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On writing monastich poems

<< Thread Modifed November 26 at 1:59AM >>

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Since the competition has come up for it, I?ve noticed a lot more "one liners" that are more like punch lines than poems. I don?t want to be critical of any one in reviews, but I?m not sure how to explain that a simple statement or a thought doesn?t make a poem. It is actually what makes a monastich incredibly challenging. Much of what has been written also tends to be unoriginal. They are thoughts most of us have, simple statements, and not to say a simple statement can?t have a profound effect, but it would be nice to see more thought go into these. In the spirit of improvement and artistry at least.

Much like haiku, what makes a monastich really stand out as poetry and not just a statement, is the use of imagery, symbolism, originality, or a cutting word, something that gives the reader an aha moment.

The other great thing is you have just as much freedom with grammar and sentence structure as any other poem. It doesn?t have to be a fully functional sentence. You can write with a style, with thoughts drifting, as an observation that is left for the readers mind to wander. There is so much more that you can do.

I just wanted to share this before others thought I was being hyper critical. Maybe you will still think I am, but it?s easier to not say anything and not deal with backslash than to stick my neck out on the chopping block?so I?m taking a risk because I think everyone would like to see everyone improve.



I apologize for all the question marks. This site doesn?t do well with typing on phones.

RE: On writing monastich poems

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I would concur, although I would say this extends beyond monostich entries to short-form contests generally. A declarative statement (or collection of them) is not a poem, even if it happens to be profound. For that to be the case, they would need to utilize some of the tools in the poetry toolbox. A fair number do not, and yet they are still allowed into voting booths and win or place in site contests, whereas other entries that do use such tools get disqualified for being "prose".