Craft Notes
Moves in Contemporary Poetry
Way back in the comments on Danika Stegeman’s poem “Panacea,” a discussion started about “moves” in contemporary poetry, and I mentioned that I’d seen the poet Elisa Gabbert start pretty awesome discussions about “moves” on her own blog and on the Ploughshares blog. Then she posted the following comment: “Hi Mike, I have definitely talked about moves before, moves I like and moves I don’t like and my own signature moves, but haven’t made a real list, certainly not a comprehensive list, certainly not the DEFINITIVE list. Let me know if you want to collaborate on a list of moves for HTMLGiant.”
Well, I thought that sounded like a terrific idea. So here it is, our stab at cataloging 41 popular moves in “contemporary poetry,” an exercise that’s fraught with peril, what with the competing definitions, camps, roles, and processes of “contemporary poetry,” the nebulousness of calling something a “move,” the inevitable non-definitiveness of such a list, and so on, but hey: dancing is fraught with peril too, and no one’s managed to stop me from doing that. So here we go. 41 moves. With mildly related pictures! In no particular order! Please argue and add in the comments. Many thanks to Elisa Gabbert for the bulk of the work on this list.
1) Exposed revision
Example: Alice Fulton’s “About Face“:
At least embarrassment is not an imitation.
It’s intimacy for beginners,
the orgasm no one cares to fake.
I almost admire it. I almost wrote despise.
I can only imagine
how hard it must be for you
to believe me. I mean, to hold
blame. I mean, to be you.
2) Starting a line with the final clause from a previous line’s sentence and finishing it with a single short and often fragmentary sentence.Example: Jack Gilbert’s “Searching for Pittsburgh”:
The rusting mills sprawled gigantically
along three rivers. The authority of them.
3) Abstract epistolary: Using “Dear [abstraction or common object]” in the title or first line.
Examples: Countless. Dear Body: by Dan Machlin, “Dear Final Journey,” by Lynn Emanuel, which begins, “Dear Noose, Dear Necktie, Dear Cravat”
4) The “blank of blank” construction
5) Use of “etc.”
7) Ending a question with a period
8) Ending a non-rhyming poem on a rhyme
Examples: “What He Thought” by Heather McHugh
And poetry—(we’d allput down our forks by now, to listen tothe man in gray; he went onsoftly)—poetry is whathe thought, but did not say.
The despairof loving may lead to long plane rides withlittle leg room, may lead to a penis fullof fish, a burning chicken, a room filledwith a single, pink rose. Funny, howwe think of it as a giant rose,not a tiny room.
10) Description or declaration by way of posing a question and then answering it
My bedroom window can be seen from the viewing deck
of the World Trade Center. I’ve seen it.
What I saw?
My roommate experimenting with my vibrator.
11) The “the new X” construction
12) Comparing something to itself
I could say this guy was like Spicoli,or I could say this guy was like Sean Penn,and both would be wrong because reallythis guy is like a guy that works weekendsfor the family mini-golf business.
13) Extreme (ironic) egotism
From “Vermont” by Dan Chiasson: “I was the west / once. I was paradise.”
14) Explicit references to poems, especially the poem in question
15) Mention of a forest animal
When the tree climbs down its bark, I follow
seedlings buried in cake. I’ve hidden the sin in roofing,
de-veined by a plum falling from the child’s hand.A wolf of her own.
16) Use of casual hedges like “sort of” and “kind of/kinda”17) Humorous use of ecstatic “O”
18) The very long title
19) Poetic allusion as jokeExamples:
From “As If To Say” by Chris Nealon: “I seriously have a mind of winter”
From “Sheer Commerce” by Phillip Byron Oakes: “Grecian urn your / pay”
20) Surprise re-framing of an utterance
Examples:
From “Gone Before” by Dobby Gibson: “Sadness, though your beard may be fake, / your anonymity is quite real, / whispered the dying man to his nurse”
From “Running Away Jam” by Jason Bredle: “I wish I could take a microphone everywhere I go so everyone / would hear me / is how I began a letter to my parents”
21) Verbs as reasons for linebreaks
Examples:
From “Homecoming” by Dorianne Laux: “At the high school football game, the boys / stroke their new muscles”
From “Vehicle” by Heather Christle: “… Man / in the dining car, stop eavesdropping / on children talking about balloons.”
22) Fake proper names
Example: From “Governors on Sominex” by David Berman: “They’d closed down the Bureau of Sad Endings”
23) Moving the poem forward by associating one word with an unrelated word that sounds similar
Examples:
From “Social Life” by Alice George: “I’ve / got the wrong end of the stick or maybe // it’s the way I’m holding it, the way it’s sharp. / The shtick of the party, the excuse of it”
From “Hounds Begin to Howl” by Clay Matthews: “Like calling people meat. Meat, meat, meat. / It’s a might, might, might and I don’t know.”
24) An often campy obsession with science/sci-fi terminology
Example: From “Side Effects” by Dean Young: “… but his experiments / at the cyclotron don’t amount to much dark matter”
25) Self-aware naivete of tone and diction
Example: From “The Crowds Cheered As Gloom Galloped Away” by Matthea Harvey: “Everyone was happier. But where did the sadness go? People wanted to know. They didn’t want it collecting in their elbows or knees then popping up later.”
26) The act of identification as an opportunity for humor
Example: From “Poems About Trees” by K. Silem Mohammad: “the products he’s hawking have names on them like KABOOM”
27) The throwaway pun
Example: From “Play It Again, Salmonella” by Jeffrey McDaniel: “I’m a card-carrying member of a canceled party.”
