Found Poetry
Found Poetry
Sometimes it may seem hard to find the right words to write a poem, however, words for poems are all around you. Every book you read, every newspaper article you scan, every historical speech you listen to can be inspiration for a great poem.Poems that are inspired by or "found" in other sources are called found poems.
Found poetry is a type of poem that is written using words and phrases from other books, movies, articles, advertisements, speeches, or anything that contains writing.
WAIT?! Isn't taking words from someone else called plagiarism?
Yes, but not with found poetry. With found poetry you take words from another source, re-arrange some of them, remove some of them, and put them together in the form of a poem. Sometimes the poem will have a similar meaning to the original piece. Other times, it will be completely different.
For example, this poem was created from the Declaration of Independence:
Life
Liberty
The Pursuit of Happiness
Truth.
All men are created equal
Truth.
Evils are sufferable.
Dissolve them.
Abolish them.
United.
Notice how the meaning is very similar, but the words take on a very different form.
Now let's look at a very different found poem.
We started with this advertisement:
You have never seen anything like this......Just the best prices you will ever see on Brand New Still in Plastic Mattresses==================>
Over 300 mattress sets, all in one warehouse, all discounted 55% - 80% EVERY DAY!
No bogus sales, no phony bait and switch advertising,no pressure to buy..... just the lowest prices you will EVER see on every mattress! The perfect buy!
Seriously...go to our website and you will understand in 30 seconds that we are totally different!!!
Just a taste:
5 Twin bed sets under $175 4 Twin Plush Pillowtop sets under $285
5 Full sets under $210 4 Full Plush Pillowtop sets under $335
5 Queen sets under $255 4 Queen Plush Pillowtop sets under $395
5 King sets under $355 4 King Plush Pillowtop sets under $535
Set Prices...Mattress & Box Spring!!
Again.......just check out the site......you'll get it instantly ---------------- www. sleepcheapjersey .com
You CAN have fun buying a mattress! No excuses. See you soon!
And came up with this poem:
Sleep.
Just sleep.
No pressure.
Plush pillowtop mattress.
The perfect bed.
No excuses.
Just check out.
Sleep.
The poem has little to do with selling mattresses, but we used the words from the advertisement to inspire a poem about sleep.
Think you can do the same? Try your hand at writing a found poem using the worksheet below or pick up a newspaper, choose an article, and write a found poem based on it.
Related Worksheets:
Related Lessons: