The Found Poem

By now you should have the following poem drafts in your "portfolio":

1. The Internal Monologue poem (revised)
2. The Natural Metaphor poem (revised)
3. The Characterization of Place poem (revised)
4. The "steal a line" poem (exercise)
5. The second "steal a line" poem

The last two assignments have begun to hint at a type of poem that many poets and students use to encourage their own creativity. This poem form is called: the Found Poem. Read about the found poem here.

To do this on your own, try the following:

1. Choose an alternative text. This text could be from another poem, a short story or novel, a non-fiction essay, a newspaper article, or any text piece found on the internet. Look absolutely anywhere to begin your found poem.

2. Take the existing text(s) and refashion the words--reorder them, and present them as poems.

Here's a few examples:

Enhancing a Poetry Unit with American Memory

Found Poem from Chapter 4 of Frankenstein.

Here's a website devoted to the form.

Your own found poem is due at the end of next class (Wednesday, April 14)