28) “Scare” quotes
29) Stacking up of ten-dollar words
30) Breaking a line so as to stack a repeated word on top of itself
November is more of the usual
November
And what you do–the syntax
Of inaction versus the syntax
Of deliberate action
We woke up under an overpass on I-90
(at least the underside looked like I-90)
consider this more like drawing
a picture of someone drawing
31) Ending a poem with a question
What roiling ritual is this?
What does this dance mean?
What are the shapes that I know?
32) Embedding a fragment of a quoteExample: From “Nothing Moving” by Hazel McClure:
“nothing but blueskies” all gone, thick wool,
wintered rotten logs.
33) Including a brand name in a list
34) Clipping or altering a cliche
35) Correcting a cliche
36) Definition or description by negation
Examples:
From “Situation in Yellow” by Stephanie Anderson: “She does not take paper / clips or protractors.”
From “This Is Not About Pears” by Matthew Hittinger: “whole sections left white, not blank, / but the white where light lifts form / into pears (even though this is not / about pears).”
37) Compound nonce words
Examples:
From “Autobiographia” by Karl Parker: “That was prettymuch the story of my life”
From “Grand Central Terminal” by Darcie Dennigan: “1913, the girlghost died here in a gas explosion”
38) Polysemy: Language deliberately meaning multiple things at once
Example: From Scape by Joshua Harmon: “to balance my bicycle and my checking account”
39) Parataxis: Pairing nebulously related things/utterances
Example: From “Sunset Debris” by Ron Silliman: “Can you smell rain? Will you use bleach? What is a fretless bass?”
40) Illogical causation
Example: From “Cryptozoology” by Sabrina Orah Mark: “Walter B. was so relieved he slept in his boots.”
41) Ending with an end (e.g., fade to black, death, credits, Fin“)
Example: From “Bleeding Hearts” by Harryette Mullen: “Where I live’s a wren shack. Pull back. / Show wreck. Black fade.”
Tags: elisa gabbert, moves, poetry
Our bag of tricks, exposed!
Our bag of tricks, exposed!
I really like this. I am going to reread it now.
I really like this. I am going to reread it now.
Wow, this is badass! Going to settle in with it…
Wow, this is badass! Going to settle in with it…
2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 [i don’t mean it ironically sometimes only hyperbolically but i generally mean it in some sort of real and unironic way], 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 25, 26, 31, 34, 36, 38, 39
2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 [i don’t mean it ironically sometimes only hyperbolically but i generally mean it in some sort of real and unironic way], 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 25, 26, 31, 34, 36, 38, 39
This is great!
Hopefully no one referenced in the examples snipe you out.
“He knows our secrets! Now he must pay . . . ”
hehe
This is great!
Hopefully no one referenced in the examples snipe you out.
“He knows our secrets! Now he must pay . . . ”
hehe
This is nice work.
This is nice work.
Using the title as the first line, or having it lead into the poem is another fun move I like.
Example by John Ashbery:
“The Favor of a Reply
is requested.” That’s where it began–
Using the title as the first line, or having it lead into the poem is another fun move I like.
Example by John Ashbery:
“The Favor of a Reply
is requested.” That’s where it began–
Excellent post!
Excellent post!
totally killer. i like that number 30 is also a tactic used in thug rap.
i would add that when referring to food, it’s often dainty or scenty or lavish ornamental things more for sound that use, never just common things people actually eat, and almost always appears in lists.
totally killer. i like that number 30 is also a tactic used in thug rap.
i would add that when referring to food, it’s often dainty or scenty or lavish ornamental things more for sound that use, never just common things people actually eat, and almost always appears in lists.
ha, yes, this is a good one, i wrote a poem about this.
ha, yes, this is a good one, i wrote a poem about this.
good one!
i guess i do use 30, i just don’t use line breaks. i will have runs of sentences that begin with the same word or phrase.
good one!
i guess i do use 30, i just don’t use line breaks. i will have runs of sentences that begin with the same word or phrase.
I love this. So well done! Just finished The Anthologist and this is like a nice big piece of pie after the meal.
I love this. So well done! Just finished The Anthologist and this is like a nice big piece of pie after the meal.
Also, I like how many of these work for prose as well. For example, I use 23 all the time to move the story forward.
Also, I like how many of these work for prose as well. For example, I use 23 all the time to move the story forward.
these are great
i need to incorporate #24 more often
maybe write a poem about the tardis
these are great
i need to incorporate #24 more often
maybe write a poem about the tardis
That’s what parataxis is?
Now I know.
Thanks!
That’s what parataxis is?
Now I know.
Thanks!
This is really, really great.
This is really, really great.
I found this very helpful. Thanks guys.
I found this very helpful. Thanks guys.
God bless you, Elisa Gabbert
God bless you, Elisa Gabbert
Wow! Awesome! Thanks Mike & Danika & Elisa. I will certainly use this in the classroom.
Wow! Awesome! Thanks Mike & Danika & Elisa. I will certainly use this in the classroom.
I like this as a huge, weird poem in itself.
I like this as a huge, weird poem in itself.
For sure. And mentioning booze in any capacity is an easy way to curry favor with rebellious youth.
For sure. And mentioning booze in any capacity is an easy way to curry favor with rebellious youth.
Called out twice by Elisa Gabbert! I am getting her back in the next New England Review.
#1, for me, always recalls a poem from Michael Davidson’s The Prose of Fact:
“Tonight is closer than we thought (he meant to write ‘colder’ but moved closer to the heater instead)…”
Called out twice by Elisa Gabbert! I am getting her back in the next New England Review.
#1, for me, always recalls a poem from Michael Davidson’s The Prose of Fact:
“Tonight is closer than we thought (he meant to write ‘colder’ but moved closer to the heater instead)…”
Hahaha that’s a great line!
Hahaha that’s a great line!
Nonce words!
Nonce words!
E,
you forgot the one that makes Matt Rass go crazy, the line by line deletion of a word to change the meaning each time move, usually ending a poem, which would be something like:
never sell your self short
never sell your self
never sell your
never sell
never
Also the over use of “face” is a big one i hear at brooklyn hipster readings all the time, especially used twice, like “face of your face” or something.
i’m not sure if definition by a negative is the same as the use of the negative like in a declarative sentence stating something that didn’t happen: “No one yelled shit down a river”
or the Tao Lin move, to follow a declarative sentence, especially a bold statement by, I think
the James Tate repetition of he said, she said a million times move
the place tons of first names without telling us who they are (even though we all know they are probably the poet’s quasi-famous poet friends) throughout your poems, i think Hogland has a whole book like that, What Narcissism Means to Me (or the lone initial in place of a name move, you know to create “mystery”) (or the use of one’s own name constantly, Ben Mirov pimps this move pretty sweetly)
jack spicer references
the random scientific fact dropped in (probably found in the back of Harpers Magazine, that’s where i get mine)
the so and so-shaped cloud or other noun, with the so and so being something unexpected like Barack Obama or scrotum (actually “scrotum-shaped could” would be pretty good)
lists in 3s, and the use of “all”, especially describing something with words you’d never normally use like “the sky went all cadmium, pith and permafrost”
the same title for a bunch of poems (usually a series), like Julia has All My Friends In High School Are Dead for like 20 poems, which sounds pretty cool coming out of her voice one after the other
although i’m not sure some of these are moves per say, like the blank of blank construction is just a metaphor, Lorca is the master of that particular construction, and ending a question with a period is just how you write a rhetorical question, that sort of thing…
i fuckin’ love that dan boehl poem, is that in Work?
E,
you forgot the one that makes Matt Rass go crazy, the line by line deletion of a word to change the meaning each time move, usually ending a poem, which would be something like:
never sell your self short
never sell your self
never sell your
never sell
never
Also the over use of “face” is a big one i hear at brooklyn hipster readings all the time, especially used twice, like “face of your face” or something.
i’m not sure if definition by a negative is the same as the use of the negative like in a declarative sentence stating something that didn’t happen: “No one yelled shit down a river”
or the Tao Lin move, to follow a declarative sentence, especially a bold statement by, I think
the James Tate repetition of he said, she said a million times move
the place tons of first names without telling us who they are (even though we all know they are probably the poet’s quasi-famous poet friends) throughout your poems, i think Hogland has a whole book like that, What Narcissism Means to Me (or the lone initial in place of a name move, you know to create “mystery”) (or the use of one’s own name constantly, Ben Mirov pimps this move pretty sweetly)
jack spicer references
the random scientific fact dropped in (probably found in the back of Harpers Magazine, that’s where i get mine)
the so and so-shaped cloud or other noun, with the so and so being something unexpected like Barack Obama or scrotum (actually “scrotum-shaped could” would be pretty good)
lists in 3s, and the use of “all”, especially describing something with words you’d never normally use like “the sky went all cadmium, pith and permafrost”
the same title for a bunch of poems (usually a series), like Julia has All My Friends In High School Are Dead for like 20 poems, which sounds pretty cool coming out of her voice one after the other
although i’m not sure some of these are moves per say, like the blank of blank construction is just a metaphor, Lorca is the master of that particular construction, and ending a question with a period is just how you write a rhetorical question, that sort of thing…
i fuckin’ love that dan boehl poem, is that in Work?
i am guilty of the “face” and “name” thing
that would be a good title
I AM GUILTY OF THE FACE AND NAME THING
i am guilty of the “face” and “name” thing
that would be a good title
I AM GUILTY OF THE FACE AND NAME THING
Let me be the twentieth-or-so person to say: great post.
Let me be the twentieth-or-so person to say: great post.
So what if anything can we gather from this compilation?
Is it a handy toolbag for the working poet? A list of cliches to be avoided?
So what if anything can we gather from this compilation?
Is it a handy toolbag for the working poet? A list of cliches to be avoided?
This is exceptional work. Fiction writers use some of these movies too. I’m going to reread this now.
This is exceptional work. Fiction writers use some of these movies too. I’m going to reread this now.
awesome post. parataxis is an amazing word & trick!
awesome post. parataxis is an amazing word & trick!
Brilliant! Bookmarked, printed, shared. Thanks.
Brilliant! Bookmarked, printed, shared. Thanks.
Ha ha, Chris Tonelli HATES the “it was all blah and blah” move.
The DB poem is from Work, yes.
Blank of Blank isn’t necessarily a metaphor, like if you take the phrase “light bulb” and make it “bulb of light” that’s not necessarily a metaphor, you just changed the syntax and made it sound poemy and aggrandized.
Anyway great additions! Steve Schroeder added a bunch more here:
http://thefrenchexit.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-poetry-moves.html
Ha ha, Chris Tonelli HATES the “it was all blah and blah” move.
The DB poem is from Work, yes.
Blank of Blank isn’t necessarily a metaphor, like if you take the phrase “light bulb” and make it “bulb of light” that’s not necessarily a metaphor, you just changed the syntax and made it sound poemy and aggrandized.
Anyway great additions! Steve Schroeder added a bunch more here:
http://thefrenchexit.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-poetry-moves.html
I’d say moves are to be used wisely and deliberately. Don’t let them become tics. And try to cultivate some signature moves — don’t just gimp Tao Lin’s, for example.
I’d say moves are to be used wisely and deliberately. Don’t let them become tics. And try to cultivate some signature moves — don’t just gimp Tao Lin’s, for example.
i would say it’s pretty much a largely unavoidable toolbag. incidentally, cliches aren’t the worst thing in the world. except when they are. but not when they aren’t.
i would say it’s pretty much a largely unavoidable toolbag. incidentally, cliches aren’t the worst thing in the world. except when they are. but not when they aren’t.
