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Ask the Editor…

January 1, 2015

Q: My question is about punctuation. Should I put a period at the end of every line in my poem? —Pointed Problem

A: This is a tricky question. First off, you can think of poetry as following the same rules of punctuation as prose. Put periods at the ends of sentences (complete thoughts that have a subject and verb), whether or not those sentences end when the lines end. If you need a pause at the end of a line, but the thought continues on, use a comma. Be thoughtful with your punctuation; it’s okay if a line ends without punctuation. 

With that said, there are a few schools of thought on the issue and, in the end, it’s up to you to decide what’s best for your work. The modernist movement established a precedent for irregular punctuation, meaning it’s okay to put periods wherever you like. Whatever you decide, though, be consistent!

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Category: Improving Your Poetry
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2015 at 12:00 am. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



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  • Editor’s Note

    The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”

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