Boost Your Writing: Play with Poetry
by Rochelle Melander
Poetry turns the noise of the world into music. —Ian Williams
I’ve been participating in the 100-day project. Since February 23, I’ve started the day writing a poem. Mostly I am writing haiku, which asks the writer to reflect on the natural world. On some days, I use the poetry practice to write a poem for one of the books I’m working on.
The practice has helped me in several ways. I’m writing more. I’m making progress on my current projects. I’m attending to nature, seeking ideas for my writing practice.
But don’t take my word for it. There’s plenty of research about the power of poetry reading and writing.
Poetry builds vocabulary
Poets choose the best words to express their ideas. They have to. They don’t have thousands of words to make their case. With so few words, poets must choose wisely. Every word matters. Poets use onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, metaphors, imagery, and more to make their point. When we read poetry, we gain a richer vocabulary.
Poetry boosts brain power
From a very young age, children recognize the rhyme and rhythm in poetry. When we hear poetry, it helps our brains be more flexible. It also helps us navigate challenging events and make decisions.
Poetry increases creativity
Poets are word magicians, pairing interesting words together, exploring unusual ideas, and doing it all in a few lines or less. One research study, scientists invited subjects to read a narrative poem or a non-poetic text. The subjects who read the poem showed “increased fluency and flexibility.”
Poetry calms your mind
I was inspired by Alissa Quart’s essay in Time Magazine, Why I’m Replacing Doomscrolling with Poetry. In it, she quotes media studies professor Siva Vaidhyanathan, who said, “I have found solace in poetry’s ability to change the pace of my mind.”
They’re correct. In a recent BBC podcast, Dietrich von Bonin from the Swiss Association of Art Therapies, said that reading rhythmic poetry aloud for just five minutes can be more effective than slow-paced breathing at calming your body and mind. That’s not all, in a study of people who read and write poetry, researchers from the University of Plymouth and Nottingham Trent University discovered that poetry helped people cope with loneliness and increased their feelings of wellbeing.
Your Turn
You may not be a poetry reader or writer. That’s okay. I’m going to challenge you to read or write one poem a day. One! Find a quiet pocket of time, before the day begins or as it is ending, and read or write.
If you want to write, I highly recommend:
Online, Every Tuesday, Poets and Writers offers a poetry prompt.
The Magic Words: Simple Poetry Prompts That Unlock the Creativity in Everyone by Joseph Fasano
If you want to read poetry, I recommend:
Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry edited by Camille T. Dungy. If you don’t know the writing of Black poets, this volume will provide you with a good introduction.
Word Problems by Ian Williams. The Canadian poet and fiction writer wrestles with ideas about identity, relationships, race, social media, and politics using poems crafted as math and grammar problems.
Where Hope Comes From: Poems of Resilience, Healing, and Light by Nikita Gill. Written as the world was going into lockdown, Gill’s poems provide a inspiration for people who feel like they’re fighting large dragons.
Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson. This is a sweet edition of Dickinson’s poems—easy to handle, easy to read.
