Hi,
I find what Michael says very interesting:
'When I write free verse I sometimes feel naked and unarmed - the little tricks aren't there '
I used to write mainly free(ish) verse; now I find myself more comfortable using recognisable forms. I have all kinds of good reasons for this - that writing to a form is more fun and so on, but in truth, the older I get the less confident I have become in my ability to make the kinds of decisions Kate is talking about. I find it easier to work outwards from a fixed shape.
So I say to myself I think I'll write a sonnet and somehow the form draws-in the imagery like a magnet.
What do free verse poets do? I think I'll write something thin and spindley - or does the act of writing define the shape?
What are non-met starting points?
Alan
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