Avis Harley is a wonderful poet. Fun fact: she used to teach at UBC! Every year I use her poems for something during Poetry Month. We have a few of her books in our library; you can see the covers here.
Avis Harley write all sorts of poems. A great way to stretch yourself in a playful way is to find a type of poem and try to write your own, using the same formula. You may have heard of some of the famous poetry structures, like sonnets or haiku, but have you heard of a list poem?
A list poem takes the deceptively simple everyday form of a list in order to describe something in detail. It can be rhymed or unrhymed. The reason it is deceptively simple is because a good list poem not only find just the right word or words to describe the subject, but those descriptions are all balanced in some way. They fit together and … just sound right.
Here is a list poem by Avis Harley called “Slug File”:
“Slug File”
Home address:
“Shady Lawn”
Working Hours:
dusk ’til dawn
Hobbies/Sports:
likes to climb
Special Skills:
making slime
Occupation:
midnight thief
Favorite Food:
salad leaf
Color Choice:
veggie green
Height and Weight:
long and lean
Next of Kin:
Mollusc clan
Appetite:
gargantuan
by Avis Harley
If you want to try your own, post it in the comments, or email it to Mme Brogan!