Writing Assignments: Poetry

1) Write a poem of at least 10 lines using at least five items from your "character list."

2) Write a poem in a voice not your own. You might choose to write in the voice of some historical figure, in the voice of someone you know, or in the voice of a made-up character (perhaps someone from your story).

3) Write a poem in a traditional form (sonnet, villanelle, sestina), or with a set syllabic count, or make up a form of your own.

4) Write a poem with a controlling metaphor (the likeness or connection between two things-ie., life and baseball-should be carried through
out the poem) or with at least three metaphors from the same context.

5) Write a poem in imitation of another published poem. If you choose a poem that's not in our textbook, please make copies for the rest of the class and hand the copies in along with your imitation poem. When preparing the "imitation poem," try to decide what is essential to the
"original poem." Is it rhyme scheme, meter, imagery, subject, language, tone?

Several of the above, or something else? Write a poem of your own that includes those essential elements (it should be similar in form and length to the original, but it doesn't have to be exactly the same). Turn in the poem as usual; by your name, put "Imitation of ‘(Title of Poem)' by (Author)."

6) Write about a domestic task, such as knitting, doing dishes, installing an air-conditioner, or watering plants, OR about a ceremony, such as bap tism, transferring a car title, or being graduated. At last once in the poem, contradict received wisdom. Dare to contradict your own beliefs, if you wish. Ten line minimum. (Kevin Bath, EH 200)

7) Write about a game you played as a child-preferably a folk game, such as kick-the-can, capture-the-flag, scissors-paper-stone, hopscotch, or jump rope, and not a commercial game like Monopoly or Space Invaers. Use at least two figures of speech, but make sure they're not clichés. This poem must be in blank verse or in a fixed form (sonnet, ballad stanzas, heroic couplets, terza rima, etc.) (Kevin Bath, EH 200)