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<  The Enchanted Quill  ~  Submitting poetry: How to reduce your chances for rejection

carecrystal
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2004 9:52 pm Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Posts: 87 Location: Michigan
Just as with fiction, poems submitted to Sycophant Hex are subject to review and acceptance. Because SH receives fewer poems, the standards for poetry have not been as extensively defined as SH's standards for fiction. In fact, the published SH policy on poetry is as follows:

    Poetry: Poetry must contain recognizable parts of the characters if posting at one of the character focused archives. If it is vague the Admins have the right to refer you to Chaos, original works archive, for posting it there.


The following, therefore, is not the policy of SH. Although I'm a SH Admin, the following is just my own opinion being offered as CareCrystal, a private individual, with the hope that someone out there will find it helpful.

Although the writing of poetry tends to be an intuitive experience, there are some steps I believe you can take to improve the chances that your poetry will be accepted on SH:

1) Understand what poetry really is. First and foremost, song lyrics are not poetry, although some of the very best song lyrics have poetic elements (which is often what makes them so good.) All of us constantly hear the lyrics of popular songs and because they're so familiar to us, we tend to confuse song lyrics with real poetry---but they're not. When submitting a poem to Sycophant Hex, it's important to write something more than just words of emotion that have a certain rhythm and rhyme---in other words, it's important to write something that's a little more than a song lyric.

2) Remember that poetry is visual in nature. Here's a simple rule I once learned: A real poem is a "painting that speaks." The best poetry describes something we've all seen in a new and insightful way. When I personally read a poem, for example, I look to see what has been described in the poem---and how it was described. I look for a picture that has been painted with words.

A very famous poet named William Carlos Williams defined what poetry is in his poem The Red Wheelbarrow:

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens


William's point is that poetry is visual in nature and should be more than a string of words that essentially say "I think, I feel." But don't despair; like all rules, "Make Poetry Visual" is a writer's rule that was created to be broken.

3) If you don't include visuals, try to give your readers information. It's entirely possible to write something very clever in verse form (much like song lyrics) without any use of visuals. An excellent example is J.K. Rowling's Sorting Hat poetry:

While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng.
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead! (GOF 12)


In other words, if you are not creating a "painting that speaks", then give us information. Tell us something new that we haven't heard before. In the case of JKR's poem, we've been told all kinds of interesting things. We've learned that while still alive, the four founders of Hogwarts sorted the students into their respective houses. We learned that today's Sorting Hat was literally worn by Godric Gryffindor himself and was enchanted by the founders to do the sorting after they were gone.

Although none of us have the authority of a J.K. Rowling, still, we have the power to create new insight into a particular person or situation. When we do so, interesting information becomes the "just a little more" that creates real poetry. Again, this is very different from merely saying "I think, I feel" in verse form.

4) Try to include one or more poetic elements in your poem. Some examples of poetic elements include:

    a) Rhymes and near-rhymes, according to a defined pattern (though some of the greatest poems of all time do not rhyme.)

    b) Well-defined stanzas, which are a certain number of lines of poetry grouped together (essentially, stanzas are poetry's version of a paragraph.) Stanzas should be created according to a pattern. This pattern can be defined by the author or can follow a traditionally-established pattern (such as Shakespeare's iambic pentameters). "Free verse," however, which follows a less identifiable pattern, is perfectly acceptable---some of the greatest poems ever written have only one stanza of free verse.

    c) Similes, which are a form of comparison that includes words such as like, as or as if. For example:
    Like a stormy marina, heads like blocks
    Bobbled before him as if dashed upon rocks.
    Snape's angry face was like crashing thunder
    As he glared at the sea of heads of dunder.


    d) Metaphors, which are another form of comparison that does not include words such as like, as or as if. By leaving out these words, the two things compared are not just similar; for the purpose of the poem, they become identical. For example:
    The vial of his mind became numb,
    The jar of his heart was broken,
    His cauldron, at last, was empty...


    e) Alliteration, in which consonant sounds at the beginning of words are the same. For example:
    He murmured maliciously in the morning;
    His malevolent Dark Mark hummed like a machine.


    f) Assonance, in which the vowel sounds of several words are similar or the same. For example:
    Inclined to infernal incantations,
    He endeavored to incite his Imperius Curse.


5) Avoid abbreviations or shortened words in your poems. In the GOF Sorting Hat poem, JKR writes, 'Twas Gryffindor who found the way. She can get away with using 'twas because she's JKR, but the rest of us really shouldn't even try. Poets can detract from the otherwise-excellent quality of their poems by using such words.

6) Use a spell-checker. Spelling errors take place in poems, too!

7) Have your beta-reader review your poem before you submit it to SH. If you feel shy about letting your beta-reader review your poem, it may be an indication that your poem needs just a bit more work. Beta readers are just as invaluable for poetry as they are for fiction. Make sure all your submissions are reviewed by a beta---and this includes poetry.

These are just a few suggestions that I believe will elevate your chances for acceptance at SH. I also believe they will help you please your readers in general. I've found that some of the most heartfelt emotions can be beautifully described and expressed through poetry using these and other, similar techniques.

Poetry is a wonderful gift. If you choose to share that gift with others, with just a little bit of effort, you can create a mesmerizing, though-provoking experience that your readers will value.

Good luck, and happy writing!
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