For one of my final tasks within the willow patterns project, I was
asked to write a poem based on a source of inspiration from any element
of the willow patterns project. The aim of the poem was to demonstrate
that the creative process is endless; the production of one creative
aspect can always provide stimulus for further creation. This was a
daunting task for me, as I haven’t had to write poems since high school
and have never had one published on a blog. The difficulty in creating a
poem for me, is that because the length of words used are often
minimal, so many other factors are used to create meaning, such as the
pausing between words, the amount of syllables used and the particular
order of certain words. To combine all of these elements together to
succinctly create a story or depict an image is a careful balancing act
and thus takes much practice.
Consequently, for my first attempt
at writing a poem I decided to simply brainstorm a list of phrases or
certain words that appealed to me within the willow patterns project.
This is a recommended first step for starting any piece of creative
writing, according to author and creative writing lecturer Oscar Mandel,
as it allows the brain to explore all possibilities and determine what
aspects will inspire or assist in your creation (1998, p77).
Once
identifying the words or phrases of the book that resonated with me, I
then said each of the phrases and words out loud and combined them
together, to determine if I could detect a sort of rhythm, in the way
the words connected and joined together. This is because, whether
attempting free verse or meter poetry, “rhythm is the key physical basis
of poetry” (Wormser & Capella, 2000, pg 2). In traditional
English-language poetry, accents of a word are patterned, so as to form
meters, in which each line has a definite number of accented units. In
free-verse poetry, accent is looser and embodies the provisional, moment
by moment quality of daily living and speaking (Wormser& Capella,
2000).
To get the hang of the different ways rhythm could be applied to a
poem, I then practised applying my particular chosen phrases to the
popular rhythms of English poetry. There are five popular methods of
rhythm. Iambic, trochaic and spondaic which use two syllables within
each unit of rhythm and Anapestic and Dactylic, which use three
syllables within each unit of rhythm (Mandel, 1998). I experimented
applying these rules to my chosen phrases, and then creating my own unit
of rhythm, much like a free-verse poem. By doing both of these
exercises, I was able to practice the arrangement of my chosen words and
phrases, and determine which of these arrangements would suit my chosen
phrases best and convey the most meaning to the audience.
This
experimentation of words and rhythm will hopefully ensure that the
final draft of my poem is not just a mix of jumbled words, but succinct
verses that are able to convey meaning to those that read it. This
achievement will demonstrate that the creative process is ongoing; what
one writes for willow patterns, inspires another to write a poem, which
hopefully, will inspire others to start their own creative projects, or
motivate them to read and explore the Willow Patterns project further.
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