Found Poetry

Editor: Richard Follett

 

            The poetry focus for March is ‘found poetry.” The concept is very simple, and the results can be amazing. Inside every mundane piece of topical writing is at least one poem waiting to be set free! All that is needed for this to happen is a little free time and a willingness to let imagination be your guide. Here’s how to set a poem free:

 

1.      Find a piece of non-creative writing about the topic of your choice (an article, technical directions, recipe, etc.) and make a photocopy.

 

2.      With a sharp scissor, cut out words from the writing which describe or Refer to your topic.

                       

3.      Place the words you have cut out into a paper bag.

 

4.      Draw out one word at a time and arrange them on a tabletop in the order which appeals to you most.

 

5.      “Fill in the blanks” to create a poem of your own!

 

I followed the process with an old AVSA magazine article about propagating AVs from leaves, and here is what I came up with:

 

The words I used (these are the ones I cut out)

leaf       unexpected       broken             growth              nature               success   root               miniature         develop     plantlet            soil          new      moist     appear     special

 

            Here is the order in which I placed them when I drew them

            out of the bag:

                                                broken

                                                leaf

                                                new

                                                moist

                        soil

                        nature              

                        special

root

                        develop

                        unexpected

                        growth

                        miniature

                        plantlet

                        appears

                        success

 

           

Here is the poem that was ‘freed’ when I connected the words:

                                   

 

                                    Saintpaulia’s Miracle

                                                From one broken leaf

                                                            placed on new, moist soil

                                                Nature’s special magic –

                                                           

                                                Roots develop

                                                            and then

                                                unexpected growth:

                                               

                                                A miniature plantlet appears.

 

                                                Success!

 

-         Richard Follett       

 

This is a particularly rewarding activity to pass time with children on a rainy day, as it encourages young minds to be creative while teaching the structure of language in a fun and exciting way. Found Poetry is also a great tool for writers and others to ‘recharge’ flagging creativity. Please try a Found Poetry creation of your own and share the results here in the VR newsletter! You can e-mail your creations to me at: richfoll@yahoo.com for publication in a future column.

Happy Violeting!

 

            -Richard