Thanks for making me happy the rest of the week. We thank. [The weary we]
Thanks for making me happy the rest of the week. We thank. [The weary we]
my favorite blank of blank is “swan of bees”, from a poem written by one of kenneth koch’s grade school students in “wishes, lies, and dreams: teaching children to write poetry”. the kid meant to write “swarm of bees”. there’s a whole chapter of poems made of this type of line:
http://tinyurl.com/yzyxud7
my favorite blank of blank is “swan of bees”, from a poem written by one of kenneth koch’s grade school students in “wishes, lies, and dreams: teaching children to write poetry”. the kid meant to write “swarm of bees”. there’s a whole chapter of poems made of this type of line:
http://tinyurl.com/yzyxud7
OMG. “I would like to have a boat of kittens.” I really would.
OMG. “I would like to have a boat of kittens.” I really would.
Sweet.
I like “A letter made of words.”
Because a letter is made of words, and a word is made of letters.
Sweet.
I like “A letter made of words.”
Because a letter is made of words, and a word is made of letters.
I love this so much.
Maybe it’s a subset of the “blank of blank” construction, but what about the “science word of abstraction” phenomenon? The calculus of love, the archaeology of my grief, quantum of solace, etc. etc. etc.
I love this so much.
Maybe it’s a subset of the “blank of blank” construction, but what about the “science word of abstraction” phenomenon? The calculus of love, the archaeology of my grief, quantum of solace, etc. etc. etc.
Oh, totally! It’s a subset. Calculus of love. Ha.
Oh, totally! It’s a subset. Calculus of love. Ha.
Yeah, I’m trying to figure a way to bring this to my thesis class in two weeks without seeming douchey
Yeah, I’m trying to figure a way to bring this to my thesis class in two weeks without seeming douchey
dude, me and sarah bartlett have a whole chapbook called MULE-SHAPED CLOUD! now i feel like douche-shaped cloud. thanks a lot SAM!
dude, me and sarah bartlett have a whole chapbook called MULE-SHAPED CLOUD! now i feel like douche-shaped cloud. thanks a lot SAM!
This is a great poem with so much of #32. It is so sad. It makes me feel ashamed, but I do feel challenged to come up with new moves. So thanks. One annoying quibble…isn’t #38 an example of zeugma, not periphrasis, in that no single word has a double meaning, but that “balance” applies to the two words in different senses?
This is a great poem with so much of #32. It is so sad. It makes me feel ashamed, but I do feel challenged to come up with new moves. So thanks. One annoying quibble…isn’t #38 an example of zeugma, not periphrasis, in that no single word has a double meaning, but that “balance” applies to the two words in different senses?
I’m sure that’s good advice.
Actually, one of the things I liked about this post was its neutral presentation, but at the same time I felt the need to interrogate that.
I also liked the move of calling figures “moves.”
I’m sure that’s good advice.
Actually, one of the things I liked about this post was its neutral presentation, but at the same time I felt the need to interrogate that.
I also liked the move of calling figures “moves.”
I didn’t think that was the best example, actually. Probably the title of Josh Harmon’s book, SCAPE, is itself a better example of polysemy.
I didn’t think that was the best example, actually. Probably the title of Josh Harmon’s book, SCAPE, is itself a better example of polysemy.
yeah, polysemy the way i understand it is hard to define in the way we were doing the list.. i just glanced at a txt file called “good poetry” and found clay matthews’s “instructions to my old, dead friend” which has this couplet:
“This is what we leave behind when we wear / straw hats.”
and this isn’t the best example, but the line break there enables me to read “wear” as meaning “clothing wear” and “wear down” at the same time, and that’s the idea i think of when i think of polysemy
yeah, polysemy the way i understand it is hard to define in the way we were doing the list.. i just glanced at a txt file called “good poetry” and found clay matthews’s “instructions to my old, dead friend” which has this couplet:
“This is what we leave behind when we wear / straw hats.”
and this isn’t the best example, but the line break there enables me to read “wear” as meaning “clothing wear” and “wear down” at the same time, and that’s the idea i think of when i think of polysemy
yep, that’s the million dollar question, alan, and definitely something we consciously avoided taking a stance on.
i’d say elisa’s advice is sound, and i’d also say that form is untranscendable, and one of the presentational flaws of contemporary poetry in the modes referenced by this list—
and, let’s be honest, the modes referenced do not comprise the entirety of the contemporary poetic genre but sit instead in some pretty specific bowling alleys
—is the oft-mystical attitude toward process, borne no doubt a little bit out of the gaggery of “self-expression” as a viable “creative writing” notion and a little bit out of misunderstanding how nerves actually work while agreeing with o’hara’s “just go on your nerve”
note, those last two points are my opinions and not necessarily elisa’s, and are also kind of random etc.
aka free verse is never free, rinse and repeat, etc. not a new notion, but always fun to hack at
yep, that’s the million dollar question, alan, and definitely something we consciously avoided taking a stance on.
i’d say elisa’s advice is sound, and i’d also say that form is untranscendable, and one of the presentational flaws of contemporary poetry in the modes referenced by this list—
and, let’s be honest, the modes referenced do not comprise the entirety of the contemporary poetic genre but sit instead in some pretty specific bowling alleys
—is the oft-mystical attitude toward process, borne no doubt a little bit out of the gaggery of “self-expression” as a viable “creative writing” notion and a little bit out of misunderstanding how nerves actually work while agreeing with o’hara’s “just go on your nerve”
note, those last two points are my opinions and not necessarily elisa’s, and are also kind of random etc.
aka free verse is never free, rinse and repeat, etc. not a new notion, but always fun to hack at
One of my favorite examples of #11 is Heather Christle’s Gloria Evaluates the New Desert: “The new desert magnetizes blood / The new desert bangs me like a man.”
