Companion Piece 1
Kelly Li
Professor Suzanne Roszak
Writing 30
January 8 2015
Companion Piece 1
This is the second poetry I have ever written until now, and I believe it is a new start as my development as a writer. I have found out the process of writing a poem is not straightforward, but it is engaging. By examining published contemporary poems, such as “The Clan” and “Spitting Image” in class, I have a better understanding about genre conventions of contemporary poems. It also allows me to apply these techniques in my own poetry writing.
I used figurative languages in my first line “The clouds are like cotton”, which is similar with “my mother like a small bird” that Kara Van de Graaf has written in her poem “Spitting Image”. The use of a simile not only could give the reader a better understanding of an object or a point of view, but also could make the poem more interesting and engaging. It helps to grab the reader’s interest and allows them to paint a picture in their minds. These are the reasons why I used a simile in my poem.
Another genre convention that my poem has in common with “Spitting Image” is that there are both enjambments used. For example, I wrote “The crocuses on the ground / twinkle in the wind.” and “There is another rainbow / fade away into diaphanous satin,” as enjambments which enable to establish a sense of urgency by propelling the audience forward through the poem. Furthermore, the using of enjambments also creates a fast rhythm for my poem.
Additionally, I also applied auditory, olfactory and tactile images as another genre convention in my poem. The lines “The skylarks cheep and sing / echo along sweet and tangerine blooms.” and “I can feel the breeze in my hair.” are examples of this genre convention. Wiehardt also uses this genre convention in the poem “The Clan”. For instance, she writes, “Incense, turned earth, wet limestone on an August day.” The reason why I used this convention is that the use of images allows the reader to watch the entire
Professor Suzanne Roszak
Writing 30
January 8 2015
Companion Piece 1
This is the second poetry I have ever written until now, and I believe it is a new start as my development as a writer. I have found out the process of writing a poem is not straightforward, but it is engaging. By examining published contemporary poems, such as “The Clan” and “Spitting Image” in class, I have a better understanding about genre conventions of contemporary poems. It also allows me to apply these techniques in my own poetry writing.
I used figurative languages in my first line “The clouds are like cotton”, which is similar with “my mother like a small bird” that Kara Van de Graaf has written in her poem “Spitting Image”. The use of a simile not only could give the reader a better understanding of an object or a point of view, but also could make the poem more interesting and engaging. It helps to grab the reader’s interest and allows them to paint a picture in their minds. These are the reasons why I used a simile in my poem.
Another genre convention that my poem has in common with “Spitting Image” is that there are both enjambments used. For example, I wrote “The crocuses on the ground / twinkle in the wind.” and “There is another rainbow / fade away into diaphanous satin,” as enjambments which enable to establish a sense of urgency by propelling the audience forward through the poem. Furthermore, the using of enjambments also creates a fast rhythm for my poem.
Additionally, I also applied auditory, olfactory and tactile images as another genre convention in my poem. The lines “The skylarks cheep and sing / echo along sweet and tangerine blooms.” and “I can feel the breeze in my hair.” are examples of this genre convention. Wiehardt also uses this genre convention in the poem “The Clan”. For instance, she writes, “Incense, turned earth, wet limestone on an August day.” The reason why I used this convention is that the use of images allows the reader to watch the entire