FireFeet
09-13-2006, 07:28 PM
Finding your voice is the first step in becoming a poet, and given the deep spiritual significance and rich historical documentation of poetry, it should also be the easiest. Finding your voice is not a mystical mystery. It is as simple as discovering and knowing the Poet who is God and the poet who is you. You are to be an echo of God through the unique way in which He has gifted you to express yourself.
“Poiesis means “making” and, as the ancient Greeks recognized, the poet is first and foremost a maker. The Greeks saw no contradiction between the truth that poetry is somehow inspired, and simultaneously, an art, a craft requiring a blend of talent, training, and long practice.” (1)
“The Greek verb poieo (make or create), gave rise to three words: poietis (the one who creates), poiesis (the act of creation), and poiema (the thing created). From these we get three English words: poet (the creator), poesy (the creation) and poem (the created). A poet is therefore one who creates, and poetry is what the poet creates.” (2)
The word poiema (the thing created) is used twice in the Bible: in describing the creation of the world, Romans 1:20, and in describing the creation of man, Ephesians 2:10. And we are created in the image of the God who is the poietis (the one who creates), Genesis 1:27. We are both poem and poet! As Christians, we give expression to the poem that we are through every poem that we write.
The first occupations listed in the Bible are herdsman, metal forger and musician, Genesis 4:20-22. Music and poetry are remarkably similar and are intertwined throughout history. “Many scholars believe the song of Moses and the song of Miriam, Exodus 15:1-21, is the oldest existing Hebrew hymn or poetic work. Approximately one-third of the Old Testament is written in poetry. Only seven Old Testament books appear to have no poetic lines.” (3)
Voice can be defined as "the author's style; the quality that makes his or her writing unique, and which conveys the author's attitude, personality, and character." (4) The practical steps outlined below will assist you in discovering your voice.
The first step in finding your voice is discovering and knowing God. In Write His Answer (5), author Marlene Bagnull lists several excellent steps to follow to achieve this:
I will press on to know the Lord (Hos. 6:3), abide in him (John 15:1-8), and keep on growing in him (Col. 2:6-7; 2 Pet. 1:2-9).
I will keep my eyes on Jesus, my leader and instructor (Heb. 12:2).
I will diligently study God’s Word in order to become an effective communicator of his truth (2 Tim. 2:15; 3:16-17).
I will daily seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; Eph. 5:18).
I will spend time in prayer, especially in learning to be still and to listen to what God may want to say to me and through me (Pss. 5:3; 46:10; Hab. 2:1; 1 Cor. 2:15-16).
I will make a commitment to private and corporate worship (Ps. 99:5; Heb. 10:25).
The second step in finding your voice is to discover yourself and the unique way that God has gifted you….and embrace and celebrate that. “Voice lives in the deep waters and the dark places of your soul, and it will only venture out when you make sure you've given it space to move and room to breathe.” (6)
“If we’re like most poets, the clothes hangers in our poetry wardrobe overflow with boring selections of black, grey and beige. These are the safe poems that allow us to work within our comfort zone. They may be praise poems with predictable language and endings. They could be personal poems about subjects that don't embarrass us, poems with easy conclusions.
At the back of our closet, stuffed into boxes, are the sequined sweaters, belly shirts, crimson leggings and crepe angel wings we fear. These are the poems we won’t write because we imagine the gasps of astonishment and snorts of indignation that would result.” (7)
You have to decide what kind of poet you are going to be. Are you going to wear a grey cardigan and write dull poetry that doesn’t make a difference? Or are you going to put on your sequined sweater and boogy through your house singing “Disco Fever” so loudly that your neighbors can hear? You don’t have to be flamboyant, you have to be different. There is something about you that is so spectacularly unique that your poetry can stun people and change their world….if, and only if, you give expression to that uniqueness.
As a poet, you have a dilemma. You’re not a fiction writer inventing worlds and creating people. You’re writing about themes (faith, nature), feelings (love, grief), experiences (eating breakfast, petting your cat). Countless billions of poems have been written and countless millions of those are famous. The key that opens the doorway for your poems to have an impact is your uniqueness.
You don’t have something new to say, you have a new way to say it. As an example, consider how different poets have described a tree :
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough
(AE Housman)
Their leaves and fruits seem’d painted but was true
Of green, of red, of yellow, mixed hew,
Rapt were my senses at this delectable view.
(Anne Bradstreet)
The balsam-pines that are blue
with the grey-blue blueness of
things from the sea
(DH Lawrence)
Thus having prepared their buds
against a sure winter
the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold.
(William Carlos Williams)
In these examples, we read voices that are simplistic, artistic, poetic, and one that personifies (gives human characteristics to) the tree. This is an everyday thing that you most likely see every day, and you have now been given four different ways to see it, as reflected by each poet’s voice.
What is your voice? Your voice is a combination of your personality and your experiences. How do you discover it?
Journaling is an important tool to discovering your personality. Choosing how you want to journal is the first step. You can use a spiral-bound notebook and a Bic pen. Or you can use a bound leather journal and a Cross pen. An artist’s sketchbook is an option, and you can use multicolored pens or markers, and include sketches and quotes. A three-ring binder with page protectors is another option, and you can insert things that you write and draw, as well as articles and pictures that you collect. Still another way to keep a journal is on your computer, either with an online blog, MS Word documents, diary software or freeware. You aren’t necessarily limited to one journal; you may have a notebook that you can carry with you as well as a diary on your computer.
Keep a journal for several months, writing whatever you think you should write. Then every few weeks go back and review your journal. What style of journal did you choose? What do you think your style choice says about you? What types of things do you write about? Do you write about things that happened in your day, observations you made about people or things, your reflections and feelings, your prayers and devotions? How do you write about those things? Is your style simple, descriptive, contemplative, emotive, abstract…or a combination? What do you see about yourself in what you’ve written? Can you discover things that you like and dislike, things that made you angry or happy, things that made you think or daydream?
Another tool to discovering your personality is to find out what God and others say about you. Do a Bible study and search for verses in which God says who you are. Do you see a pattern in the types of verses that seem meaningful to you? Are you enchanted by God calling you His beloved or are you empowered in knowing that God calls you a warrior? Does your interest lie more in the poetry and stories of the Old Testament or in the parables and theology of the New Testament? Ask God what He says about you personally. Do you think God sees you as joyful, thoughtful, merciful, outgoing, reflective, artistic, practical? Ask your friends and family how they see you, what they perceive as your strengths and weaknesses.
Still another tool is to make lists about yourself. List your favorite music, your favorite books, your favorite movies. Make lists of things you like to do and places you like to go. Make lists of your favorite tastes and sounds and smells.
Your experience is the other important aspect of discovering your voice. Write a brief autobiography, highlighting the moments in your life that had the most impact on you, either positively or negatively. A welll known writer’s axiom is to “write what you know.” This is especially true in poetry. When you write about things that you have experienced, there is a reality and depth to your poetry that you won’t achieve in writing about things you can only imagine.
Put together all of these things…your journal, your Bible study, your notes on what God and others say about you, your lists, and your autobiography…and you have all the materials necessary for expressing your voice. You have compiled everything that makes you unique, and in that, everything that will give your poetry meaning and impact.
By following these steps, you have discovered the Poet who is God and the poet who is you. You have found your inspiration and your voice - the qualities that make your writing unique. You are ready to be a poietis, a “maker,” and to follow a tradition of spiritual and historical significance.
______________________________
How To Read A Poem (And Fall In Love With Poetry), Edward Hirsch; Harvest Books; 2000
http://www.yourencyclopedia.net/Poetry.html
http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/Poetry.html
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/voice.htm
Write His Answer, Marlene Bagnull; Write Now Publications; 1999
http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/wc1-6.html
http://www.utmostchristianwriters.com/articles/newsletter5.htm
“Poiesis means “making” and, as the ancient Greeks recognized, the poet is first and foremost a maker. The Greeks saw no contradiction between the truth that poetry is somehow inspired, and simultaneously, an art, a craft requiring a blend of talent, training, and long practice.” (1)
“The Greek verb poieo (make or create), gave rise to three words: poietis (the one who creates), poiesis (the act of creation), and poiema (the thing created). From these we get three English words: poet (the creator), poesy (the creation) and poem (the created). A poet is therefore one who creates, and poetry is what the poet creates.” (2)
The word poiema (the thing created) is used twice in the Bible: in describing the creation of the world, Romans 1:20, and in describing the creation of man, Ephesians 2:10. And we are created in the image of the God who is the poietis (the one who creates), Genesis 1:27. We are both poem and poet! As Christians, we give expression to the poem that we are through every poem that we write.
The first occupations listed in the Bible are herdsman, metal forger and musician, Genesis 4:20-22. Music and poetry are remarkably similar and are intertwined throughout history. “Many scholars believe the song of Moses and the song of Miriam, Exodus 15:1-21, is the oldest existing Hebrew hymn or poetic work. Approximately one-third of the Old Testament is written in poetry. Only seven Old Testament books appear to have no poetic lines.” (3)
Voice can be defined as "the author's style; the quality that makes his or her writing unique, and which conveys the author's attitude, personality, and character." (4) The practical steps outlined below will assist you in discovering your voice.
The first step in finding your voice is discovering and knowing God. In Write His Answer (5), author Marlene Bagnull lists several excellent steps to follow to achieve this:
I will press on to know the Lord (Hos. 6:3), abide in him (John 15:1-8), and keep on growing in him (Col. 2:6-7; 2 Pet. 1:2-9).
I will keep my eyes on Jesus, my leader and instructor (Heb. 12:2).
I will diligently study God’s Word in order to become an effective communicator of his truth (2 Tim. 2:15; 3:16-17).
I will daily seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; Eph. 5:18).
I will spend time in prayer, especially in learning to be still and to listen to what God may want to say to me and through me (Pss. 5:3; 46:10; Hab. 2:1; 1 Cor. 2:15-16).
I will make a commitment to private and corporate worship (Ps. 99:5; Heb. 10:25).
