The Shape a Poem Makes

How many shapes are present in this jiyuritsu (free-form haiku)?

pin back the tent door

- full moon

above Suilven

Poetry shares a place in language where we get as close as possible to uttering what is apparently impossible to represent linguistically. How does poetry adequately articulate an affect, a feeling? How can words – and languages – meet or fail to meet this challenge? How does a poem shape what our mind visualises?

Using a multilingual framework, haiku, and concrete poetry, Kevin MacNeil will explore the subtle ways poems build meaning by interacting with sound and, above all, resonant, though sometimes hidden, shape. Feel free to bring your own language backgrounds into the mix to discover how poetry can make meaning quietly but lastingly transcendent.