really connect with that idea and didn’t realize that poetry can also be a visual medium. That’s kind of a fun way to look at it!