Over the last few months, I’ve been talking about writing stories. I thought we would use this month’s writing feature to talk about simple non-rhyming LIST poems. But before we start I’ve to confess, I’m not a poet. I’m a novice, lover of poetry and I like to read and write poems just like you. I like to write list poems because they are not just easy to write, but they can bring together images that are unrelated or unexpected. For example, I wrote this poem a few months ago.
In my Teacher’s Bag © Pins, Pens, Clips, Orange pips. Cards, Keys, Rips, Permission Slips. Books, Coins, Hall-pass Photo of our class.
In the first stanza, the last object is a surprise. But it is something ordinary, making your teacher a mere mortal. Similarly lots of people have small tears inside their bags. So I included rips. In the end though, I wanted to make the connection between the teacher and the narrator of this poem (perhaps a student) and added a photo of our class. This then creates a “Aw” moment to the reader. They might even think of their own teachers who were nice to them or about those monster teachers you encounter at least once in your life.
In list poems, the title is quite important too. The title can either set expectations to the reader what type of items will be in the list or they can deceive the reader. The title can tell the reader one thing and the list items could contradict or make fun of the title itself.
You can write list poems about different things – both simple and complex. It could be about objects of a particular colour or it could be about the buildings in a street or things loaded in a supermarket trolley. The only rule is surprise the reader. Make the reader notice things they would not normally observe. Show how the list items contradict each other or how similar they are. Remember the items in the list are not randomly chosen. Think about each object and visualise it.
What does each object say about the title or the meaning of the poem?
List poems can be about any topic. They can be about one thing or more. They can be about nature, home, school, food and imaginary things. List poems can be about list poems. For example, here is one I wrote this morning.
List poems are fun…©
To read aloud,
To write on a chalkboard,
To share with friends,
To tell my Mum about what I learnt at school (or not).
The aim of a list poem is to make the reader think deeply about a subject, show them the connections between unrelated things. For example take my poem about the teacher.
In the first stanza, you see that her bag contains pins, clips and orange pips. That tells the reader the teacher is not very tidy or she doesn’t clean her bag often. But I don’t say it explicitly. I just show you the contents of her bag.
If the first stanza contained:
Screws,
Bolts,
Screws
And electric fuse.
You will know that my teacher is interested in mechanics, DIY and she might be able to put together a robot for her students.
In the second stanza, I have chosen to say “rips”. This says one or two things about the teacher. Either she is not vain. She doesn’t change her handbag often. She is thrifty – she wears out a handbag until it is fully torn before she’d buy a new one. Or she’s poor. She cannot afford a new handbag.
If I had rewritten the second stanza as
Cards,
Keys,
Designer label,
And opera playbill.
Then you know that she likes to buy expensive bags and goes to the opera (either she can afford opera tickets or she gets invited to such events).
Choosing the detail, the word that you are going to use in your list is very important. I usually use a mind-map to generate all sorts of images about the topic I have chosen and then choose the words that I think will convey my idea.
For example here is a mind-map about how to do your little bit to fight against global-warming.
Can you find the words, thoughts, images you like from this mind-map and write a list poem.
Here is my example.
Every Little Counts ©
I walk to school
I ask for car-pool
I recycle my papers
I climb up skyscrapers.
I want to help a little
Because every little counts.
Inspired to write your own list poem? Here are some topics you can write about.
- Foods you like
- Foods you hate
- Your favourite relatives
- Buildings near your home
- Cars you like
Want to find out more about list poems? Here are some wonderful resources.
http://bathfestivals.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2011-Cliff-Yates-Poetry-Scheme-of-Work-LIST-POEMS-Primary.pdf