Tuesday 8 February 2011

What is this concrete you speak of? Oh! ...

Ever heard of concrete poetry? No? I hadn't either. But it's fun! This is my first attempt at one. What do you think? Click image to read.



PS: I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO relieved. The deadline on the Writing Skills book I have to write has been pushed back a WHOLE month! Woot! Ah ... relief ...

Have you ever tried to write an unusual form of poetry? Or if you don't write poetry, do you dabble in any other abstract art?


28 comments:

  1. My students love to write concrete poems...We play with words. poems all the time by making our own poems concrete and/ or making existing poems into concrete ones. Such fun!

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  2. I used to do concrete poetry with the 5th-graders when I was an assistant teacher. Fun stuff! We used to do all sorts of different ones. They did - not me. I rarely write poetry.

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  3. That's one of the reasons I love poetry - you can do what you want and it's always art. Writing novels, well...so many rules and restrictions.

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  4. I'm actually working on an interview with a fellow who does all kinds of visual, concrete and minimal piece and as a part of the interview I got him to set me the task of 'writing' a visual poem which I've literally just finished. Other than that I've only ever written one other concrete piece. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to poetry which is partly why I arranged the interview.

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  5. Cool! A new type of poetry to try! :)

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  6. I lOVE concrete poetry! Your's is fantastic; I especially like the last line. Crack or fly? Brilliant!

    I wrote one myself, and it took me hours to move characters over and back, into position. I did it on Writing.com, and now when I try to copy/paste it into Word or somewhere else, all the spacing gets messed up and the image is lost. One of these days, when I have a spare couple hours to monkey with it *snort*, I'll try to reproduce it elsewhere. Here's the link, if you want to check it out:

    The Call of the Whale

    Ooh, I feel inspired to write some concrete poems!

    ((hugs)) Nicole

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  7. That's awesome! I don't write poetry. I used to in high school but it was all "I love him, why does he hate me" and "school sucks" kind of junk.

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  8. I love that! How fantastic, and a first attempt, too. You're a natural. :)

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  9. I've never written one but my oldest son has. It was really cool. Nicely done, my dear.

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  10. I love your concrete poem! When I was a third grade teacher, my favorite subject to teach was poetry.
    Even as an adult, I've taken an online poetry class with a published poet. I loved it! I've been so involved with my middle grade, that I pushed poetry aside for a year!

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  11. I had to write creative poetry for my writer's class. It was my favorite poetry class ever. =)

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  12. Very cool! I've ever sen it before, but I like it. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. Adding that to the list of things I can't do!

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  14. I love your poem. Seriously. I love it!! :-)

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  15. Nice work! I love concrete poetry. I took a creative writing class and during the poetry section, we had that as an assignment.

    I got into abstract painting for a while and loved it, but it’s harder than to think to make it balance.

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  16. I haven't written a poem in many years but I've been meaning to try Tanka ever since Melissa D. blogged about it on her website, Writing Forward. I just don't think I'm cut out to be a poet but it's definitely an exercise I need to utilize to improve my writing, I believe.

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  17. Is it just the formatting that makes it concrete? I've never heard of it, but that poem was awesome.

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  18. So am I just totally unobservant, or are the wine bottles a new addition to your header *snort* (I see new books too, so I am thinking you took a new pic, though 'new to me' might be months old)

    Anyway... like your poem! The most structured thing I do regularly are the drabbles my writer's group does (stories in exactly 100 words)

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  19. That was an awesome poem. I always admire people who can write poetry, and especially this form. Very cool.

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  20. Hi again! Just discovered this blog -- check out today's post: @ She's Writing. Looks like concrete poetry was on lots of people's minds today!

    ((hugs)) N

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  21. Wow I love the concrete poetry!!! I have never heard of it but it is SO something I'm going to try!!! So super cool!

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  22. Yeah, I've done concrete poetry before, but not for years. Brings me back to undergrad writing courses, that does.

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  23. great job on the concrete! I am so glad you visited and introduced yourself to me today. Have fun writing more! :)

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  24. great job on the concrete! I am so glad you visited and introduced yourself to me today. Have fun writing more! :)

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  25. I've done a couple which I think might be tentative efforts at concrete, and have seen some which I don't rate much.

    But I really like yours - it's both clever and evocative! Love those 'drops'!

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  26. Woah, that's the first time I've seen a concrete poem. I love it! Gread job :)

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“I'm using my art to comment on what I see. You don't have to agree with it.” ~John Mellencamp

“Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass without comment is a wonderful social grace” ~Judith S. Marin

“I don't ever try to make a serious social comment.” ~Paul McCartney

“I'd make a comment at a meeting and nobody would even acknowledge me. Then some man would say the same thing and they'd all nod.” ~Charlotte Bunch

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“We're not going to pay attention to the silliness and the petty comments. And quite frankly, women have joined me in this effort, and so it's not about appearances. It's about effectiveness.” ~Katherine Harris