Poetry submission & revision account:

• Submit one lyric poem, either free-verse or fixed-form (sonnet, ballad, villanelle, etc.). 
   

• Every poem must have a title.
   

• You may submit 1-3 additional poems, but you are not required or expected to. No automatic credit for extra effort.
   

• Length: The poem you submit for a grade should be at least 50 words or there’s just not much to work with or respond to. If you’re having trouble developing material . . .

  • Introduce more imagery or extend the development of existing images

  • Ask readers and reviewers what they want more of

  • What ambiguities might be clarified or worked out? What pleasures or tones might be extended?
    
     

Type of poem (options)

Rhymed or unrhymed

Metrical or free-verse

Academic or popular verse—lofty language and fresh thoughts, or familiar language and sentimental thoughts

Getting started: 

• If writing poetry is unfamiliar to you, your best moves are to review the textbook chapters and Model Assignments of previous submissions.
   

• Or read some poems you like for inspiration—Dickinson, Whitman, Billy Collins
   

• For the “muse” or inner voice of poetry to speak, listen.
   

• Don’t force a poem to happen—let it happen. One word or phrase calls to another.
   

• Start writing and see what you like—what appeals to sight or sound?
   

• Cut the parts that don’t work, keep the parts that do.
   

• Continue the expansion-reduction pattern—try parts out, cut the failures, follow the sweetness
   

• A number of tentative students have avoided traditional lyric explorations of subtle emotions. Instead they’ve attempted narrative poems or humorous poems. Examples:

  • Alana Nesteruk, "Insatiable Canine" + revision account (draft exchange)

  • Miranda Allen, "True Love" + revision account (in-class presentation)

  • Susan Butaud, "A Serial Procrastinator" + revision account

Grading standards:

Quality of lyric poetry is complex to judge, but my years of teaching Creative Writing find me consistently reacting to these items:

• Quality and development of imagery
   

• Integrity and wholeness—does the poem make sense? Does it matter?
   

• Emotional impact—poignancy, irony, fun, pleasure, love, concern, appreciation

Note: Even if you do a poetry presentation, you may also continue to revise your poem through informal draft exchanges, which you may report in revision accounts.