Alison Chisholm, poet and writer, has been a regular columnist for Writing Magazine for many years. On Wednesday evening she dazzled as she spoke about Poetry of the Night.
An extensive display of Alison’s poetry anthologies and workbooks sat on the table before her. She has taught creative writing for many years and AWC members were about to share in her passion. Alison is also a highly regarded adjudicator and is in high demand around the world.
Top tips for entering competitions were revealed, and an invitation to submit a poem to Writing Magazine was offered to a captivated audience, keen to benefit from Alison’s vast knowledge.
Editors, Alison explained, look for content and construction. The content must be original, have some new angle and be memorable from the first word. The manner in which the poem is constructed, she emphasised, looking seriously at expectant faces, is highly important. The title, grammar, and punctuation, must be given the same care as would any other piece of writing. We were warned.
Free verse should not be looked upon as an easy option – it was clear Alison had answered this question before. It needs careful line structuring and the final word in each line needs some weight.
The workshop element of the evening provided budding writers with a method to get creativity and ideas flowing. Use any ten-letter word or phrase, Alison instructed. How many other words can you make from this? Some people were experts and generated over thirty words, while others, like me, struggled to find ten. No matter. These words were to be used at the end of each line of a poem titled In Darkness. Pens scribbled frantically, sighs were heard, many first attempts scribbled out. We tried. A few brave souls volunteered to read out their efforts. I was blown away. This method worked for some people and inspired ideas in others.
First draft must be worked on, put away for a week and edited again. Keep doing this process until you can’t find anything else that needs changed. You then have a poem. Great advice. Ask – does your poem have anything to say? Is it saying it efficiently? Look in detail, then put the poem away. Fresh eyes will help you answer these questions.
The audience would have listened to Alison’s brilliant advice for much longer, but in a flash, time was up. She sent us off with an invitation to enter the club poetry competition. I think some people might surprise themselves and give it a go.
Fiona Johnson