SPECIAL SECTION: In the Classroom
Creative Writing and Critical Thinking With Breath Poems
By Patrick T. Randolph
Introduction
“Poetry is painting that speaks.” (Plutarch)
What kind of poetry has a total of four lines (including the
title) and is a mere 10 syllables long? What kind of poetry creates
a spiritual and physiological experience for the performer? What
kind of poetry gives even the student of electrical engineering
goose bumps and grins as she writes her verse
with winks and whispers? The answer to these
not-so-trivial questions can be summed up in
two words—breath poems!
The breath poem is a wonderfully
economical poem that can be used for a myriad
of purposes: for warm-ups or full lessons, as
an opportunity to review syllables and stress,
to enhance the art of being concise, to practice
creative summarizing, to offer help in giving
Patrick T.
students a sense of control in their writing, to
Randolph
encourage confidence in English, and, most
important, to simply play and have fun with
words and their communicative powers.
What Is the Breath Poem?
“A human being is only breath and shadows.” (Sophocles)
The breath poem is a holistic experience of mind, body,
heart, and soul. It is a style of poetry I created to see just how
few syllables I could use and still tell a story in verse with a voice.
Moreover, I wanted to help my students develop confidence in
writing verse without making the experience overly daunting.
The structure of the breath poem itself includes a title (which
is v \