One of my favorite examples of #11 is Heather Christle’s Gloria Evaluates the New Desert: “The new desert magnetizes blood / The new desert bangs me like a man.”
haha. Tonelli would hate me. i love the “all blah, blah” move.
boat of kittens = my dad would hate.
haha. Tonelli would hate me. i love the “all blah, blah” move.
boat of kittens = my dad would hate.
strangely enough, “largely unavoidable toolbag” was my nickname in college.
strangely enough, “largely unavoidable toolbag” was my nickname in college.
Due to busy-ness, I’ve had to click, “Mark as Unread” in my Reader for the past few days, hoping to have some real down time to read this for real. I’m glad I did. Great list.
Due to busy-ness, I’ve had to click, “Mark as Unread” in my Reader for the past few days, hoping to have some real down time to read this for real. I’m glad I did. Great list.
[…] a fun article on moves in contemporary poetry: http://htmlgiant.com/craft-notes/moves-in-contemporary-poetry/ I only see myself guilty of 24, 29, and 38 (most recently in my Candles to Moths piece, which has […]
OK, I gotta say that that room-sized rose in 9. is from this painting by magritte:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_u7ryccJN3ZQ/Sr-ehXdF67I/AAAAAAAAAHU/iLdZEeyCMGc/s400/magritte-rose.jpg
so let’s call this move too: describe images from paintings when they beat what you can come up with then and there, ie get all ekphrastic on your poem. for once the reader and you will have the same image in your heads.
OK, I gotta say that that room-sized rose in 9. is from this painting by magritte:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_u7ryccJN3ZQ/Sr-ehXdF67I/AAAAAAAAAHU/iLdZEeyCMGc/s400/magritte-rose.jpg
so let’s call this move too: describe images from paintings when they beat what you can come up with then and there, ie get all ekphrastic on your poem. for once the reader and you will have the same image in your heads.
Too too funny.
Too too funny.
This is faboo.
This is faboo.
In fact, much of the rest of that poem by Young references Magritte paintings, and I think maybe he opens the poem mentioning visiting a Magritte exhibit.
In fact, much of the rest of that poem by Young references Magritte paintings, and I think maybe he opens the poem mentioning visiting a Magritte exhibit.
[…] soul-crushing but less snarky listing of the “moves” in contemporary poetry over at <HTMLGIANT>. This list comes complete with examples from contemporary poetry and points out the banality of […]
Great fun. Countless other examples of these moves flooded my mind. “And the rat? The rat is radiant” (William Matthews). “attic of heaven” (Charles Wright). “The New Chinese Fiction” (James Tate). “Who gives a shit about pansies freak’d with jet” (Michael Ryan). So many others. Thanks.
Great fun. Countless other examples of these moves flooded my mind. “And the rat? The rat is radiant” (William Matthews). “attic of heaven” (Charles Wright). “The New Chinese Fiction” (James Tate). “Who gives a shit about pansies freak’d with jet” (Michael Ryan). So many others. Thanks.
Well, at least t he “dead animal” move –so popular in 60s & 70s MFA-style poetry — this is the grandady of the genre , lampooned by Ra Armatrout directly & indirectly by the LP group in their writings:
Traveling Through The Dark
Traveling through the dark I found a deer
dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.
It is usually best to roll them into the canyon:
that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead.
By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back of the car
and stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;
she had stiffened already, almost cold.
I dragged her off; she was large in the belly.
My fingers touching her side brought me the reason–
her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting,
alive, still, never to be born.
Beside that mountain road I hesitated.
The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights;
under the hood purred the steady engine.
I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red;
around our group I could hear the wilderness listen.
I thought hard for us all–my only swerving–,
then pushed her over the edge into the river.
William Stafford
Well, at least t he “dead animal” move –so popular in 60s & 70s MFA-style poetry — this is the grandady of the genre , lampooned by Ra Armatrout directly & indirectly by the LP group in their writings:
Traveling Through The Dark
Traveling through the dark I found a deer
dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.
It is usually best to roll them into the canyon:
that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead.
By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back of the car
and stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;
she had stiffened already, almost cold.
I dragged her off; she was large in the belly.
My fingers touching her side brought me the reason–
her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting,
alive, still, never to be born.
Beside that mountain road I hesitated.
The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights;
under the hood purred the steady engine.
I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red;
around our group I could hear the wilderness listen.
I thought hard for us all–my only swerving–,
then pushed her over the edge into the river.
William Stafford
Terrific! Hilarious and revealing–
Terrific! Hilarious and revealing–
There do need to be more Tardis poems in the world…
There do need to be more Tardis poems in the world…
This was funny, interesting and revealing, but it was also mortifying and kind of gross. Poets really aren’t any more than a bag of tricks? :(
This was funny, interesting and revealing, but it was also mortifying and kind of gross. Poets really aren’t any more than a bag of tricks? :(
Robot X., eat your heart out.
I have, of course, hundreds more of these, available to any reader who sends me a crisp bill & a self-addressed envelope.
Or you could just steal them from my log–like the REAL PROS!!!
m.
Robot X., eat your heart out.
I have, of course, hundreds more of these, available to any reader who sends me a crisp bill & a self-addressed envelope.
Or you could just steal them from my log–like the REAL PROS!!!
m.
