How to Write a Found Poem
There’s a whole wonderful chapter on how to write a found poem in How to Write a Form Poem: A Guided Tour of 10 Fabulous Forms. You can learn the ropes (or gain the treasure tools) and see samples and access prompts. It’s a great resource.
To write found poetry is not to engage in an exact science. It’s an art. And, like all art, there is plenty of room to make it your own and keep expanding your ways and means and sources.
Perhaps the strictest form of “found poetry” is to lift exact words from a text, a sign, a conversation, or other source. Keep them in the exact order you found them. Then just add line breaks, and you’re good to go.
Most often, you will also need to alter punctuation, and this can be really fun depending on your desired effect, like how this found poem ended up with Emily-Dickinson-style punctuation.
But that is just the beginning of the matter. You can also…
• change the order of lines, phrases, and words
• combine phrases from multiple poets, such as in the cento
• combine words from entirely different texts that are no longer attached to their context, as in this found poem
• erase a text to find your poem
• paint over a text to find your poem
• highlight a text to find your poem
• circle words to find your poem
• cut out words to find your poem
• add your own title or words and phrases anywhere in the poem
Your Turn: Write a Found Poem
Find a poem using one of the strategies outlined above. Share it in the comments, so we can read and appreciate. If you post it as a picture on Instagram or Notes, just drop in the link to it!
For extra fun, if you are cutting out words to make your found poem, try making a watercolor first to set your words upon, like Bethany Rohde did for the poem above ([a letter from a friend]).
Access the Found Poem Prompt Book
Featured photo by Niklas Nosber, Creative Commons, via Unsplash. [a letter from a friend] collage poem reprinted from Every Day Poems
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Bethany Rohde says
Such a fun post and list of ideas! I’ve never tried the “Circle-It” method before and just might have to. I like how it cuts down the quantity of potential words to help focus the project. 😉 Thank you also for sharing my poems here, LL!
L.L. Barkat says
I could see you trying that, Bethany. You are the found poem Queen! 🙂
Happy to share your wonderful poems.