“What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet.” Sound familiar? That’s right—it’s that iconic line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. And now for something completely different: “April is the cruelest month, breedinglilacs out of the dead land, mixingmemory and desire, stirringdull roots with spring rain.” If you don’t know this one, it’s from T.S. Eliot’s famous poem, “The Wasteland.” Just as Shakespeare crafts eloquent lines of dialogue that speak to the complexities of human nature, or T.S. Eliot raps on the chaos and confusion of his modern world, poetry is one of the most effective and elusive ways of discussing human existence. So, if you think you’re a contemporary Shakespeare or Eliot, maybe you should try entering the Bennington Young Writer’s Awards. The Bennington Young Writer’s Awards have notably given three U.S. poet laureates their start. Its prestigious nature means that the work it accepts in its “Poetry” category must be highly innovative, technically sound, and speak to an emerging generation of thinkers and writers. If you want to create truly excellent poetry, you’ll need to think about: Theme: Remember, a great poem should have one main theme or message you want to communicate to your readers. In Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” he explores the potential of making choices. In “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg, he celebrates and rejoices in nonconformity. Don’t try to cram multiple themes in one poem—it will just become a confusing mess. Instead, identify one idea or goal you want to share with your readers and run with it. Structure: In poetry, structure is everything. “The Wasteland” is purposefully fragmented and disrupted, so it expresses the same disruptions human beings experience. Before writing, decide on the structure of your poem. Do you want a clean, even, sequence of stanzas with logical breaks? Or do you want to experiment with line breaks and different rhythms? Try reading poems with different structures aloud before experimenting with your own. Remember, the structure should match the theme. In other words, if you’re writing a poem about your frustration with learning a new language, you might want to include shortened sentences and abrupt starts and finishes, just like the process of learning a new language. Mood: Everyone loves poetry because it evokes a specific mood. Consider your theme and structure, and then choose vocabulary words and make punctuation choices that align with them. For instance, if you’re writing a poem about learning a new language, you might want to incorporate words from that language into your poem itself. You could also use lots of “—“’s to signal a pause in the line, just like you might hesitate to say a specific word when you don’t know a language well. Creativity: At the heart of every great poem is creativity. Don’t try to write what’s already out there—use surprising word combinations, and make analogies that compare two things your readers might not have thought to do. It’s your poem, so be strategic, but at the same, be experimental! As American poet Carl Sandburg once wrote, “Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.” Now it’s your turn—can you respond to him using your best poetic language?
