"A book, too, can be a star, 'explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly,' a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe." - from Madeleine L'Engle's Newberry Medal Acceptance Speech

Monday, January 31, 2011

Revising Poetry

One of the hardest parts of writing poetry is revision; in this part of the process, try to get your poem to be

as precise and concise as possible. Here are three important aspects of your poetry to focus on:


1. Detail variety – incorporate a variety of specific, creative details: imagery, literary devices such as metaphor, onomatopoeia, alliteration, etc., emotions, facts/information/research


2. Complexity/Meaning – include layers of meaning, unexpected or surprise twists, questions, and thought-provoking ideas and opinions


3. Intentionality and purpose – word choice, organization including how the poem begins and ends, structure, punctuation and conventions, use of rhyme and other literary devices, line breaks, etc. should have a meaningful purpose and should be intentional; the tone and mood should be clear and consistent. Finally, line breaks should not be random, and if you are going to break a grammar rule, do it for a good reason.



Here are some students' poems; they are all really strong drafts. What do you think are the strengths of the

poems? How can the detail variety, complexity, and intentionality be improved?


807

Ana

Charlie


810

Amani

Isaiah


814

Jorge

Fatima



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