…also related to description by negative, Gizzi’s anti-simile: “Snow unlike glass, glass unlike a corpse/Moon unlike a torso boldly colored in” (“Caption,” from Artificial Heart)
for an excellent apotheosis of #28, Aaron Kunin at Realpolitik: http://www.realpoetik.org/2009/12/aaron-kunin.html
…also related to description by negative, Gizzi’s anti-simile: “Snow unlike glass, glass unlike a corpse/Moon unlike a torso boldly colored in” (“Caption,” from Artificial Heart)
for an excellent apotheosis of #28, Aaron Kunin at Realpolitik: http://www.realpoetik.org/2009/12/aaron-kunin.html
a blog that makes me want to blog. thanks.
http://robertandrewperez.blogspot.com/2010/01/emperors-new-clothes-kind-of-moment.html
a blog that makes me want to blog. thanks.
http://robertandrewperez.blogspot.com/2010/01/emperors-new-clothes-kind-of-moment.html
“Our next reader has a novella and a chapbook coming out, both with titles longer than most theses.”
“Our next reader has a novella and a chapbook coming out, both with titles longer than most theses.”
A lot of these aren’t contemporary at all. And aren’t most of them just cliches? Overall though, good observations. I would add: whole poems built around the construct of praise this or that; sestinas with sestina as one of the repeating words; and the melodramatic use of “this world” (as opposed to which other world?).
A lot of these aren’t contemporary at all. And aren’t most of them just cliches? Overall though, good observations. I would add: whole poems built around the construct of praise this or that; sestinas with sestina as one of the repeating words; and the melodramatic use of “this world” (as opposed to which other world?).
This is great. Laughing at myself first thing this morning.
This is great. Laughing at myself first thing this morning.
Now what am I supposed to do, you fucking jagoff.Thanks a lot.
Now what am I supposed to do, you fucking jagoff.Thanks a lot.
but those damn rednecks working in the courthouse they learn one fucking word longer than Deuteronomy and they keep on using it every chance they get
—-Frank Stanford, The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I love You
but those damn rednecks working in the courthouse they learn one fucking word longer than Deuteronomy and they keep on using it every chance they get
—-Frank Stanford, The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I love You
Terrific, fun list.
Terrific, fun list.
that’s one of my favorite poems. and the whole poem is magrittes, and the title “Ready-Made Bouquet” is a Magritte. Awesome poem.
that’s one of my favorite poems. and the whole poem is magrittes, and the title “Ready-Made Bouquet” is a Magritte. Awesome poem.
It’s important to call attention to current tools. that’s how we make new ones.
It’s important to call attention to current tools. that’s how we make new ones.
This is an excellent list – quite an effort I can imagine. By the way in reference to previous comments I have a tardis poem, well a tardis reference in my ‘Cartoon Life’ (on my blog) and more would be good – ha,ha.
This is an excellent list – quite an effort I can imagine. By the way in reference to previous comments I have a tardis poem, well a tardis reference in my ‘Cartoon Life’ (on my blog) and more would be good – ha,ha.
all the poems in Catherine Meng’s TONIGHTS THE NIGHT are called TONIGHTS THE NIGHT
all the poems in Catherine Meng’s TONIGHTS THE NIGHT are called TONIGHTS THE NIGHT
Here is one trend that drives me CRAZY – the use of the word “specific,” “exact,” “particular,” before a noun. This is all over the place in contemporary poetry and it is a direct result of our well-intentioned MFA professors encouraging us to “be specific.” However, using the word “specific” (or any synonym thereof) doesn’t count as actually being specific. Some of our most beloved poets do it, and I find that it rarely does the work the poet intended it to…. There are countless examples of this…. I’ve been hoping to find a place to express that little rant, and finally, here is that place! Thanks, guys!
Here is one trend that drives me CRAZY – the use of the word “specific,” “exact,” “particular,” before a noun. This is all over the place in contemporary poetry and it is a direct result of our well-intentioned MFA professors encouraging us to “be specific.” However, using the word “specific” (or any synonym thereof) doesn’t count as actually being specific. Some of our most beloved poets do it, and I find that it rarely does the work the poet intended it to…. There are countless examples of this…. I’ve been hoping to find a place to express that little rant, and finally, here is that place! Thanks, guys!
That’s the exact problem I was gonna talk about! It is a specific trend coming from particular MFAs, I think.
That’s the exact problem I was gonna talk about! It is a specific trend coming from particular MFAs, I think.
Specifically, those exact MFAs concerned with the particular.
Specifically, those particular MFAs concerned with the exact.
Specifically, those exact MFAs concerned with the particular.
Specifically, those particular MFAs concerned with the exact.
Those MFAs specifically exacting the particular?
Those MFAs specifically exacting the particular?
Exactly! The specific particulars escape me.
Exactly! The specific particulars escape me.
That is a particularly exacting specific, zziippppp
That is a particularly exacting specific, zziippppp
[…] 1) u gotta know tha moves, […]
Great post. Super great.
Great post. Super great.
Parataxis is just the repetition of declarative sentences in a parallel series. So, not what’s defined here.
Parataxis is just the repetition of declarative sentences in a parallel series. So, not what’s defined here.
That is one grammatical definition. It’s been co-opted to mean many things, including the definition above. Strictly, all the Greek means is “the act of placing side by side.” In talking about poetry, it’s often used to mean a disjunctive side-by-side pairing of images/phrases/utterances. Often for the purpose of making the reader’s brain do the gymnastics of connecting these things which suggest syntactical connection and “dissuggest” cognitive connection.
That is one grammatical definition. It’s been co-opted to mean many things, including the definition above. Strictly, all the Greek means is “the act of placing side by side.” In talking about poetry, it’s often used to mean a disjunctive side-by-side pairing of images/phrases/utterances. Often for the purpose of making the reader’s brain do the gymnastics of connecting these things which suggest syntactical connection and “dissuggest” cognitive connection.
[…] first poem in Karl Parker’s debut collection, Personationskin—three times on a list of 41 “moves” in contemporary poetry (commonly encountered techniques or maneuvers). It was the only poem of his I had read so far, or I […]
I love Baltimore and I think I can say a little about why.
