Syntax

CRAFT TERM

Oct 26

Written By The Poetry Lab

Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

via Oxford English Dictionary

Example

“Go out I cannot, nor can I stay in,” an excerpt from Beyond Decoration by P.J. Kavanagh:

But I am stalled, and sad is not the word.
Go out I cannot, nor can I stay in,
Becalmed mid carpet, breathless, on the road
To nowhere and the road has petered out.

Prompt

Let’s pull out another draft, or sit down and write for 15 minutes (if you need a prompt use, begin with the line “There are moments…”).

Now the fun part! Take a line you've written and rearrange the words. Try to create ways to reinvent your language. Read your original draft out loud, and then your newest draft.

Resource written by:

Featured

Kris Kaila

is a Queer Punjabi Canadian poet, writer, book reviewer & blogger. Her poetry & nonfiction has been published in The Poetry Lab Resource Center, Harness Magazine, Usawa Literary Review, Salt & Citrus, in three anthologies by Beyond the Veil Press and in a forthcoming anthology by Read or Green Books. Kris volunteers with The Poetry Lab, Beyond the Veil Press and Crow Collective.

Find her on Instagram @krisesque_life | 📚 Read More by Kris