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FORMED or FREE which will it be? - Brian Strand's Blog

About Brian Strand

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ENGLISH OPEN FORM https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/open_a_1727822 POET https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/poetry_is_a_recited_art_1716883

https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/an_emperical_poetry_view_1691678

+ Creator of the footle & hiku (definition -as below)

*FOOTLE (singular)* is,a two line lines,2 syllable verse with an integral title-Light Poetic verse form,witty,pertinent,topical etc (technically a trochaic monometer and not necessarily in rhyme).

+'hiku' explained -I use hiku for the English language free verse thereof to distinguish from translations of the cultural Japanese haiku.

HAIKU is a centuries old Japanese traditional phonetical & cultural poetic form whereas HIKU is a relatively recently reference to the 75year old established ' haiku in English.'

Hiku being an imagist tristich like its elder cousin,without a title,and with a similar economy of words ,inherently enigmatic & with a caesura or an ellipsis and surprise ending. A similar sense of pause the aesthetic insight flowing from perception gained from 'one breath length ' composition that flowed from the Japanesese 17 onji sound inherent in the Japaneses haiku.

Without of the ' invented' syllabic( 5-7-5 ) line restrictions of the ' haiku in english ' the hiku is the 'free verse' version of the 'invented''5/7/5 haiku in English. ..similar but different ,a present tense poetic in another language - hiku is the written or recited equivalent to arts 'gestural spontaneous happening' . A verse freed from strict syllabic constraint within its triplicity of format& is inherently enigmatic & often with a caesura and surprise ending( VERSUM )to give a 'turning' to the line.

The hiku maybe a horizontal single* line,(often broken line at the caesura),a vertical line(usually a painting(haiga) ,a couplet** or a tristich* with shape-like variations.

Plus * OPEN(organic) FORM VERSE using spaces&breaks without grammatical symbols ,the ' open' relies upon 'the one breath limitation' & so inherently requires the 'reader' (reciter) to input and responds thus making this enigmatic form a two way interplay & interpretatIon unique to the moment& changing according to mood is inherently variable.

MY POETIC BIO

Alliteration,the starting place,

alongside cinquains,

apace in time,crystalline

lanterne and rhyme.

Inspiration drew forth footle

,broken monoku &emagi

for a while short imagist

was my style.

Sequenced longer poems

metamorphose within

this crysallis

changing into ekphrasis.

Open,and free to be,

as you see,

structured prose poetry.

With cadence and pause,

others hear my voice

Open VERSE now this poet’s choice.

4 POETIC TENETS - https://creativepoetics.blogspot.com/

+Gestural abstraction- my art style

https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/just_saying_my_art_an_emperical_view_1686489

more gestural art of mine here https://gesturalart.blogspot.com/

https://mychristianverse.blogspot.com/

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FORMED or FREE which will it be?

Blog Posted:4/6/2017 3:06:00 AM

I read an artistic quote recently which said ' I use oils ,I'm not good enough to paint in watercolours......but one day!

Transporting this to our artform ....' I write in forms , I'm not good enough to write free verse.......but one day'

What do you think , is it true? .. have you found it to be true for your poetic creativity?

Do you find more self fulfilment in one or the other?

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The
Grahamburglar

Date: 4/14/2017 8:50:00 PM

I'm not established enough of a writer to lump myself in one way or the other. I try to use forms, but usually screw up the meter. I try to use free-verse, but then find myself rhyming here and there. The good thing is that I don't really try hard to be one or the other. When I'm writing for myself, I just do whatever...unless I'm challenging myself to use a specific form just for the sake of doing it (or for a contest). -G

The Grahamburglar
Date: 4/14/2017 8:51:00 PM

I guess I could add, that of my writings, it seems my personal favorites tend to be more free verse(but with occasional, or sporadic rhymes/internal rhymes etc).

Constance
La France

Date: 4/8/2017 12:35:00 PM

I love both form and free but even in free verse there are some requirements. It's not all willy-nilly for example staggered lines, uneven stanzas, metaphors, similes, etc, it is not a narrative, well anyways that's what I think, could be totally wrong!

Fm
Rt

Date: 4/8/2017 12:21:00 AM

I write in both, though admittedly I am much better when they are formed. Within free verse however, it is much easier to pour your heart out.

