Design a pattern poem. Pattern poems form shapes with the typographical arrangement of the words and lines of text on the page. Also called shape poetry, concrete poetry, or visual poetry, the concept of merging content and appearance goes way back.
- Poets in Greek Alexandria, 3rd century BC, wrote poems to decorate religious artworks. (According to an article on Concrete Poetry in Wikipedia.)
- George Herbert (1593 – 1633) wrote shape poetry, such as “Easter Wings” and “The Altar” (for more information read “Poetry: Concrete Poetry” on writersdigest.com.
- Mary Ellen Solt (1920-2007) published an influential book: Concrete Poetry – A World View , which celebrates the flourishing movement of concrete poetry in the 1950s and 60s.
Here are a few favorites:
- Swan and Shadow (1969) by John Hollander (on a typewriter!)
- Forsythia (1965) by Mary Ellen Solt (1920 – 2007)
- Women (1968) by May Swenson
- She Loves Me by Emmett Williams
