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Tag Archives: Poetry

What I Learned About Writing This Year…from Unstressed Syllables

Today, my snippet of courage has come to you in the form of a poem: my attempt to convey via symbols the intangible emotions — the happiness, the wonder, the impish delight — I feel at the realization that Unstressed Syllables will be a year old tomorrow…

What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Sestinas

…After I read Aaron’s comment, I realized that here, at Unstressed Syllables, I have, in fact, not been talking about sestinas at all. What a horrid oversight on my part. I do believe it’s high time I rectified this.
At first glance, a sestina is nothing more than a rhyming poem of six six-line stanzas with a tercet…

On Getting It Right: How to Write a Grant Application

I’ve been investigating document types for a while now, and this week I’ve been talking about grant writing — the common name used for writing grant applications. It’s enough of a complicated process that it does have its own name (albeit a slightly confusing one). It’s not that writing grant applications is puzzling. Virtually every [...]

Write a Sonnet (Creative Writing Exercise)

This week you’re going to write a sonnet. Some of you just rolled your eyes, because sonnets are child’s play. Some of you just gripped at a failing heart, because sonnets are Shakespeare-level expert stuff. If you’re in either category, you missed the point of yesterday’s post. That’s okay. I’ll say another word or two about it next Tuesday, but for now I want you to humor me.

Loving Language (The Purpose of Poetry)

When I was in third grade (or maybe it was second), I wrote a poem about sunset, and rest. I did it in number 2 pencil on a sheet of wide-ruled paper torn out of a 78-cent spiral notebook. I illustrated the edges, with an angry sun and an optimistic moon, and my best effort at a seagull. I can remember this in such clear detail, because I’ve still got that page. It’s creased with folds, and the pencil’s faded, but I’ve still got it, tucked away somewhere. The meter is awful.