Response Poems "Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different." — T.S. Eliot "Bad artists copy, great artists steal" — Pablo Picasso "Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal." — Igor Stravinsky "I steal from every movie ever made." — Quentin Tarantino "You Shall Not Steal" — Exodus 20:15 Adapted from Todd Kaneko

What is a response poem? Writing a poem that is inspired by the works of others. There are a few ways to do it: 1. Write a reply to the poem In essence, a reply requires that you come to some sense of what the poem is saying to you; this doesn't mean that you have to be able to paraphrase the poem—that's never the goal. But if you understand the poem, and that's a relative term, write a poem that answers the questions or statements that the original poem makes.

2. Imitate the form of the poem Read through the poem and see if you can identify the formal considerations that the poet has thought about to make the poem work. Count syllables in a line. Count the lines in a stanza. Look at rhyming and repetition schemes. Consider the use of line breaks to make surprising turns of phrase and image. If the poet has used a closed form, then we might begin there— but then we can look at the way that a poet has approached a closed form in order to better understand both the poet and the form.

3. Build off a primary metaphor that the poem works from If a poem is striking because of the way it plays with the image of, for example, the flower, one might try and write their own mortality poem using the flower as a metaphor - trying to make the poem use that metaphor as a motor to make the poem happen. It's the imagery that powers the poem, so by imitating the engine, we might come to a better understanding of how the vehicle works as a whole.

4. Steal the first line of the poem. From there you are on your own. A poem generally works from that first line, building on it and deviating from it in a variety of ways, each of which is specific to a particular poem. So take the starting point used by another poet and see where it takes you. Alternatively you can steal a line that is not the first to use as your first line, but then you don't have that same spark to begin with. Another more challenging way might be to steal a last line and see how you might get there on your own. Even more challenging: take the first and last lines and write the rest of the poem yourself.first and last lines

5. Use a passage as an epigraph (a short description at the beginning of a book that often suggests its theme) One of Billy Collins's most well known poems, "Litany," works off of its epigraph. Collins goes on to use the epigraph as the first lines of his poem, but that isn't necessary. Take the lines or stanza and use your poem to build on what the original poem doesn't necessarily explore. This may mean an snarky/ironic twist to the language used, or more intense play with the images being used in the passage to produce something new. Take the passage and don't worry about what the original does with it—focus on what you get from it and go from there.

6. Turn Prose into Verse. This means more than just adding line breaks. Or maybe it doesn't. I know this isn't exactly a response to a poem, but it's a way of using a poem to respond to another's text and I wanted to include it here for you. For example: Wikipedia tells me all I need to know about the chupacabra and the "Texas carcasses which turned out to be domestic dogs and coyotes." That's going into a poem. It won't be verbatim, but I like the idea of a mythical creature becoming something much more ordinary.

7. Write the opposite of the poem. Contradict the poem: what it says, how it works, and what it means. This is different than writing a reply because the new poem doesn't necessarily address the old poem—it takes the content of the original poem and transforms it into an opposite in any way the writer sees fit. A long narrative poem like Rita Dove's "The Bistro Styx" might be condensed into a short list poem about the hour after landing in an airplane. A poem like Simic's "Bestiary for the Fingers of My Left Hand" might be a single stanza about the palm or the foot. Writing the opposite of a poem is fun to do, but probably one of the most challenging of the ideas listed here.

Response Poem Recap: What is a response poem? A response poem is a poem inspired by the works of others. Some methods of writing your response poem: 1.Write a response to the poem 2.Imitate the form of the poem 3.Build off a primary metaphor the poem works from 4.Steal the first line of the poem 5.Use a passage as the epigraph 6.Turn prose into verse 7.Write the opposite of the poem

Sympathy ~ by Paul Laurence Dunbar I know what the caged bird feels, alas! When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, And the river flows like a stream of glass; When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, And the faint perfume from its chalice steals-- I know what the caged bird feels! I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; For he must fly back to his perch and cling When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse again with a keener sting-- I know why he beats his wing! I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,-- When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings-- I know why the caged bird sings!

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” ~ Maya Angelou A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn and he names the sky his own But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom.

“Caged Bird” ~ Alycia Keys now I feel like a bird Caged without a key Everyone comes to stare at me With so much joy and rivalry They din't know how I feel inside Through my smile I cry They don't know what they're doin' to me Keeping me from flyin' That's why I say that I know why the caged bird sings Only joy comes from song She's so rare and beautiful to others Why not just set her free So she can Fly, fly, fly Spreadin her wings and her song Let her Fly, fly fly For the whole world to see She's like caged bird Fly, fly Ooh just let her fly Just let her fly Spread the wings Spread the beauty