27. Shape Poetry

Shape poetry can be quite a bitch of a poetic form. The content in a shape poem is quite easy to manage; it is the form and, in the most literal sense, its “shape” that makes it so, so difficult.

The concept behind shape poetry is to write a poem, while positioning and juxtaposing the lines such as to form a shape. To the traditional shape poet, any word-processing software may suffice: just whittle down your words and sculpt and mold them using spaces and whatnot. To anyone tech-savvy enough to use photo-editing software, shape poetry is all the simpler: All you have to do is play around with the Text Tool, and if you like, paste an image of the shape you’ll be doing in a separate layer.

I understand the text of my shape poem below isn’t readable due to the small size. The original-sized image thereof can be located here.

3 thoughts on “27. Shape Poetry

  1. Finally, I’ve been searching for your site for a while now; ever since I stumbled upon it weeks ago, failed to bookmark it, and forgot the title of your blog, I’ve been scouring the internet for it. And here I am :)

    I just want to say, as a Humanities student, I’m very intrigued with what you’re doing; poetry isn’t one of my best genres, but it’s certainly one of my interests. I’m particularly fascinated with the fact that there are more poetry forms than I thought, and that you’re striving to create your own accordingly. I applaud you! And off I go to read through your archive :)

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