The Pollock is a rather obscure and fairly eccentric poetry form invented by poet and art critic John Yau to pay tribute to the American abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock. It is a fourteen-line poem with the rather unusual requirement that the first line must be a quotation by the artist. The remaining thirteen lines consist strictly of words from Pollock’s quote, the idea being to splatter words repeatedly on the page like he famously did with paint on his canvases. Although the form might sound restrictive and totally wacko, I actually found it a real blast to write. Interestingly, another one of the rules of writing a pollock is to break the rules any time you feel like it (much like Pollock did with his painting). So it is more than permissible to substitute one of your favorite quotes by someone else for the Pollock quotation (perhaps even a clever quip by a poet that was previously posted on this blog). However, in my attempt which you will find below, I decided to stay a purist, and utilize Pollock’s response during an interview when asked “How do you know when you’re finished painting?” He simply replied, “How do you know when you’re finished making love?”:
Making Love (a Pollock)
How do you know when you’re finished making love?
When you’re making love, you know.
You know when you’re making love,
you know how you’re making love.
You know when you’re finished.
You love making love,
you know you do.
When making love, you know love.
you know you.
You love love,
you love you,
love making you you.
How do you do, Love,
how do you do?
So what do you think of the pollock? Is it a form you would like to try or wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole? Ironically, for a poetry form inspired by a visual artist, I personally feel (that because of the repetition of words and its resulting musicality) pollocks sound much better read out loud than they look written on the page. Keep that in mind if you do decide to write one (perhaps you can read yours at a local poetry open mic, something I honestly believe that every poet should do every once in a while).
I like it, Paul! Appears to be a fun exercise!
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Thank you, Eugenia!😊
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😉
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I really like this Paul- found the link on Eugenia’s site. I am going to try it!
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I too found the link on Eugenia’s site. Thank you Paul for introducing us again to a new poetry form! This one sounds like a lot of fun! 😀 ❤
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You are very welcome, and thank you! I hope you do try writing one, they are a lot of fun…
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I really enjoyed your take on the pollock. Well done!
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Thank you kindly! I’ve bookmarked your site- you have some wonderful information here. Thank you for sharing.
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Paul, it looks like fun and your pollock turned out well! I might have to give it a try.
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Thank you, I hope you have fun with yours!
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You are welcome, Paul.
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Reblogged this on davidbruceblog #2 and commented:
Mind opening!
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Thanks so much for the reblog, David!
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Wow! Great work with the form!
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Hi Paul- here’s mine- I definitely altered the rules a bit! https://charmedchaos.com/2019/08/07/the-inevitability-of-death/
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LOL- I see my pingback worked! 🙂
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What an intriguing form!
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Thank you!
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This looks like it could be fun to try.
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Thanks, John! They are pretty fun to write, I had a great time writing mine…
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Thank you so much for the reblog!
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