WHAT MAKES A POET AUTHENTIC? First and foremost: an authentic poet has a voice that no one else has. A voice that is not counterfeit or copied. Because of societal norms, standards, patterns, peer pressure, and the at times scathing criticisms of others, most people tend to hide behind masks. An authentic poet shuns the mask and has the courage to be themselves, no matter what. An authentic poet questions the humdrum use of language, and purposes to resist (or circumvent) the mechanical, repetitive, or superficial use of it. Opting instead to become a voice that reshapes language, making it more creatively expressive, authentic, and alive.
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Consider... Does a poet challenge the reader to think, or do they cater to what they think the reader wants to read. Do they write to be liked and accepted, or do they write to be accurate and honest. Do they follow the trends, or do they resist the trends and follow their muse? Do they write for others of like mind, or do they write to inform or enlighten. An authentic poet chooses to be honest, and they allow their true selves to be seen. An authentic poet erases the gap between what they honestly believe, and what they choose to reveal to the reader. If you are not sincere and truthful to yourself, you cancel your own authenticity. Be fearlessly authentic. Not everyone will like you, but those that do will know the real you. Remember: what makes you vulnerable, also makes you beautiful. And there’s a word for it…. authentic.
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“A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.” W.H. Auden
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AUTHENTIC POETS love language and are drawn to the immense range of tools and colors at their disposal that help them grow, and also help define more accurately what comes through them. An authentic poet chooses the exact words that precisely express what they are conveying. This despite how others whine and complain because they don't understand, or they can't think outside the box of their own lazy limitations. I think it's an embarrassment when those who claim to be writers and poets complain because they don't understand the more advanced and beautiful words, and the more forward-thinking elements of philology. It is paramount that Poets understand words.
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“It is a test [that] genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.”
T.S. Eliot (from the essay ‘Dante’)
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BEARING IN MIND the wide range of artful elements a jaded system uses in the commercializing and trivializing of the arts and writing; I’m convinced that some of what being authentic means depends on a poet’s love of words, and also how their life experiences have satisfied and/or soured them, and how these attitudes form their personal philosophies, and the way they interpret their surroundings, and interrelate with those around. If a Poet is respectful of others, and arrantly truthful and sincere, their originality and authenticity will have a much better chance of flourishing.
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“Sincerity is an openness of heart. We see it in very few people anymore. What we usually see is an artful dissimulation to win the confidence of others.” Francois de la Rochefoucauld
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THE AUTHENTIC POET IS (ALWAYS) SINCERE. There is little more disgraceful than insincerity. Once a person learns how to fake sincerity, they can fake anything. If people pretend to be something they want others to believe they are, more often than not, they end up becoming what they’re pretending to be. And then, they reach a point in their own delusion, where they don’t even know they’re being insincere.
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“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” Ernest Hemingway
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THE AUTHENTIC POET becomes a vessel for things far greater than self-seeking, or self-glorification. For a writer/poet to find their real voice they have to stand with people, not above them. And they must learn how to redirect the insolence, and the judgmental attitudes that are at times levied against them, and in turn use the negativity of others to help fuel and improve their own work. In other words: When you’re accusing others of something, it’s better to first look in the mirror. More often than not you’re just redirecting your own shortcomings.
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PART TWO
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WHAT KINDS OF LITERARY DEVICES does a Poet have at their disposal? Some examples are: Aphorism. Allegory. Simile. Allusion. Tautophony. Imagery. Circumlocution. Anthropomorphism. Parallelism. Onomatopoeia. Analogy. Juxtaposition. Chiasmus. Hyperbole. Euphemism. Metonymy. Spoonerisms. Prosody. If a Poet thinks Poetry isn’t poetry unless it rhymes, then what are some of the various kinds of rhyme schemes available. (These lists are truncated)
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1.END RHYME (referred to also as tail rhyme) is the most common type of rhyming found in poetry. It occurs when the last word of two or more lines rhyme. It is how poets create rhyming patterns and rhythms, and how musicians create rhyming song lyrics.
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2.MASCULINE RHYME is a literary device that occurs when the stressed syllables at line endings rhyme together. Like loud crowd – bells wells – stone alone – car star – hit flit.
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3.FEMININE RHYME (referred to also as double rhyme) rhymes on a stressed syllable followed by one or more unstressed syllables like motion ocean, coming strumming, quiver shiver, willow billow.
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4.INTERNAL RHYME occurs within a single line or verse. It refers to lines that rhyme in the middle of the same line, or across multiple lines. For example: Poe’s ‘The Raven’: “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary.”
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5.SLANT RHYME, (referred to also as near rhyme) is a type of rhyme, in which two words located at the end of a poetic line end in similar, but not identical, consonant sounds. For example: pact slicked - country contra - poncho crunchy - cut mat.
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6.EYE RHYME (referred to also as visual rhyme) can be helpful when the writer wants to emphasis a poems musical quality. It occurs when two words are spelled the same or similarly, but they are pronounced differently. For example: comb bomb - hiccough dough - borough cough - rough through - cover dove - wind bind – death wreath.
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7.HEAD RHYME, (referred to also as Alliteration) has the same initial consonant at the beginning of the words. Alliteration lends a strong rhythm and musical structure to a poem and makes any verse more memorable. Some examples: sally sells seashells by the seashore - peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers - maybe she's born with it, maybe its Maybelline - bed, bath, and beyond - gaunt gray gallery – weak weary – quaint curious - beat breast – blue blow – merry monkey.
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8.MONO-RHYME refers to the use of the same end sound within multiple lines of a poem. While being very simple, monorhymes can ofttimes convey interesting and at times effective messages. William Blake’s ‘Silent Silent Night’ makes use of numerous monorhymes. “Silent silent night – Quench the holy light – Of thy torches bright – For possessed of day – Thousand spirits stray - That sweet joys betray.”
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9.PERFECT RHYME, (referred to also as exact rhyme or true rhyme) is where the ending sounds match exactly. Another extremely simple technique. Some examples: cat hat fat rat – soap hope mope dope – ink pink stink fink.
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10.PARARHYME is defined as perfect consonance, meaning that all the consonants in two or more words are the same. For example: groined groaned – leaves loved – black block – well will – gray green.
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11.TRIPLE RHYMING is where all three syllables of a word are identical, such as fearfully, tearfully, flowery, showery, scenery, greenery, exciting, inviting, deserving, unnerving.
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30 TYPES OF POETRY
(This list is truncated. There are far more.)
1. Haiku
2. Limerick
3. Clerihew
4. Cinquain
5. Triolet
6. Dizain
7. Sonnet
8. Blank Verse
9. Villanelle
10. Paradelle
11. Sestina
12. Rondel
13. Ghazal
14. Golden Shovel
15. Palindrome
16. Ode
17. Elegy
18. Ekphrasis
19. Pastoral
20. Epic
21. Ballad
22. Acrostic
23. Concrete
24. Prose Poem
25. Found Poetry
26. Nonce
27. Free Verse
28. Quatrain
29. Tanka
30. Haibun
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Even as we see the world around us becoming harsh, cold, and dark, there will always still be parts of it that remain beautiful and inhabited by people that have not succumbed to the degradation, who are still of sound mind, and who will love and support who you truly are. So.... live your life authentically. Don't be too preoccupied with impressing, or with being relevant, or with sounding profound. As each flower of the field (and every other living thing in nature) has its own color and shape and fragrance, so does the heart of an authentic poet. When you write from your source, with all your heart and mind and soul, you will always touch those that you are meant to touch!
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© richard lloyd cederberg
6/2023