I love Baltimore and I think I can say a little about why.
don’t you think it’s all a bit like naming our gods. who cares. if you know how the contemporary fools who think themselves better than doctors or rousseau or jean luc picard get by publishing good, not great, work, then you’ll do well for yourself; you certainly don’t need this list. in fact, we all already know. let’s get back to it, shall we.
on the other hand, i really do like this rather abbreviated little compendium, and i’m glad someone’s compiling it and, more importantly, working on it outside the mind. nice site, as well.
bravo and may god damn every last one of you.
don’t you think it’s all a bit like naming our gods. who cares. if you know how the contemporary fools who think themselves better than doctors or rousseau or jean luc picard get by publishing good, not great, work, then you’ll do well for yourself; you certainly don’t need this list. in fact, we all already know. let’s get back to it, shall we.
on the other hand, i really do like this rather abbreviated little compendium, and i’m glad someone’s compiling it and, more importantly, working on it outside the mind. nice site, as well.
bravo and may god damn every last one of you.
dear ms. ratzabi,
there are more poets in this country than any other, with more mfa programs than any other. let the idiots who can’t figure out whether a word intended to connote specificity does or doesn’t actually connote specificity wallow in the tormented, uneducated, fecal-laden prison they’ve prepared for themselves–may they gallop into the gazelle herd of the mfa for fear of the lion like the useless mammalian pack animals they are.
dear ms. ratzabi,
there are more poets in this country than any other, with more mfa programs than any other. let the idiots who can’t figure out whether a word intended to connote specificity does or doesn’t actually connote specificity wallow in the tormented, uneducated, fecal-laden prison they’ve prepared for themselves–may they gallop into the gazelle herd of the mfa for fear of the lion like the useless mammalian pack animals they are.
don’t you think it’s all a bit like naming our gods. who cares. if you know how the contemporary fools who think themselves better than doctors or rousseau or jean luc picard get by publishing good, not great, work, then you’ll do well for yourself; you certainly don’t need this list. in fact, we all already know. let’s get back to it, shall we.
on the other hand, i really do like this rather abbreviated little compendium, and i’m glad someone’s compiling it and, more importantly, working on it outside the mind. nice site, as well.
bravo and may god manhandle every last one of you.
don’t you think it’s all a bit like naming our gods. who cares. if you know how the contemporary fools who think themselves better than doctors or rousseau or jean luc picard get by publishing good, not great, work, then you’ll do well for yourself; you certainly don’t need this list. in fact, we all already know. let’s get back to it, shall we.
on the other hand, i really do like this rather abbreviated little compendium, and i’m glad someone’s compiling it and, more importantly, working on it outside the mind. nice site, as well.
bravo and may god manhandle every last one of you.
Great piece, Mike. I had to link your blog to this article…
http://scarriet.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/poetry-comedy-for-people-who-arent-funny/#comment-768
oh god. not you.
once again you miss the point completely. please go away.
oh god. not you.
once again you miss the point completely. please go away.
ZAM!
ZAM!
Can’t say I agree with you. I like poetry. I like contemporary poetry. Duh these “moves” are not new. Most moves aren’t. That’s why we chose the word moves. Have some good faith.
Can’t say I agree with you. I like poetry. I like contemporary poetry. Duh these “moves” are not new. Most moves aren’t. That’s why we chose the word moves. Have some good faith.
[…] In the meantime, go complete all 41 moves of contemporary poetry. […]
[…] Here is an interesting blog on techniques in contemporary poetry by some poets with a few more tricks up their sleeves. Leave a Comment […]
[…] personal cliché is evidently closely related to the concept of moves but I emphatically do not think moves are equivalent to clichés. A move may be used only once or […]
[…] NaPoWriMo — by evie9 @ 6:37 pm Tags: poem-a-day poem in which i use at least 13 of the 41 “moves in contemporary poetry” identified by elisa gabbert and mike young, in no particular […]
[…] In the meantime, go complete all the 41 moves in contemporary poetry. […]
The functional shift is not new. It’s been a part of the English language’s versatility since Christopher Marlow.
The functional shift is not new. It’s been a part of the English language’s versatility since Christopher Marlow.
Hey, I know you!
OKOK.
this is pretty interesting, tho bound to make a poet feel truly petty when making one of these “moves.” Then again, assuming that some of these techniques and the people who use them bear some kind of organic relation to the world in which they are produced, authenticity (in damaged the way it is possible now) may still be available to those of us not entirely full of shit. Maybe it would be even more interesting to think about these relationships?
I love this! It is very interesting and bits and pieces of the most tantalizing poems. Good for me to learn so much more about the poetry!
You do not need to be embarrassed about using any of these techniques, if you use them to good effect. And you might even feel a bit of pride, if you concocted them on your own, without knowingly cribbing from a model.
[…] one now. Don’t nobody know no poetry like Mike, neither — so if you want more than THIS AMAZING LIST of “moves in contemporary poetry”, you should consider giving his online class a look. The 8-week sessions starts on October […]
saw this linked today in adam robinson’s post. this is phenomenal and i wish i’d had it when i was doing my poetry workshop. wow.
protip: that instance os polysemy (#38) is a zeugma (my favorite figure of speech)
[…] this wait, what? reframing of an utterance is a common move in contemporary poetry. From Mike Young’s research on poet moves: from “Running Away Jam” by Jason Bredle, “I […]
[…] came across this fun article at HTMLGIANT cataloging the moves we contemporary poets like to make in our work. “This Is […]
Calculust: The Limits of Love.
