Found Poem

Summarizing/Retelling through Music and Poetry

A "FOUND POEM"

Directions for The Found Poem:

Review the novel, writing down on a separate piece of paper any words, phrases, and sentences that you think sound poetic, interesting, or catch your attention. Look for passages that tell important events in the story. You will then take the quotes that you found make a "found poem" to tell the story of Mafatu.

A "found poem" is poetry made easy; simply write down the phrases and words that strike you as interesting or significant and you will "find" poetry by arranging them into lines and stanzas (ten to fifteen lines is a good amount). You may attempt to rhyme, or repeat lines for a chorus effect. The only limitation is that words must appear exactly as they appear in the text, without added information (just as you would use a quote in a paper). Be creative! Often the result is more profound than the original text.

Rules for a found poem:

1) You must directly quote the text.

2) You may not add your own words.

3) You may not take one word at a time to form a sentence.

4) Break up lines that sound too much like sentences.

5) Try to use the same theme throughout the poem, and make the lines seem

connected logically.

6) Give your poem a title (the title does not have to come from the text).