Who knows about poetry? Any ideas for fun types of poem that my group can try out?

[FortunesFave]

I run an informal support group for homeless women. We're in Oz.

I'd like to set up a day where the participants can try different types of writing. They're very supportive of one another and we did another group where they all wrote some short plays.

I heard about blackout poetry which seems ideal...if you don't know what that is it's where you take odd pages from books and choose a page...then you use a marker and black out all but a few words.

It's a nice way to play with written language and less pressured than sitting down and writing something off the top of your head.

So we can do that...but can anyone suggest anything else? Thank you.

I've done literacy work with homeless people. I haven't done blackout poems, though that sounds interesting. My group enjoyed haiku (gave them images if they needed inspiration) and 'magnetic' poetry where I printed loads of different words, cut them out and gave them a heap each. They produced some beautiful poems with those - you can get them to stick them down on coloured paper if they want to keep them. The literacy levels of mine were really low though.

Select images of interesting people as a stimulus and get your class to write as that person - again, less pressure as not (officially) their own thoughts. Explore an example of a poem in 1st person first.

Take a simple poem and run it through google translate into any language and back to English - gets a discussion going about word choice, why you might choose words with/without double meanings, rhymes, rhythms etc.

Make your own illuminated manuscript? Choose one word, and one letter from that word,to decorate and talk about why that word was most important in the poem for you?

Acrostics are fun and produce interesting poems. Choose a word, write it vertically and each letter is the start of a new line eg:

Mothers and others
Under a cyber net of secrecy
Meeting and speaking
Sharing
News and Fake News
Endlessly interesting
Try it and be hooked.

Look up Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. It's a (short) story in free verse which mentions other poems as well. Could be good inspiration! :)

Ted Hughs is a good place to start. His poems are very short and sweet and use very strong imagery. Haiku as stated above can also be good because it is short and structured.

Haiku?

Reverse poems (where top down says one message and bottom up reversed)?

Sorry, I pressed post too soon!

Depending on literacy levels, maybe trying something short that can also be a bit nonsensical, like nursery rhymes? They can sing them too, if so inclined.

What a great thing to do, OP, hope you and the class really enjoy it.

Thanks everyone. Literacy levels are really varied which is why I wanted a variation of ideas. I'm going to set up a number of tables with chairs and on each I will have some examples of each type of poem...and what they need to do it in addition to print outs of "tips" on how to approach it....this is just in case I am working with someone and someone else can then just go for it alone. The group is very informal and they come in and out when they want.

No structure other than "come in and have a go" or just read what others have done. I can't really be too prescriptive because some are apt to have to leave or want to leave quite suddenly while others will sit for the whole thing.

So...I will have blackout poetry on one table, maybe acrostic on another, cut out words "magnetic poetry" on another (thanks KingThistle)

Images on another...with blank paper and pens...also thought I would do lists of different useful words or exciting descriptive words.

Any more for any more?

:)

Have 'the apple' by S C Rigg as an example and they can try their own along the same lines?

Alwyn great idea! Thanks!

Lynn Peters book just published a poetry last year is brilliant. Its on amazon. Why Dorothy Wordsworth isn't as Famous as her Brother'.