Poet Sir Harry Barry

Ibn Human (being) is honoured to host the infamous poet on his blog Harry Barry so that he can reveal the knowledge of writing poetry. He will begin:

The trick, for beginners, to writing poetry is to take an already written poem and alter it. For extreme novices I recommend altering the last letter of each line and for more experienced thieves (sorry, poets), I recommend changing most of the letters, subtlety, so then the poet remains good. Those with a guilty conscience, I say, do not worry for the poem now belongs to you. The following instructions will assist in writing poetry. We will begin:

There was an old man from Peru

Who dreamed he was eating a shoe

He woke up in the night

In a terrible fright

And found that it was true

This poem, by Edward Lear, will become:

There was an old man in a pigsty

Who dreamed he was eating a die

He woke up in the day

In a horrible way

And he found that it wasn’t a lie

I hope this will be of great assistance to you. It took me about 20 minutes to write this so it would be sad if all that time and effort were wasted. If you happen to become a famous poet, do not hesitate to mention that it was I who made you famous. I expect 95% of all profits for my guidance. Thank you for reading.

Yours smugly,  

Sir Harry Barry