As we all know, one of the best ways to improve our writing is to read. We are told to read anything and everything! Reading has done more for improving my vocabulary/spelling and grammar than any lessons I ever had in school, and I suspect that’s true for many of you. But let me give you some more focused advice: don’t just read prose—read poetry. Oh, but I HATE poetry! you might say. I say, give it a chance.
The wonderful thing about poetry is that it is the English language distilled down to its most powerful elements. Look at the way it appears on a page: not very many words, are there? In poetry, every word is essential. There’s no time or space to waste on filler words. Because there is so little space, and so much to say, every choice the poet makes, from choosing one word over another, to deciding whether or not to insert a comma, is incredibly important. Every space, every line break, every indent is a conscious decision. Treat your writing this way. Make your point as powerful as it can be by simplifying, consolidating, and really thinking about what you’re putting on the page. Less is more.
Poetry is meant to be read aloud. The English language, while flawed, is beautiful. Try reading a poem out loud, let the words roll around in your mouth, read the breaks, read the punctuation. Your writing will be even better if it sounds good. Your goal should be to construct a sentence so perfect your reader is compelled to read it aloud. Not all your sentences will be like this; most writers are lucky to have one or two in a book—but, oh, when a reader comes across them, what a treat!
A well-constructed sentence is like a particularly lovely piece of chocolate—the reader savors it, lets it melt on her tongue, and can taste it long after it’s gone. Love language, not just for what it conveys in meaning, but in tone, in sound.
This month, April, is National Poetry Month. Take the time to check out some poems, and maybe even try your hand at writing one! Let poetry inform your prose.
If you don’t know where to start, here are links to some of my favorite poems:
The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner, by Randall Jarrell
[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] by e.e. cummings
To Earthward, by Robert Frost
Autumn Day, by Rainer Marie Rilke
Forty Something, Robert Hass
From Blossoms, by Li-Young lee
Editorial Assistant Jessica Shen currently has several projects. Mechanized Masterpieces: a Steampunk Anthology, will be released on April 30, 2013.