In a concrete poem (aka Shape poem), the words are written in the shape of the poem’s subject. How the poem looks on the page adds to its meaning and impact on the reader. A poet may also use different fonts, symbols, colors, and white space (areas of no text) to give the reader a visual treat.

The poem’s origins go back to Greek Alexandria of the third century B.C. According to Michael J Vaugh of Writer’s Digest (2008), poems were originally written directly onto objects such as an ax handle, a statue’s wings, an altar—even an egg. 

I incorporated many concrete poems into my novel in verse, The Complete Book of Aspen so I thought I’d share some of them with you today. If you are not familiar with the book, The Complete Book of Aspen is a novel in verse (ages 14 & up), that delves into the emotional journey of a 16-year-old girl named Aspen as she discovers a long-kept family secret that challenges her identity. The story is loosely based on my own DNA discovery.

As you can see from the examples above, the reader gets much more from the poem by reading, hearing, and seeing the poem all at once. See below for ways you can create a concrete poem and click here for more concrete poem examples.

HOW TO FORMAT YOUR CONCRETE POEM

You can create concrete poems by hand or in your Word program:

•  BY HAND: Draw the image outline in pencil on a sheet of paper. Use a pen to fill in the shape with the words of your poem, making sure to stay inside and follow the lines. Wait for the pen ink to dry, then erase your pencil outline. You can also use the words themselves to outline, leaving the inside of the shape blank (as in the circle poem above).

• WORD PROGRAM: Place an image in a blank Word document using the watermark feature (under Design)and size it to your liking (silhouettes of basic shapes work best).
  • Insert a text box over the shape. Grab the corners on the text box with your cursor and stretch the box to cover the shape. 
  • Right-click the text box and select “no fill” and “no border,” then type your poem using the spacebar to manually arrange your text to conform to the shape beneath. It’s tricky to get the words inside the shape as you may have to add or delete some words for the right fit or you might need to change the size of your font or image. 
  • Let the shape lead you as to where you begin and end your lines. It’s important to follow the shape and stay in the lines so the poem’s shape will be recognizable when the image behind it is removed.
  • It takes some time to get it right so be patient. You can do it!
  • When your poem is typed in the text box in the shape of the underlying image, delete the watermark, and (Tah-dah!) you’re left with the poem in your chosen shape!

• TO MAKE A CIRCLE POEM:
• In Word, go to “home.”
• select “Insert a text box.”
• select “simple text box.”
• backspace to erase default text that’s in the box and replace it with your own text (font and font size can be changed like in a normal Word document)
• select “text effects.”
• select “ABC transform”
• Choose “circle” (your text may look like an oval at this point)
• Drag the corner of the text box to get your circle.

 

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