Arts & Entertainment, Writing
Writing the Poem
Lesson time 08:42 min
Billy teaches practical exercises that will galvanize your writing process.
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Topics include: Carry a Little Notebook · Jump-Start Your Writing · Start at the Beginning · Let the Poem Guide You
Teaches Reading and Writing Poetry
In his first-ever online class, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins teaches you how to find joy, humor, and humanity in reading and writing poetry.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] - There's an expression, when you sit down to write, you know what happens. And that kind of assumes that poets do that-- that there is a desk and there's some-- a blank notebook or a blank paper. And then I say, I'm going to sit down and write. I'm going to commit an act of literature, and I'm going to get a poem out of it by 10 o'clock or something. I've never sat down to write in that way. I've always had something in my mind that I sat down with. And therefore, the writing began rather quickly. So how do you-- how do you get something to bring to the page or bring to the desk? Well, the idea is to carry a notebook. Carry a little notebook and something to write with. One time, I was walking around New York City, and I was caught out. I did have a little inkling of a poem that might develop, but I had nothing to write on, and I had nothing to write with. And so I went into a bank, and I went over to a counter where they had these pens that are on little chains, and I got a deposit slip and started writing a poem on the back of three or four deposit slips. And when I walked out, the guard was kind of looking at me a little suspiciously-- that I was just using the bank as a place to write. You're not a poet all the time, but you can be a poet when you're not writing poetry. That is to say, in walking around looking at what's around you during the day, you might find an image. And that relieves the anxiety of the blank page, too, because when you sit down to write, you're kind of coming to the table with a beginning. It's an interesting question about how to get a poem going and how to start writing one and-- when you really don't have anything to say or whatever. Wordsworth's sense was-- he talked about a wise passivity-- that you kind of open yourself up and kind of settle your mind down, almost in a kind of meditative way, and things will come in. Well, that might not work, or not all the time anyway. So there's another more active way to go about jump-starting or triggering your writing. One is to take a poem that you like-- a short poem of someone else's-- and just try to write an imitation of it. And-- or you could just use the first line of a poem that you know-- someone else's first line, and-- or write five different first lines on different pages, and see which one leads to a second and third line. So that might get you going. There's another little exercise you can do that I think could be helpful. And that is at the end of the day, or-- or the morning of the following day, just take a piece of paper and write down 20 things you did the day before, or that day. And use a very simple form-- I did this, I did that. I washed the dishes, I ate an avocado, I read the newspaper, I got a phone call telling me my uncle died. The main thing is don't go chronologically. Don't say, I woke up, I brushed my teeth, I put on my hat. Just go as the order in which things come up in your head. Then you'll have...
About the Instructor
Known for his wit and wisdom, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins is one of America’s most beloved contemporary poets. In his MasterClass, Billy teaches you to appreciate the emotional pull of poetry. Learn his approach to exploring subjects, incorporating humor, and finding your voice. Discover the profound in the everyday, and let poetry lead you to the unexpected.
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Billy Collins
In his first-ever online class, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins teaches you how to find joy, humor, and humanity in reading and writing poetry.
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