The second step in finding your voice is to discover yourself and the unique way that God has gifted you….and embrace and celebrate that. “Voice lives in the deep waters and the dark places of your soul, and it will only venture out when you make sure you've given it space to move and room to breathe.” (6)
“If we’re like most poets, the clothes hangers in our poetry wardrobe overflow with boring selections of black, grey and beige. These are the safe poems that allow us to work within our comfort zone. They may be praise poems with predictable language and endings. They could be personal poems about subjects that don't embarrass us, poems with easy conclusions.
At the back of our closet, stuffed into boxes, are the sequined sweaters, belly shirts, crimson leggings and crepe angel wings we fear. These are the poems we won’t write because we imagine the gasps of astonishment and snorts of indignation that would result.” (7)
You have to decide what kind of poet you are going to be. Are you going to wear a grey cardigan and write dull poetry that doesn’t make a difference? Or are you going to put on your sequined sweater and boogy through your house singing “Disco Fever” so loudly that your neighbors can hear? You don’t have to be flamboyant, you have to be different. There is something about you that is so spectacularly unique that your poetry can stun people and change their world….if, and only if, you give expression to that uniqueness.
As a poet, you have a dilemma. You’re not a fiction writer inventing worlds and creating people. You’re writing about themes (faith, nature), feelings (love, grief), experiences (eating breakfast, petting your cat). Countless billions of poems have been written and countless millions of those are famous. The key that opens the doorway for your poems to have an impact is your uniqueness.
You don’t have something new to say, you have a new way to say it. As an example, consider how different poets have described a tree :
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough
(AE Housman)
Their leaves and fruits seem’d painted but was true
Of green, of red, of yellow, mixed hew,
Rapt were my senses at this delectable view.
(Anne Bradstreet)
The balsam-pines that are blue
with the grey-blue blueness of
things from the sea
(DH Lawrence)
Thus having prepared their buds
against a sure winter
the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold.
(William Carlos Williams)
In these examples, we read voices that are simplistic, artistic, poetic, and one that personifies (gives human characteristics to) the tree. This is an everyday thing that you most likely see every day, and you have now been given four different ways to see it, as reflected by each poet’s voice.
What is your voice? Your voice is a combination of your personality and your experiences. How do you discover it?
Journaling is an important tool to discovering your personality. Choosing how you want to journal is the first step. You can use a spiral-bound notebook and a Bic pen. Or you can use a bound leather journal and a Cross pen. An artist’s sketchbook is an option, and you can use multicolored pens or markers, and include sketches and quotes. A three-ring binder with page protectors is another option, and you can insert things that you write and draw, as well as articles and pictures that you collect. Still another way to keep a journal is on your computer, either with an online blog, MS Word documents, diary software or freeware. You aren’t necessarily limited to one journal; you may have a notebook that you can carry with you as well as a diary on your computer.
Keep a journal for several months, writing whatever you think you should write. Then every few weeks go back and review your journal. What style of journal did you choose? What do you think your style choice says about you? What types of things do you write about? Do you write about things that happened in your day, observations you made about people or things, your reflections and feelings, your prayers and devotions? How do you write about those things? Is your style simple, descriptive, contemplative, emotive, abstract…or a combination? What do you see about yourself in what you’ve written? Can you discover things that you like and dislike, things that made you angry or happy, things that made you think or daydream?
Another tool to discovering your personality is to find out what God and others say about you. Do a Bible study and search for verses in which God says who you are. Do you see a pattern in the types of verses that seem meaningful to you? Are you enchanted by God calling you His beloved or are you empowered in knowing that God calls you a warrior? Does your interest lie more in the poetry and stories of the Old Testament or in the parables and theology of the New Testament? Ask God what He says about you personally. Do you think God sees you as joyful, thoughtful, merciful, outgoing, reflective, artistic, practical? Ask your friends and family how they see you, what they perceive as your strengths and weaknesses.
Still another tool is to make lists about yourself. List your favorite music, your favorite books, your favorite movies. Make lists of things you like to do and places you like to go. Make lists of your favorite tastes and sounds and smells.
Your experience is the other important aspect of discovering your voice. Write a brief autobiography, highlighting the moments in your life that had the most impact on you, either positively or negatively. A welll known writer’s axiom is to “write what you know.” This is especially true in poetry. When you write about things that you have experienced, there is a reality and depth to your poetry that you won’t achieve in writing about things you can only imagine.
Put together all of these things…your journal, your Bible study, your notes on what God and others say about you, your lists, and your autobiography…and you have all the materials necessary for expressing your voice. You have compiled everything that makes you unique, and in that, everything that will give your poetry meaning and impact.
By following these steps, you have discovered the Poet who is God and the poet who is you. You have found your inspiration and your voice - the qualities that make your writing unique. You are ready to be a poietis, a “maker,” and to follow a tradition of spiritual and historical significance.
______________________________
How To Read A Poem (And Fall In Love With Poetry), Edward Hirsch; Harvest Books; 2000
http://www.yourencyclopedia.net/Poetry.html
http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/Poetry.html
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/voice.htm
Write His Answer, Marlene Bagnull; Write Now Publications; 1999
http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/wc1-6.html
http://www.utmostchristianwriters.com/articles/newsletter5.htm