Observational Poetry
One of the things I enjoy most about observational poetry is that it invites writers to take a closer look at typically commonplace items and view them from an extraordinary perspective. While I love reading poetry and follow quite a few poetry pages on Instagram, it isn't often that I find myself writing it despite feeling inspired fairly often. As someone who is typically consumed by a to-do list, I very much appreciate this creative opportunity and invitation to slow down and find joy in the smaller things that I often overlook.
The writing process
On page 93 of Awakening the Heart, Georgia Heard writes, "If we look hard enough we can always find amazing things to observe and write poems about no matter where we live" (Heard, 1999, p. 93). Given that I am writing this blog post during Mecklenburg County's shelter-in-place order, this quote resonates with me because poets, regardless of their location and situation, can find inspiration in even the most unfortunate circumstances. Her words inspired my writing process.
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I began gathering ideas by going for a nature walk with my dog, Leo. Leo and I generally walk the same path each day but I decided to pay closer attention to aspects of our walk that I would typically bypass or tune out with my podcast, like the birds chirping or the familiar scent of pine straw. About halfway through our walk, Leo stopped at his favorite set of tiny holly bushes that peak through the fence of a nearby townhome complex. Despite their prickly needles, Leo loves these bushes and insists on walking all over them during each walk. I immediately knew I had my writing topic: the holly bushes!
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Something I struggle with as a writer is that I have lots of ideas for poetry topics but can't seem to format the words in a way that I like. To combat this, I find it helpful to read the work of other poets and become inspired through that. I chose to explore Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's website and found a wealth of information related to writing poetry, which greatly helped me during my writing process. View her page of poetry techniques by clicking here.
My observational poem
modeled after Seeds by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Holly
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I love the bright red berries
on holly bushes
Nestled peacefully
beneath the prickly leaves
that sneak through cracks
in the fence.
Spring is here
and somehow
each leaf and berry knew
the exact moment
we needed to see their color.
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Launching & scaffolding observational poetry
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Safety Pin by Georgia Heard
Awakening the Heart by Georgia Heard (1999)
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All the Small Poems and Fourteen More by Valerie Worth and Natalie Babbitt (2012)
I chose to take a nature walk to gather ideas for my writing, and after doing this myself, I think teachers can easily do the same with their students to introduce the concept of observational poetry in nature. During the walk, I would invite students to select one item in nature to focus for their writing. This could be something they can take back to the classroom with them, like an acorn or leaf, or something that can be photographed on a device and viewed later. While outside, invite the students to sketch their selected item.
Once the students are back inside, begin crafting lists of observations to serve as the basis of the poems. Listed below are a few examples from page 97 of Awakening the Heart by Georgia Heard (1999). These guiding questions will scaffold student thinking as they create lists of observations about their chosen object in nature.
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Lists: Describe and list the details you notice.
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Questions: What are you wondering about?
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Feelings: What feelings do you have about what you're observing?
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Memories: Does it remind you of anything in your own life?
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The Larger Picture: What's the larger context? Where did the object come from?
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Throughout this process, I would read selected poems from one of my favorite mentor texts, All the Small Poems and Fourteen More by Valerie Worth. I love this collection of poems because they challenge the reader to look at something in a new way, where the topic is a haunted house, weeds in the sidewalk cracks, or a safety pin. Students will find these poems relatable and memorable, and there are endless opportunities to be inspired within the pages. Additionally, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's website that I mentioned earlier features a page with extensive resources for writing poetry based on the technique, which I consulted when writing my own poem. Depending on the style students are seeking, young writers will find this page very useful. View her page of poetry techniques by clicking here.
Citations
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Heard, G. (1999). Awakening the heart: exploring poetry in elementary and middle school. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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VanDerwater, A. L. (2017). The Poem Farm. Retrieved from http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/
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Worth, V., & Babbitt, N. (2012). All the small poems and fourteen more. New York: Square Fish.