1Found Poem

 

A found poem is an original poem developed by using words and passages found in other texts. Find a text you think has a lot of strong description and/or dialogue. (It might be your outside reading book..) Pick out words, phrases and lines from the prose passage then arrange and format the excerpts to compose your own poem.

 

The advantage of found poems is that you don’t start from scratch. All you have to do is find some good language and ‘improve’ it. Poems hide in things you and others say and write. They lie buried in places where language isn’t so self-conscious as ‘real poetry’ often is. Writing found poems is about keeping your ears and eyes alert to the possibilities in ordinary language.

 

 

Parallel Poem From Page 127 of Holes by Louis Sachar Passage from Novel:

 

There was a change in the weather. For the worse. The air became unbearably humid. Stanley was drenched in sweat. Beads of moisture ran down the handle of his shovel. It was almost as if the temperature had gotten so hot that the air itself was sweating. A loud book of thunder echoed across the empty lake. A storm was way off to the west, beyond the mountains. Stanley could count more than thirty seconds between The flash of lightning and the clap of thunder. That was how far away the storm was. Sound travels a great distance across a barren wasteland.

 

 

Found Poem:

 

There was a change

 For the worse.

The air became humid

Beads of moisture ran down

The handle of his shovel

It was almost as if The air itself was sweating

Thunder echoed across the empty lake

A storm beyond the mountains.

Thirty seconds between the flash

And the thunder

Sound travels a great distance

Across a barren wasteland.

 

Parallel Poem:

 

 There was a change

For the team.

The crowd grew restless

Beads of moisture pooled

In the corners of his eyes

It was almost the same

As the time he blew the touchdown

Thunder grew in the crowded stands

Anger building on the sidelines

Thirty seconds on the game clock

And he kicked

Sound exploded as the ball flew

Across the end zone

 

And through the uprights