Anthony
Mark

Date: 4/7/2017 7:55:00 AM

I think I am free verse, therefore I must be, I am unable to participate in form writing, my thingy will not allow me to wait for the words to catch up...I don't even know if I employ devices...woe is the novice in me

Doug Vinson
Date: 4/7/2017 11:32:00 AM

"my thingy will not allow me to wait for the words to catch up" Ha! Exactly, Anthony - roll as best and as fast as you can, in that case. : )

Brian
Strand

Date: 4/7/2017 3:39:00 AM

Formed or free ,content is key!

Andrea Dietrich
Date: 4/7/2017 9:14:00 AM

content and how that content is presented. FOR SURE.

Doug
Vinson

Date: 4/6/2017 11:42:00 PM

Great blog thoughts and questions, Brian. : ) I think rhyme and free verse are equally fulfilling, though most of us will have an instinctive predilection one way or the other. Neither is really "easy to do," in my opinion - free verse can fail to carry the reader or turn the wrong way; rhyme can be heavy, strained, intrusive, etc. Perhaps it is foolishly romantic of me, but regardless of the form in which I write, I think inspiration has to come, a line or two, the germ of the main thrust of the poem, a kernel or two of substance, around which the rest will form. Yes, things can be crafted in tradesperson-like manner, yet IMO the result will rarely be as good.

Andrea
Dietrich

Date: 4/6/2017 1:07:00 PM

Everyone leans one way or the other. It's like left handers and right handers. Right handers I would compare to the rhymers because most of us prefer it, so it predominates it. GOOD free verse for ME is "outside the box" and involves a different mentality. One must be focused more on other literary devices other than the standard ones of meter and rhyme. I love it when I am able to do an amazing free verse, but I find it much more natural to use metered forms. That is why I adore them.

Andrea Dietrich
Date: 4/6/2017 1:09:00 PM

Wish I were totally Poetically ambidextrous!

Andrea
Dietrich

Date: 4/6/2017 1:07:00 PM

Everyone leans one way or the other. It's like left handers and right handers. Right handers I would compare to the rhymers because most of us prefer it, so it predominates . GOOD free verse for ME is "outside the box" and involves a different mentality. One must be focused more on other literary devices other than the standard ones of meter and rhyme. I love it when I am able to do an amazing free verse, but I find it much more natural to use metered forms. That is why I adore them.

Doug Vinson
Date: 4/7/2017 11:31:00 AM

Hey, nothing at all wrong with meter, per se. IMO, free verse works best when the pacing itself communicates things from writer to reader. It can greatly harm a poem or raise it high.

Andrea Dietrich
Date: 4/7/2017 9:16:00 AM

thanks,Doug. Blank verse is iambic meter without the rhyme. Did you ever read my Iambic Skates? This is what I was born to do, skate on the ice of iambics. Even my dang free verse has meter in it. Crap.

Doug Vinson
Date: 4/6/2017 11:36:00 PM

Andrea, was going to say that one of my all-time favorite poems in all the world - your 'And Sweet Is Her Demise' - is free verse, but in checking I see it's blank verse. Well, it would work sublimely well as free verse too. : )

Andrea Dietrich
Date: 4/6/2017 9:38:00 PM

Suz, Of course I remember our KOOKY Kookamonga days. That was where I got a LOT of inspiration that put me on the path to writing a lot more than I did in 2001. Thanks for what you told me. I always felt you were so much better than I at the free verse stuff. Wish I had that ability you have!!

Suzanne Delaney
Date: 4/6/2017 1:32:00 PM

You are a natural at metered forms. It never seems forced and you are able to write entertainingly on so many topics. A born storyteller and I am one of your biggest fans, although I don't often have the time to tell you. Do you remember the days when you were WordWarrior & I was Pixordia? On Kookamonga Square ....LOL

John
Lawless

Date: 4/6/2017 1:02:00 PM

Well, I have always encouraged my children to "color outside the lines" lest they be trapped by conformity to arbitrary norms....heheheee

Erik
Savage

Date: 4/6/2017 11:27:00 AM

My experience is somewhat limited, and my writing is definitely growing and changing now that I am spending more time on it. I tend to prefer the structure and framework of forms. I am a sucker for strong meter and rhythm. It forces me to think a lot more about what I am trying to say and how I say it. I do get a sense of satisfaction when things finally fit together and seem right, That being said, I have to admit I am rather awed by some of the things I read on here that seem to be written so freely yet are so rich and full and complete without any obvious structure to hold them together.

