[Alan Wickes]

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