Why Write in Form? by Rebecca Hazelton | Poetry Foundation

poetry is a form which has many uses, helping us to develop ideas creatively in a range of areas. Poetry is such an essential form of writing for humanity.

Haiku is precise. It conforms to an exact syllabic count: the first line has five syllables, the second has seven, and the third has five. Within that container the poet’s wings expand in all directions, touching the ordinary and rendering it extraordinary. There is freedom in form.

It is this mastery of form that the Japanese method of instruction seeks to inculcate. Practice, repetition, and repetition of the repeated with ever increasing intensity are its distinctive features for long stretches of the way.

You learn to write by writing. It’s a truism, but what makes it a truism is that it’s true. The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis.