A list poem is one of the simplest poems to write because it is like making a shopping list.
I went grocery shopping today
I walked into the grocery store
As usual I picked a cart with a wobbly wheel
I could hear it rattle as I pushed it down the aisle
My first stop was a trip to the dairy department
I flipped the lid on some fresh eggs and checked each one
While I was there I scratched butter from my list
A gallon of milk found its way into the cart
Through the aisles I roamed with C`Nedra in tow
Cereal and spices we found and loaded the cart
With fresh fruit and vegetables that we picked through
Only the best would make it way into our bag
As we walked out of the grocery store
Me and C`Nedra went grocery shopping today and I wrote this poem using some things from the grocery list.
It is kind of like telling a story. It has a beginning and an ending, a structural arrangement and consistency.
A list poem can be written about almost anything. Flowers, colours, cars or pet peeves to name a few. As long as you have a beginning, an ending, and a structural arrangement that makes the poem tell its story then in my opinion nothing else is needed.
I picked up her crayons from the floor
Red…a colour of love and anger
Blue is the colour of loyalty and sadness
Green is for spring and fertility
Black is the symbol of power and mystery
Purple is for royalty and wisdom
All the colours of the rainbow filled the box
One by way I put them away with a smile
I hung the picture on the refrigerator
Mom and mum holding hands
Now in my mind I am picturing and easy poem for you to write using the concept of a list poem. You love music and I like music also…but do you know enough about music to write me a poem using different genres of music from around the world to write that poem.
Following that same concept…look at your collection of music…thumb through the records and CD’s and pick out one here and one there…write down the singer, band or whatever and then next to that band, album title or whatever write some meaning you took from it and make a poem using all of that information.
That is how simple it is.
I hope that helped some. If not let me know and I will try to explain it better.
Hugs,
Eiregirl _________________ All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine
These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.
Last edited by Eiregirl on Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:22 am; edited 1 time in total
Fri Aug 24, 2007 5:22 am
chordphrute
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 1412
Location: Nouvelle Orléans, Louisiane
...?...
Ok...
The following isn't really what you had in mind but it's what showed up when I started making my 'list'..so :
Sounds
Immortal ancient ritualistic chanting
Somber hymn songs, Tuvan throat mantras
Renaissance brass, Baroque trio sonatas
The modern symphony with coats and ties,
Italian operatic women plump with egos,
Rustic folk songs and Grainger-isms,
aristocratic ballroom dance music,
romantic Liszt, Chopin's expressions of
love and death, impressionism, pointillism,
any-ism, nothing-ism, every-ism
...urban hip-hop.
And... :
Dress Rehearsal
The unbalanced four-foot stool
behind a fully-extended music stand
paper dotted with black ink,
a recycled pencil
the tickled Steinway grand piano
an empty Dasani bottle
faux wood paneling baring down
on an aged waxed stage
invasive overhead light fixtures
three-hundred blue squeaky chairs
bolted to a cold cement floor
(Katrina's gift)
royal burgundy runner carpets
the silent hum of white background noise
overpowering my timbre,
as confident stage doors open.
What you have written is…well…it is a nice list poem.
Let me give another example…just for fun and to play with words.
Have you ever seen…
A royal navy
Or a cornflower sky?
Have you ever walked…
Through an emerald forest
Or onto a stage in the lime-light
What do you notice in this poem…what stands out with the words used?
Let me make it a little easier…
Royal
Navy
Cornflower
Sky
Emerald
Forest
Lime
Light (yes I know this one is ambiguous but just think about it)
The first four words refer to…blue. The last four words refer to…green.
Even just listing the words in a certain form can be poetic in itself such as in the list above where just the single words are listed. To me that is the key to making a list poem. It is not just the words used but how the words are used.
Lets look at one of your list poems.
Sounds
Immortal ancient ritualistic chanting
Somber hymn songs, Tuvan throat mantras
Renaissance brass, Baroque trio sonatas
The modern symphony with coats and ties,
Italian operatic women plump with egos,
Rustic folk songs and Grainger-isms,
aristocratic ballroom dance music,
romantic Liszt, Chopin's expressions of
love and death, impressionism, pointillism,
any-ism, nothing-ism, every-ism
...urban hip-hop.
Lets remember…it’s only my opinion
This is a nice list poem but could it be better? In my opinion every poem ever written could be better...well a lot of them could anyway.
As with any form of writing there are various ways any story, poem or anything could be written. For example your first two lines could have been written like this…
Hear the ritual chanting echo from the walls of an ancient Monastery
Listen to the immortal hymns sung from congregational pews
The more I go back and read your poem…the more I like it the way it is even though it is not my style (if I have one) and probably not the way I would have written it but it is still pretty good and very few people would ever write the same thing exactly the same way.
Now back to your poem…
What I think you want to do is get just a little more away from the actual “list” part and a little more into the poem part and bring them both to more of an equilibrium. In your poem “Sounds”. To a person familiar with the sounds of each item in your list the more…imagery…they would be able to "hear" which leads to more appreciation of the poem. The less familiar a person is with the various sounds equals the less they will understand and the less they will appreciate the actual beauty of your poem. What does this mean? Create more imagery…make the reader hear the sound so they can appreciate it. A good example…
“Chopin's expressions of
love and death, impressionism, pointillism,
any-ism, nothing-ism, every-ism”
Or the two lines I wrote above would also be good examples of creating more imagery and making the reader “hear” the words.
“Renaissance brass”…how many people know what that sounds like?
Renaissance brass…hear the trumpets blare from the castle walls
Lets take this and play with a few lines of your poem.
“Immortal ancient ritualistic chanting
Somber hymns sung from congregational pews
Renaissance brass…hear the trumpets blare from the castle walls
The modern symphony with coats and ties…hear Beethoven play
Italian operatic women hitting high notes on the stage
Plump with their egos they think they are all the rage”
At first view without knowing what the poem is about…it just looks like a long list but if you can get past that view and envision the World Trade Center then for many people that list takes on an entirely different meaning. To me however it is still a list. A very emotional list with a very sad meaning attached…but still a list.
I still like your poem just the way it is…nicely done. I love the sound of Chopin played well.
Hugs,
Eiregirl _________________ All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine
These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.
Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:29 am
chordphrute
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 1412
Location: Nouvelle Orléans, Louisiane
Eire... ok... ty ty ty ty for this... I will marinate on this stuff today and come back to it after work. Thank you for your kind criticism..
quote:Originally posted by chordphrute:
Eire... ok... ty ty ty ty for this... I will marinate on this stuff today and come back to it after work. Thank you for your kind criticism..
D
You are very welcome and I look forward to what you come up with _________________ All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine
These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.
Sun Aug 26, 2007 4:39 am
chordphrute
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 1412
Location: Nouvelle Orléans, Louisiane
Okay I'll be working right now on making a revision to "Sounds"...You gave me some great ideas...*working on it*... any thoughts on the second list poem I gave you? _________________ "You can't kiss and keep your eyes open, they'll cross forever" - Rubyfruit Jungle
Mon Aug 27, 2007 12:57 am
chordphrute
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 1412
Location: Nouvelle Orléans, Louisiane
Ok.. this part:
"As with any form of writing there are various ways any story, poem or anything could be written. For example your first two lines could have been written like this…
Hear the ritual chanting echo from the walls of an ancient Monastery
Listen to the immortal hymns sung from congregational pews "
at what point does it change from a list poem to prose or free verse or something then?.... by adding all of this stuff, doesn't it defeat the purpose of 'the list'...?... Perhaps I'm missing something.... still trying
*continuing* _________________ "You can't kiss and keep your eyes open, they'll cross forever" - Rubyfruit Jungle
“by adding all of this stuff, doesn't it defeat the purpose of 'the list'...?... Perhaps I'm missing something...” Yes…in my opinion you are missing something…the poem part.
In all honesty how a list poem is written is up to you. Whether or not it is considered a list, a list poem or just a poem is up to whoever reads it. To me and in my personal opinion you should have something new added to the list about every three lines. There are no set guidelines for a list poem. Yes…you could search the internet and poetry books and find opinions on how to write a list poem but I doubt anyone can find a set of guidelines that everyone uses.
To me the purpose of the list…is to make a list:
Lilac
Rose
Daisy
Dandelion
Tulip
The purpose of the poem is to make the list poetic:
Lets take the list above and see what happens.
A walk through the garden
From the patio you can see all the colours of the land
Let me take you for a walk through my garden
Purple lilacs will be the first ones seen
As we step from the patio onto a flagstone path
There are roses of every colour to dazzle your eyes
The red rose of love, the yellow rose of joy
You will smile and bend down for a smell
Breath in the sweet scent of a rose blossom
The white rose of purity, the pink rose of gentleness
Gentleness and joy you will feel on this stroll
There are daisy’s and tulips along the path
Marigolds and dandelions here and there
Carnations and daffodils dot the land
Walk past jasmine in full bloom
Take a walk through my garden
Let all your worries fade away
This is just me…it does not matter what type or form of poem I write. It does not matter what I am writing about. I do everything I can to paint a picture in my readers mind. If there is something for them to see then I want them to see it. If there is something for them to hear, smell or touch then I want them to hear it, smell it or touch it. If there is an emotion I want them to feel then all I can do will be done to make them feel it. To me that is poetry…doing all of that with nothing more than words on a page.
I doubt I did all of that with the poem I wrote above…it was just written off hand and without much thought but lets take a quick look why it could be a list.
Colours – purple, red, yellow, pink, white
Flowers – lilacs, roses, daisy’s, marigolds, dandelions, carnations, daffodils, jasmine
What changed it from being a list of things into a poem? All the words that filled the space between the words listed above.
I set the poem up by giving you a view from my patio and basically challenging you to see all the colours of the land. Then the journey through the garden starts out with purple lilacs. As the journey continues past rose bushes so does the list continue as you smell the sweet scent of roses and see the colours of all the roses. Having already put different colours into your mind…purple, red, yellow, pink, white…I sent you down a path that took you past other flowers and as you looked at them I would be surprised if you saw a colour in your mind that I had not already placed there. You may have also smelled the scent of each even though I did not directly suggest it. When you looked at the carnation you most likely saw pink or white. When you looked at the daisy’s and daffodils you saw yellow and when you looked at the jasmine purple was there…unless you’re colour blind of course.
What am I trying to say…
Make a list and check it twice
Boys are naughty, girls are nice
Sorry…that just popped into my mind…what I am trying to say is that you can write a list poem anyway you want…you can make it rhyme or not…you can turn it into a sonnet or make it look like prose or free verse. That is one of the simplistic beauties of a list poem…there are no guidelines except that you have a list of things. How that list of things is put together to make it a list poem is up to the writer. If you read the piece by Michael Gottlieb then you know that what he considers and many other people consider a poem I do not. All I saw in what he wrote was a list. Even knowing the sad and horrific circumstances that led to the list being written all I see is a list and nothing poetic about it.
A list is a list…in my opinion.
What is the happy medium between a plain list and a poem…after putting a little more thought into that question I have come to the conclusion that when a list becomes a poem it is a list poem.
Take this list and write me a list poem…
Violin, Flute, Trumpet, Clarinet, French horn, Piano, Drum
Then write me a list poem about your pet peeves.
Here is my pet peeve poem
I don’t like drivers who don’t give bicycles room
I hate doubles doors where one is always locked
I don’t like drivers who cut me off on the road
I hate it when I order well done and get rare
It peeves me off that people are in such a hurry…
…they run a red light
Prepare yourself for the next assignment…the poem of likes
Hugs,
Eiregirl _________________ All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine
These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.
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