Writing Experiments
Take a poem (someone else's or your own) and translate it "English to English" by substituting word for word, phrase for phrase, line for line, or "free" translation as response to each phrase or sentence. Or translate the poem into another literary style or a different diction, for example into a slang or vernacular. Try a variant of this using the "Babel" engine or other web-based translations engines, such as Free Translation.com.
General cut ups: Write a poem composed entirely of phrases lifted from other sources. Use one source for a poem and then many; try different types of sources: literary, historical, magazines, advertisements, manuals, dictionaries, instructions, travelogues, etc.
Cento: Write a collage made up of full lines of selected source poems.
Serial sentences: Select one sentence each from a variety of different books or other sources. Add sentences of your own composition. Combine into one paragraph, reordering to produce the most interesting results.
"Mad libs." Take a poem (or other source text) and put blanks in place of three or four words in each line, noting the part of speech under each blank. Fill in the blanks being sure not to recall the original context.
Alphabet poems: Make up a poem of 26 words so that each word begins with the next letter of the alphabet. Write another alphabet poem but scramble the letter order.
Collaboration: Write poems with one or more other people, alternating words, lines, or stanzas, writing simultaneously and collaging, rewriting, editing, supplementing the previous version. This can be done in person or via email.
Write a poem in which you try to transcribe as accurately as you can your thoughts while you are writing. Don't edit anything out. Write as fast as you can without planning what you are going to say.
Autopilot: Trying as hard as you can not to think or consider what you are writing, write as much as you can as fast you can without any editing or concern for syntax, grammar, narrative, or logic.
Write a poem with each line filling in the blanks of "I used to be _____ but now I am ______." ("I used to write poems, but now I just do experiments"; "I used to make sense, but now I just make poems.")
Write a poem consisting entirely of overheard conversation.
Nonliterary forms: Write a poem in the form of an index, a table of contents, a resume, an advertisement for an imaginary or real product, an instruction manual, a travel guide, a quiz or examination, etc.
Write a poem without mentioning any objects.
Backwards: Reverse or alter the line sequence of a poem of your own or someone else's. Next, reverse the word order. Rather than reverse, scramble.
Write an autobiographical poem without using any pronouns.
Attention: Write down everything you hear for one hour.
"Pits": Write the worst possible poem you can imagine.
Write poems that conform to various numeric patterns for number of words in a line or sentence, number of lines in a stanza or paragraph, number of stanzas or paragraphs in a work. Alternately, count letters or syllables. Use complex numeric series or simpler fixed-number patterns.
Write a poem just when you are on the verge of falling asleep. Write a line a day as you are falling asleep or waking up.
Write a poem consisting of favorite words or phrases collected over a few days; pick your favorite words from a particular book.
Write a poem consisting entirely of a list of "things", either homogenous or heterogeneous (common lists include shopping lists, things to do, lists of flowers or rocks, lists of colors, inventory lists, lists of names, ...).
Transcription: Tape a phone or live conversation between yourself and a friend. Make a poem composed entirely of transcribed parts.
MORE EXPERIMENTS: Click here!
General cut ups: Write a poem composed entirely of phrases lifted from other sources. Use one source for a poem and then many; try different types of sources: literary, historical, magazines, advertisements, manuals, dictionaries, instructions, travelogues, etc.
Cento: Write a collage made up of full lines of selected source poems.
Serial sentences: Select one sentence each from a variety of different books or other sources. Add sentences of your own composition. Combine into one paragraph, reordering to produce the most interesting results.
"Mad libs." Take a poem (or other source text) and put blanks in place of three or four words in each line, noting the part of speech under each blank. Fill in the blanks being sure not to recall the original context.
Alphabet poems: Make up a poem of 26 words so that each word begins with the next letter of the alphabet. Write another alphabet poem but scramble the letter order.
Collaboration: Write poems with one or more other people, alternating words, lines, or stanzas, writing simultaneously and collaging, rewriting, editing, supplementing the previous version. This can be done in person or via email.
Write a poem in which you try to transcribe as accurately as you can your thoughts while you are writing. Don't edit anything out. Write as fast as you can without planning what you are going to say.
Autopilot: Trying as hard as you can not to think or consider what you are writing, write as much as you can as fast you can without any editing or concern for syntax, grammar, narrative, or logic.
Write a poem with each line filling in the blanks of "I used to be _____ but now I am ______." ("I used to write poems, but now I just do experiments"; "I used to make sense, but now I just make poems.")
Write a poem consisting entirely of overheard conversation.
Nonliterary forms: Write a poem in the form of an index, a table of contents, a resume, an advertisement for an imaginary or real product, an instruction manual, a travel guide, a quiz or examination, etc.
Write a poem without mentioning any objects.
Backwards: Reverse or alter the line sequence of a poem of your own or someone else's. Next, reverse the word order. Rather than reverse, scramble.
Write an autobiographical poem without using any pronouns.
Attention: Write down everything you hear for one hour.
"Pits": Write the worst possible poem you can imagine.
Write poems that conform to various numeric patterns for number of words in a line or sentence, number of lines in a stanza or paragraph, number of stanzas or paragraphs in a work. Alternately, count letters or syllables. Use complex numeric series or simpler fixed-number patterns.
Write a poem just when you are on the verge of falling asleep. Write a line a day as you are falling asleep or waking up.
Write a poem consisting of favorite words or phrases collected over a few days; pick your favorite words from a particular book.
Write a poem consisting entirely of a list of "things", either homogenous or heterogeneous (common lists include shopping lists, things to do, lists of flowers or rocks, lists of colors, inventory lists, lists of names, ...).
Transcription: Tape a phone or live conversation between yourself and a friend. Make a poem composed entirely of transcribed parts.
MORE EXPERIMENTS: Click here!
posted by bill at 11:12 AM
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