“Generally, if your poem is heavily based on a real-life experience you can ask yourself, ‘Is my truth (my perspective) obstructing what this poem is trying to say?'” – dimitrireyespoet.com
In my Halloween YouTube video where I read some of my older work, I discussed what some of the issues were. I spoke about voice and self discovery while I also made a notion to my 60:40 rule— something that I have never mentioned on my channel or blog but something I mention often while working with different clients or students.
The 60:40 rule is supposed to work as a barometer, keeping a close eye on just how much of the poem is both real & fiction. One can argue that even the most surreal poems come from some place of reality, since the allure of poetry most often comes from its innate ability to conjure up different emotions. One can also argue that the poems most heavy handed in what seems like a concrete & very real situation may be laced with a bit of truth stretching in order to protect and/or enhance the poem’s purpose.
The fact of the matter is, there has to be a balance of truth and the stretching of that truth in every poem in order to maintain equilibrium, or more simply, to have the poem make sense while satisfying/ teaching its audience. And every poem should teach its audience. The reason it’s called the 60:40 rule is because of its breakdown in order to maintain that balance— 60% of the poem (just above half of it) being rooted in truth (or fiction) where the 40% would be its opposite.
So it'd either be broken up into this:
Truth
60%
:
False
40%
or
False
60%
:
Truth
40%
This concept tackles two of the most common problems I see when revising poems— it gives the writer permission to reevaluate what outcomes of their own history means, or helps the writer easily ground ideas that are more ‘heady.’ Now, the way one is supposed to arrive at these ratios are unclear and changes from poem to poem.
This goes back to each poem’s innate ability to conjure up different emotions where we have to figure how much of the work needs to be truth and what needs to be written in. Generally, if your poem is heavily based on a real-life experience you can ask yourself, “Is my truth (my perspective) obstructing what this poem is trying to say?” or if it’s a poem that is made up from your imagination you can ask yourself, “Is there enough of ‘me’ in the poem to make this relatable to whoever’ll read/ listen to it?”
These questions will be a great start but it doesn’t end here. Sometimes this ratio will change: there will need to be more fiction than truth, because perhaps you’re still too close to the memory in question. Or maybe the truth is begging to be rewritten? For a better lesson to be learned the poem will have to rely heavier on the imagination. This is what I help poets with through our Patreon community and encourage you to consider working with me if you are interested in better understanding your own process.
Additionally, I’ve already put my 2021 Poetry Workshop schedule together where I’ll be offering a 13th bonus workshop on the 60:40 rule for those who schedule all 12 months in advance. This means that not only will participants pay less than my regular rate ($19.83 instead of $25 per workshop), there will be a bonus 13th workshop going over the 60:40 rule in the month of April for National Poetry Month.
Visit my shop or click on the 12 Workshops to learn more…
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