Hi, and thanks for reading! Today is Monday, so we’re going to talk about poetry.
If you want to go directly to the poetry exercise, and skip all this “recipe blog” backstory, scroll to the next subhead.
I am a childless adult woman who watches a lot of Sesame Street. In high school, I would often do my makeup in the mornings while Sesame Street played in the background, then leave 10 minutes into the first episode of Jem1. Today, I like watching celebrities’ and musicians’ guest appearances on Sesame Street, but I also find myself spending long stretches on YouTube after saying “Hey! I forgot all about this song!”
When Big Bird was first learning to read, he mistook the alphabet as a single word: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz. If you’d like to hear how he pronounces it, be forewarned that you’ll have the song stuck in your head for the rest of your life (but you’ll also be the smartest bird this world has ever seen!).
I have been humming the song Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ever since I realized I hadn’t talked about abecedarians in the newsletter yet. For sheer language-generation alone, abecedarians are very handy; I have found that when I’m stuck on a poem, switching to write a new abecedarian helps clear the gutters of my imagination.
Here are a few examples of abecedarians I know and love. They all follow the alphabet in different ways. First, one from Mary Szybist that makes good use of alliteration in the lines (like, “where does this gold/go”). I think my favorite parts are the unexpected turns in the “V” section:
Then Hummingbird Abecedarian by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, which I recommend listening to at the link:
And finally, a song that represents one of the most impressive abecedarians of all time:
Exercise: Alphabet Soup
An abecedarian poem uses the letters and order of the alphabet as a guideline. Unlike Big Bird, you don’t need to speed through them in one ultra-fast breath. There’s room to experiment here – and I’ll help!
If you keep a stash of words somewhere – a bunch of post-it notes on your wall (like me), a notebook or legal pad with a list of words, or a note on your phone – start there. Which words have you been meaning to use for a while?
If you are not a word hoarder, one way to start your poem is a good old-fashioned word map. Take five minutes to create a web of words related to the central thesis, topic, mood, theme, idea, subject, or goal of your poem. You can also write a list, but mapping words out can trick your brain into traveling in new directions.
When I approach abecedarians, I like to choose a few words to use ahead of time. If you can, pick a handful of words or phrases that you like – ideally, ones that come from the middle or end of the alphabet. This helps prevent the burnout/loss of interest/lack of inspiration you risk from “ijklmnop” onwards.
Allow yourself some flexibility when it comes to structuring your poem. Look at the abecedarians above: Mary Szybist formatted hers with just a few words per line, while Aimee Nezhukumatathil wrote longer lines that helped the letter-driven line breaks seem more natural. Think about how you can use structure to your benefit – for example, single-word lines can help create dramatic emphasis and move you through the alphabet more quickly.
One thing I find helpful is keeping a separate “dashboard” that tracks my letter usage. I write the alphabet on a sheet of paper, horizontally, then cross out letters as I use them as the first words in poems. When I reach a point where I only have a few unused letters, I can then brainstorm new words on the paper.
If you run into trouble, a thesaurus or a rhyming dictionary is your best friend. Or throw on some Sesame Street in the background!
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow with an essay, then back to the poetry grind on Thursday. Excited to see you!
Jem marked the programming switch from early-morning preschool TV to daytime kids’ TV. What channel was I watching that had THESE two shows???