Finding Inspiration - Writing Poetry #1
Poetry can seem like a very intimidating thing. There have been poems about great battles and matters of political importance, poems that have stretched over hundreds of pages and wrestled with deep philosophical issues. When we look at these works, it can be difficult to thing of an idea for poem at all — it is often hard to even think of a concept, never mind put pen to paper.
Inspiration is at the heart of a poem; it’s the very first stepping stone and what gets the creative juices flowing. So, at King Lear, we’ve decided to put together a list of ways to find poetic inspiration, and help you put together a poem to submit.
Start Small
Sometimes the smallest things provide the most inspiration!
One of the best things about poetry is that it can be about anything: this may sound scarily broad but it also means that inspiration for poetry can come from the smallest of occurences or images. Often people feel that their poetry has to be about big things and sweeping grand emotions — if you’re inspired by that, that’s great! But there has also been some brilliant poetry written about smaller things too.
One of my favourite examples of this is The Orange by Wendy Cope: Cope is just writing about recieving an orange, but the small happiness it gives her means that the poem, in turn, is full of joy too. When you don’t even know what to write about think of the little things — what gives you joy in your day to day life? What makes you a little sad? It doesn’t have to be something huge — often these things can feel impossible and overwhelming to even describe. If you’re stuck think about things like the view from the window, your morning cup of tea, a hobby that makes you happy: these things can be a great source of inspiration!
2. Remember that you are interesting!
Lots of people say they’re not very interesting, that they’re just a ‘normal person’ with nothing to say — yet this is very rarely the case. People are full of interesting stories, you included, and this can make really powerful poetry. Some of the greatest poetry is about memory!
You might not have seen Phil Kaye’s poem ‘Before the Internet’ — I think it’s a really good example of how memories can be used to make great poetry. Kaye has written a funny poem, full of nostalgia about when he was a child, and has focussed on specific memory — this makes for a really personal and emotionally affective piece. It can often be difficult to think back before lockdown; why not look at pictures of holidays you’ve been on, or events in your life and remember what is felt like to be there? Try to imagine all of your senses at that exact moment the photo was taken. This can be a brilliant jumping off point for personal poetry, unlocking your memories and your imagination.
3. Get some fresh air.
Even though we’re locked down, it’s important to remember that government guidance allows you to exercise once a day — it can often be very uninspirational if you feel cooped up. If you are comfortable and able to, why don’t you go for a walk around your local area to look for inspiration?
If you live in a rural area, take mental notes of the colours of flowers, the texture of mud and the shapes of fields. When you think back on the walk, what is the most beautiful or interesting thing you saw? The Natural world can inspire beautiful poetry — in fact, some of the most famous poems were inspired by nature. We often think of Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud when we consider nature poetry, but Wordsworth wrote a lot of different work inspired by nature.
If you live in a more urban area, this doesn’t hold you back! Consider pavements, parks, road signs as you would flowers and ploughed fields. Take note of the unique beauty of the city or town and the bustling nature it has hidden in unique places. There are lots of incredible poems written about urban areas too, such as Birmingham by Louis MacNeice.
4. Use a notebook
It can be surprising how busy we can be, even in lockdown — sometimes there doesn’t seem time to just sit and think up ideas. Yet, often ideas can appear to us out of the blue, in the moment, even if we’re doing something as boring as hoovering or washing dishes. When that moment occurs, it can often be hard to capture the spark later on.
Grab a notebook, it doesn’t have to be fancy, and use that as a place to jot random ideas down. It doesn’t have to be neat or even especially developed, but as you look back over the phrases and words when you have the time to write and develop, you may be surprised at how inspiration strikes. If you’re still struggling, circle words you’ve jotted down that you find interesting and play about with how they fit together — you’re sure to find some interesting combinations!
5. Read other’s work!
Most great writers were also great readers — I always recommend people that find poetry they love when they’re looking for inspiration. A love of poetry can often inspire a desire to write poetry of your own!
I hope the poems linked throughout this post have helped you find some new work that has been inspiring but if you’d like to read more poetry, The Poetry Foundation has some online collections which are grouped by theme. These are extremely easy to navigate and the poetry is free to read. Some of these are linked below:
What next?
If you’re ready to enter your poem into the King Lear Prizes you can do so here.
If you want to read more posts about poetry, check out our Hints & Tips blog here!
If you want to know more about the King Lear Prizes generally, please go here.
If you have any feedback on this post, or any other ideas of what hints & tips could be useful to you in your poetry, please email me (Matilda!) on matilda@kinglearprizes.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