Agnes
Krampe

Date: 4/6/2017 7:06:00 AM

Great question. As a classical singer, I have always felt drawn to metered and rhymed forms, because this comes naturally to me. But I also love writing free verse, and I wrestle with the nagging thought that I am taking the "easy way out" ( thinking of Robert Frost's "writing free verse is like playing tennis without the net"). Sometimes, rhyme and meter simply happen, and sometimes, a poem won't work in metered form and insists on being free verse. As a math lover, I also find joy in the puzzle aspect of working within the form - it forces me to think more. So I do both and have not settled on one particular style.

Andrea Dietrich
Date: 4/6/2017 1:05:00 PM

Agnes, I love Frost but i think his quote on free verse is not a very good one. FORM comes very natural for many of us but not for others. When people write free verse really WELL (which I do not see a lot of the time) they ROCK IT. I can write it, but I rarely feel like I hit a home run with it like I can do with my own metered style!

Suzanne
Delaney

Date: 4/6/2017 6:37:00 AM

Robert Hass in comparing metered poems with Free Verse states:……the metrical poem begins with an assumption of human life which takes place in a pattern of orderly recurrence with which the poet must come to terms- Meter organizes accents into an overall pattern and more or less evenly times the lines bringing an organizing influence that allows the story to unfold. The Free verse poem…begins with an assumption of openness or chaos in which an order must be discovered. The basic fact of free verse: each poem is shaped from within. You’ll often hear a poet say they didn’t know where the poem would end when they began writing it but that it comes to them as a natural act of writing.”

Suzanne Delaney
Date: 4/7/2017 9:54:00 PM

As poets, we never stop learning and discussions like this help to clarify and re-inforce the poetic tools we are discovering. Will read this thread again tomorrow. Thanks Brian for an interesting blog and to Andrea, Doug and Chris for your input.

Suzanne Delaney
Date: 4/7/2017 9:53:00 PM

I really enjoyed reading all your responses and have at different times came to many of the same conclusions the same conclusions on my writing journey.

Andrea Dietrich
Date: 4/7/2017 9:19:00 AM

The sense I am getting from comments here is that free verse is not totally free, like so many assume. It is difficult to do if one wants to perfect it. It is an ART and it may come quickly to a few,but I think just like a rhyme, it can be honed because for me, the best free verse actually have a type of organization or pattern to them. Best of all, a magic with words.

Andrea Dietrich
Date: 4/7/2017 9:17:00 AM

LOve how you think, Doug.

Doug Vinson
Date: 4/6/2017 11:30:00 PM

For the reader of free verse - that order must be discovered, or there must be a time (whether all the way through, or at some time within, or at the end) when they really "get" the poem, and the beauty is revealed. Can happen in many ways, this handing-over from writer to reader.

Doug Vinson
Date: 4/6/2017 11:27:00 PM

Great comment, Suzanne. Wise man Chris, too, below. Agreed that we may begin writing without knowing where we are going, and that along the way we find out, i.e. in some unconscious/mystical manner that way was there all along.

Suzanne Delaney
Date: 4/6/2017 6:42:00 AM

For me I find I write mostly free verse but I find, using a form draws different responses from me. In looking for the right words I am distracted and suddenly thoughts are organized by following the form.

Charlotte
Puddifoot

Date: 4/6/2017 3:59:00 AM

oh, free verse for me every time! when i write in form i feel as if i'm writing in a straitjacket, constricted...i find it frustrating; for example, if i'm writing in a syllabic form, i think to myself "oh f***, i want to use this word, but the syllable count won't let me!" i wrote free verse right from the start, but that's probably because i read mainly free verse; i only started experimenting with forms when i came here...having said all that, i do like some forms, but they have to have a very modern slant...i can see why some people like writing in form, because it's like painting inside a frame, but i like to daub the colours over the edge of the frame! lol

Doug Vinson
Date: 4/6/2017 11:19:00 PM

Charlotte, I hope you not only so daub, I hope you slather it on, clear to the other side of existence. :P : )

Brian
Strand

Date: 4/6/2017 3:09:00 AM

Apparently the thought behind the 'art' version of the quote is that mistakes are easier hidden with oils

My Past Blog Posts


SUMMER SAYING send-a-soupmail Date Posted: 7/10/2025 11:47:00 PM
JULY JOY list Date Posted: 7/8/2025 1:35:00 AM
SUMMER SECRET hobby hint Date Posted: 7/6/2025 1:43:00 AM
JULY JUBILEE backward glance Date Posted: 7/3/2025 12:59:00 AM
JULY FOURTH your call Date Posted: 7/1/2025 12:53:00 AM
JULY JAMBOREE in a word Date Posted: 6/29/2025 12:51:00 AM
SUMMER SYLLABLES (2) tri-syllabic Date Posted: 6/27/2025 1:03:00 AM
JUNE JUNIORITY blast from the past Date Posted: 6/25/2025 2:00:00 AM
SUMMER SYLLABLES - (1) distich Date Posted: 6/23/2025 12:09:00 AM
SUMMER SENTIMENT opinion piece Date Posted: 6/21/2025 12:09:00 AM
SUMMER SHADORMA an apt pun Date Posted: 6/19/2025 1:01:00 AM
JUNE JOURNEY rhymed couplet Date Posted: 6/17/2025 2:13:00 AM
SUMMER SLANG in a word Date Posted: 6/15/2025 1:45:00 AM
JUNE JUEJU bio Date Posted: 6/14/2025 12:57:00 AM
SUMMER CVC phrase Date Posted: 6/12/2025 2:26:00 AM
SUMMER SIMILE popular phrase Date Posted: 6/11/2025 12:29:00 AM
JUNE JUXTAPOSE oxymoron Date Posted: 6/9/2025 12:29:00 AM
JUNE JINGLE apt ad Date Posted: 6/7/2025 12:43:00 AM
PERSONALISE PENTECOST alliteration Date Posted: 6/3/2025 12:38:00 AM
JUNE JOLLY chiasmus Date Posted: 6/1/2025 2:09:00 AM
A MAY MOTIF flower Date Posted: 5/28/2025 2:50:00 AM
MAY MONOMETER footle Date Posted: 5/26/2025 3:09:00 AM
MAY MUSE after style of Date Posted: 5/24/2025 12:59:00 AM
MAY- METAPHOR defined Date Posted: 5/22/2025 2:04:00 AM
MAY MEMORY in a line Date Posted: 5/21/2025 12:49:00 AM

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6/23/2025	SIGNIFICANCE	Verse	senses,word play,
6/22/2025	A STONES POEM	Verse	word play,
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6/17/2025	TETRACTYS ekphrasis- exampled DIDACTIC 3	Ekphrasis	art,music,poetry,word pla
6/16/2025	CRAPSEY'S AMERICAN CINQUAIN exampled DIDACTIC 2	Cinquain	poetry,word play,
6/16/2025	TANKA-in-english SHOW TELL exampled DIDACTIC 1	Tanka	poetry,word play,
6/15/2025	ENGLYN a quatrain	Englyn	lost love,
6/11/2025	FOOTLE 'E'nd of 'L' ine 'F'orm - 2 forms in one-an innovation	Rhyme	word play,
6/10/2025	T A N K A defined SHOW then TELL	Didactic	appreciation,education,po
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5/29/2025	PEOPLE PRESSURE	Ekphrasis	art,
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5/24/2025	COLOUR MY MOOD	Verse	art,
5/23/2025	LADY IN GREEN -MACKE	Ekphrasis	appreciation,art,
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5/19/2025	EURO WINNER	Clerihew	song,
5/15/2025	BUTTERFLY emoji	Clerihew	art,
5/8/2025	V E DAY - EIGHTH of MAY	Footle	anniversary,memory,war,
5/3/2025	EKPHRASIS monostich	Ekphrasis	appreciation,music,
5/2/2025	HIKU and U a poetic observation	Tristich	appreciation,poetry,
4/30/2025	MUSIC CLERIHEW	Clerihew	appreciation,music,
4/29/2025	OPEN A	Verse	word play,
4/28/2025	WISTFUL	Verse	word play,
4/27/2025	FREE VERSE what it is	Didactic	poetry,word play,words,
4/27/2025	MAKIING A GESTURE	Clerihew	art,word play,
4/27/2025	ACRONYM F poetics	Bio	appreciation,poetry,
4/26/2025	ACRONYM E art	Epigram	art,word play,
4/26/2025	POETRY PARAPHRASE E monstich	Alliteration	art,poetry,
4/25/2025	POETRY PARAPHRASE D monostich	Epigram	appreciation,
4/25/2025	ACRONYM D poetry	Epigram	appreciation,poetry,
4/25/2025	PROGRAMMING PIONEER	Clerihew	appreciation,computer,
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4/24/2025	POETRY PARAPHRASE C	Alliteration	poetry,voice,
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4/23/2025	ACRONYM MOTTOS	Tristich	art,philosophy,poetry,
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4/22/2025	ACRONYM rights-duties IMHO	Didactic	word play,
4/22/2025	CLERIHEW hiroshige	Clerihew	art,
4/22/2025	ACRONYM tristich B	Epigram	appreciation,voice,word p
4/22/2025	POETRY PARAPHRASE B monostich	Alliteration	appreciation,poetry,voice
4/21/2025	ACRONYM tristich A	Bio	word play,
4/21/2025	POETRY PARAPHRASE A monostich	Rhyme	appreciation,poetry,voice
4/20/2025	EASTER EXERCISE just my opinion	Couplet	christian,easter,gospel,
4/19/2025	DALI PSEUDO SCAPIGLIATA	Ekphrasis	appreciation,art,
4/19/2025	ART REP-AR-TEE H	Rhyme	appreciation,art,
4/19/2025	CONCRETE SHAPES just my opinion g	Alliteration	appreciation,art,poetry,
4/18/2025	ART REP-AR-TEE G	Epigram	appreciation,art,
4/18/2025	CAPITALISATON just my opinion f	Alliteration	poetry,voice,
4/17/2025	MUSICAL REP-AR-TEE G	Alliteration	appreciation,ireland,musi
4/17/2025	CLASSICAL just my opinion e	Alliteration	appreciation,music,
4/16/2025	MUSIC REP-AR-TEE monostich F	Alliteration	appreciation,music,
4/16/2025	COUNTRY MUSIC just my opinion d	Alliteration	appreciation,music,
4/15/2025	NARRATIVE	Verse	fantasy,
4/15/2025	MUSIC REP-AR-TEE monostich E	Rhyme	appreciation,music,
4/15/2025	ROCK'N ROLL just my opinon c	Rhyme	appreciation,dance,music,
4/14/2025	ART REPAR-TEE monostich F	Alliteration	art,
4/14/2025	CEASURA just my opinion- b	Epigram	poetry,words,
4/13/2025	ART REP-AR-TEE monostich E	Epigram	art,
4/13/2025	RHETORIC just my opinion a	Alliteration	poetry,voice,word play,
4/12/2025	ART REP-AR -TEE monostich D	Epigram	art,
4/12/2025	CREATIVITY just my opinion Z	Alliteration	creation,giving,inspirati
4/11/2025	ART REP-AR-TEE monstich C	Epigram	art,
4/11/2025	RECITATION just my opinion Y	Alliteration	voice,word play,
4/10/2025	POETIC REP- AR- TEE monstich E	Epigram	poetry,
4/10/2025	CADENCE just my opinion X	Epigram	spoken word,voice,word pl
4/9/2025	POETIC REP-AR-TEE monstich D	Epigram	poetry,word play,
4/9/2025	PROSODY just my opinion W	Alliteration	voice,
4/8/2025	POETRY REP-AR-TEE monostich C	Epigram	poetry,word play,
4/8/2025	ALLITERATION just my opinion V	Alliteration	poetry,remember,repetitio
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4/7/2025	POETRY REP-AR-TEE monostich B	Epigram	poetry,
4/7/2025	SYLLABICS just my opinion U	Alliteration	poetry,
4/6/2025	POETRY REP-AR-TEE monostich A	Epigram	poetry,word play,
4/6/2025	LOWER CASIFY just my opinion T	Alliteration	poetry,voice,
4/5/2025	MUSIC REP-AR-TEE monostich D	Epigram	music,
4/5/2025	FORM just my opinion S	Alliteration	poetry,
4/4/2025	MUSIC REP-AR-TEE monostich C	Epigram	music,
4/4/2025	HIKU just my opinion R	Alliteration	imagery,
4/3/2025	WORDPLAY	Rhyme	repetition,word play,
4/3/2025	CLERIHEW galle	Ekphrasis	art,
4/3/2025	MUSIC REP-AR-TEE monostich B	Epigram	music,
4/3/2025	HAIKU just my opinion Q	Alliteration	poetry,
4/2/2025	CLERIHEW hofmann	Ekphrasis	art,
4/2/2025	DIAPASON	Verse	voice,
4/2/2025	MUSIC just my opinion P	Alliteration	music,
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4/1/2025	POETRY just my opinion O	Alliteration	poetry,
4/1/2025	ART REP-ART- EE monostich B	Epigram	art,
4/1/2025	APRIL SYMBOL	Epigram	april,
3/31/2025	KNICK KNACKERY	Verse	senses,
3/31/2025	ART just my opinion N	Alliteration	art,
3/31/2025	ART REP-AR-TEE monstich A	Epigram	art,
3/30/2025	MANIA	Verse	word play,
3/30/2025	CLERIHEW bliss	Clerihew	music,people,
3/30/2025	GREEN LEVY just my opinion M	Alliteration	weather,

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