Forms & Features at the Poetry Foundation: Allison Joseph

Odes are poems that salute, exalt, deify, and support their subject matter. They pay careful attention to image, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and sonic and auditory details to make readers feel a sense of elevation. The following is a mnemonic for writing ode poems:

• O: Outstanding. An ode’s subject should be something you feel is remarkable, even if it is actually ordinary. It’s your job as a poet to elevate the ordinary into the remarkable, and ode poems are a great way to accomplish that task.
• D: Detailed. Since ode poems are poems of exaltation, the details matter. Help your reader see/sense/experience what your poem is praising.
• E: Emotion. An ode should make you feel—sentiment drives the praise of the poem. Don’t worry about being too sentimental. Let your appreciation for the subject of the ode drive your poem.

In this session, we'll examine odes and write our own.

This workshop is for participants aged 18 and older, of all backgrounds and experiences with reading and writing poetry.