[…] Mike Young: Moves in Contemporary Poetry […]
@jean luc picard: It’s good to see you with us, captain. I will go where you lead! This is a nice collection, so thanks to Mike Young the collector – but yea, these “moves” but do elicit from me a sigh. Let’s call it: How university-sponsored poets write without matter or inspiration! Sending urgent open message on all subspace frequencies – please respond, any Federation vessel…
@jean luc picard: I will go where you lead, captain! This is a rather nice collection, so thanks to Mike Young the collector. But yea, these “moves” do but elicit from me a sigh. Let’s call it “How University-Sponsored Poets Write Without Matter, Talent, or Inspiration.” Sending urgent open communication on all subspace frequencies. Please respond, any Federation vessel…
thanks should also go to Elisa Gabbert, my co-curator here!
i like star trek TNG too, aintrent, but i think you’re completely bogus in your snide interpretation of the list
this talk has been talked to death, so i’ll just point you back out to the googlewebs for discussion about this list, but i’d like to also specifically mention Elisa’s longer essay treatment in the wonderful book The Monkey & The Wrench
and here’s what i wrote 2 years ago on some of what i took to be the most bewildering/petty/insecure takes on the list’s intentions/ideologies: http://mikeayoung.blogspot.com/2010/02/awesome-is-color-of-my-true-loves-eyes.html
i mean i guess i could’ve responded to any of the snider comments in this comment stream of this post over the years, but here two years later your comment takes another crack at a pretty cliched critique, so why not update the “shield system” or whatever it is worf always worfed about, right?
[…] “Moves in Contemporary Poetry” by Mike Young (and Elisa Gabbert) […]
[…] dogma. (“Show, don’t tell.”) They routinely get assembled in conventional ways—familiar patterns. How, then, can a thing as solidly formulaic as an artwork ever produce something other than […]
Mike & Elisa: Thanks for this list. It’s great.
As others have noted, #38 is an example of zeugma, one of the many “moves” employed in rhetoric handed down from the ancient Greeks. Actually it’s syllepsis, a type of zeugma. (I know this because I am trying to teach myself rhetoric, for the purpose appreciating poetry, contemporary as well as old-school!) e.g. “I play guitar, you piano” is zeugma, while “I play guitar, you hard to get” is syllepsis.
I think of this list as just a modern update to the classic rhetorical devices. It would be great if this thread could be left open and added to over time.
I don’t understand why anyone (especially poets) would be defensive or self-conscious about a list like this. Is it something like a magician not wanting his/her tricks explained in case the magic wears off? I don’t see it like that at all.
I like all kinds of poetry (I am only a reader not a writer) including metrical/rhyming received forms as well as language poetry, pomo, conceptual poetry etc. I have started to employ as part of my own close reading of poems excisions of some particular linguistic features e.g. all the concrete nouns, all the abstract nouns, all the verbs, oulipo N+7 and other deformations, all the “blank of blanks” (this before I came across #4 on this list!) etc.
RE #6, verbing a noun etc. This could be just the tip of the iceberg, innovative transformations between different parts of speech. Just one small example, probably used in poetry for centuries: the use of an inchoative verb in a causative sense. e.g. “sunshine blooms the flowers” rather than “sunshine causes the flowers to bloom”. Why is the former more poetic? Dunno, but it just is.
Regards,
Norman
[…] example: I once collaborated with a friend to create a big list of “moves” in contemporary poetry, and people tell me all the time that it’s a list they return to for personal reference and to […]
[…] example: I once collaborated with a friend to create a big list of “moves” in contemporary poetry, and people tell me all the time that it’s a list they return to for personal reference and to […]
[…] collaborated with a friend to create a big list of “moves” in contemporary poetry, and people tell me all the time that […]
[…] at this website which dedicates one story or poem per year from 1400-2012. Also I find working with these moves interesting. I tend to write more fiction than poetry and I don’t find prompts helpful for […]
[…] meanings?” “Is the poem self-identifying as a text, with attention drawn to textual moves?” “Is the poem referencing popcultural memes?” “Is the poem resisting […]
[…] exposed revision, the “blank of blank” construction–these are among the 41 “popular moves in contemporary poetry” cataloged by Elisa […]
[…] I begin, I want to link to another resource: HTML Giant’s list of Moves in Contemporary Poetry. Study this list. Be able to recognize these moves. Resist them or employ them at your […]
Have not yet made it through all the comments, so someone may have mentioned the “adjective noun of abstraction” that I find so common in poems from the last 40 years. In the latest Poetry, “The black coat of respectability” from Adam Kirsch or, in an earlier issue the “trembling columns / of apprehension” in Fiona Sampson. I make this move all the time.
[…] this poem uses all the contemporary poetry “moves” cataloged by HTMLGiant […]
[…] our stab at cataloging 41 popular moves in ‘contemporary poetry….” -Mike Young, Moves in Contemporary Poetry, January 12, 2010, […]
[…] surprising. Many of the poems in this collection make conventional or formulaic choices, what poet Elisa Gabbert and others have called “poetic moves” or “ponemes,” recognizable constructions that […]
[…] all, as Elisa Gabbert has demonstrated, even contemporary open-form poetry has its own set of stock jumps.) Leonard’s art, by contrast, is subtractive, paring away received techniques and—as we saw […]
[…] Butler. Shit I Don’t Like About Writers and Writing. Mike Young and Elissa Gabbert. Moves in Contemporary Poetry. Anything by Jimmy Chen. I can’t […]
[…] Elisa Gabbert and Mike Young have a funny, and somewhat confronting, article about this entitled “41 Moves in Contemporary Poetics”. Thanks to Andrew Burke for the […]
[…] as simple as it is to scoff at, this “move in contemporary collage” (hat tip Elissa Gabbert/Mike Young), at some point you have to wonder, what the heck? Why’s the move so […]
[…] list of moves (which I cowrote with the poet Mike Young) has an enduring popularity. Almost every time I go to […]
[…] Things, or moves, to add to your fiction, or your poetry. […]
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