Poetry: Reclaiming List Poems

This week: Reclaiming List Poems

Edited by: Jayne

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Hello, I'm Jayne! Welcome to my poetic explorations. My goal with these newsletters is to take us on a journey through the forms, devices, and concepts that make poetry so powerful. Sometimes, a series of newsletters will interconnect, while other issues will stand alone. I strive to ensure they are informative but fun and do my best to spark your curiosity. Don’t forget to check out this issue's curated selection of poetry!

List poems are a real thing, and they are written as list of images or adjectives describing your subject as an inventory.

Here, in case you think I’m making this up

So, does that mean you can count your grocery receipt as list poetry?

Sadly, no. If it counted, I’d be some kind of Laureate (I spend far too much time food shopping).

What you want are powerful list poems. Three key concepts to remember are:

Escalation Is the Point
Each item sharpens or shifts the emotional arc. What begins mundane becomes important. The first lines might be lofty or subtle—but then you work toward closing with a kicker.

Pattern-breaking Is Key
A clean list lulls the reader. Breaking the form at just the right time snaps them awake. Maybe the last line is a full sentence. Maybe it breaks the rhythm. Maybe it finally tells the truth.

Repetition and Recursion Is (Usually) Employed
One of the things list poems uses with great success is anaphora (see: "Anaphora: The Power of Emphasis"

). Listing the same thing multiple times with subtle shifts forces the reader to re-encounter it differently. As a basic example, take the subject matter of a photograph:

the photo
the photo I took as the sun set behind you
the photo gouged and torn when the glass cracked
the photo missing from the frame
that photo told our story

Yeah, I told you it was basic.

But see how it builds?

A list poem is deceptively architectural. You’re stacking imagery for effect, and no matter if it ends in rupture, release, or revelation, the reader should feel changed.

If you’re still not convinced, remember that it was good enough for Walt Whitman

and Christina Rosetti

.

You can find plenty of examples of using the concepts of list poetry within other types of poetry, too. It’s often subtle, but it’s there, like in Shel Silverstein’s The Unicorn

.

So don’t throw out the list poem. Instead, make your reader believe in it.

As always, happy writing!

"Questions"

"Cards Against Authors Week 20"

"Cards Against Authors Book"

"The Lie Within The Line"

A quick circle back to "Is It Prose? Is It Poetry? Yes."

- A lovely prose poem from Monty:

"RAIN"

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