Assessing + Writing

This lesson is for a poetry group, or you could try it by yourself. It has two simple activities: Activity 1: Reading and assessing photo poems Activity 2: Writing a poem to match a photo you like *Plus other creative ways to get writing when your mind is blank*

Combining Photography with Poetry

Add any photo-poem combinations (phoems) and some photos without poems to the heap.

Bring some from websites/ photocopies from anywhere/ or bring your own.

Activity 1: Assessing

Interpretation:

Choose one of the gathered photo-poems (The ones already created)

Use the sheet to make some notes on it.

Considering the poem

l          Now look at the poem - read it slowly checking with the photo and getting your impressions of it as a combination of photo and poem.

1.      How does the photo affect your impression of the poem?

2.      How does the poem affect your view of the photo?

3.      Other Notes: E.G: Do you like it? Is it anything like the kind of poem you would want to write?

List all the qualities – maybe you will see the ways it was put together in the poets mind.

4.      FEEDBACK – (Be a poetry critic)

Activity 2: Writing

Now choose a photo and write a poem to go with it

1.      Prepare: Use the boxes again on a new sheet to play with words and thoughts and phrases - which you can later choose from as a theme..  For now just creatively write everything that comes into your head and you can sort it out later.

2.      Look at the photo again more slowly and consider a theme choosing the words and ideas you have prepared. Start writing a rough version of your poem.

3.      Keep working on it, changing it, editing it: Get it into shape as a poem that goes well with the photo.

4.      We read our poems - and give each other some constructive feedback J

USE THIS AREA FOR WRITING: Qualities or ideas to prepare your poem

In summary.

Method 1

1.      Choose a photo which inspires you

2.      Write notes on it thinking about all the ideas you want to include

3.      Write and edit the poem into shape to match the image well

Sample below:

Or try some other methods...

Method 2: Write a line of poetry + find a matching image

1.      Write a line of poetry.

2.      Use the search function in Google images or Flickr etc.

3.      Select a perfectly matching photo for that line.

4.      Continue and get a photo to fit each line.

That way in the end you not only have a poem, you will have a collage of photos.

This simple one took just 15 minutes. Masterpieces might be made with some more time and devotion. Check photos copyrights if you ever intended to publish it though.

Method 3: Google Oracle

1.      You can find word associations by typing a search query or idea of a line into Google search.

2.      It will start to use autocomplete to finish your line. 

3.      Take screenshots and copy and paste them into a poem.

That way you not only know what you think – you start to see what most other people think.

The result may allow you to create a set of random and unusual poems which will always look like Google search.

...OK. That's it. It's my first simple lesson for use in poetry groups. It may be useful for beginners. It may amuse or inspire a scornful curl of the lip in greater poets..

Comments welcome.

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