The Poetry of Objects

1. the poetry
of objects
rainey tisdale
@raineytisdale
raineytisdale@gmail.com
raineytisdale.com

2. “it suddenly struck me — i the one who
loves science, data, facts and reason —
that when push comes to shove, it was
poetry i could count on.
poetry knew where hope lived
and could elicit that lump in the throat
that reminds me it’s all worth it. science
couldn’t do that.”
—ecologist betsy macwhinney

3. the possibility of object
poetry

4. ian westcott via flickr
rhyming objects

5. objects + emotion
the toaster of vindication
museum of broken relationships
“”when i moved out, and across
the country, i took the toaster.
that'll show you. how are you
going to toast anything now?"

6. personal objects
art-o-mancy

7. the practice of object poetry

8. write poetry about objects
i miss
the darkness.
“trade my
bologna for
your chocolate
chip cookies?”
he asked. no
way, dude.
dear david
hasselhoff: my
#fannypack
is cooler than
yours.
i am not
broken. i am
changed.
the ritual of it
leaves me purified.
life is measured in
spoonfuls, the
whistle of the
teapot is my
belfry chime.
we are strange
creatures: we
make things
harder than
they need to
be.

9. object haikus
haiku structure
line 1: 5 syllables
line 2: 7 syllables
line 3: 5 syllables
boston museum of fine art collection, 1976.361
it is so dainty
waving quickly in the wind
until it snaps shut

10. “once you have words on the page, they make
love to one another.
they pair. they do strange things.”
—poet charles simic
make new combinations

11. use interesting objects
most common words that appear in poems
by nilofer neubert
blood. pain. love.
sky. pain. love.
love. pain. love.
stars. stars. stars.
bleeding. pain. love.
waves. pain. love.
past. pain. love.
ocean. ocean. ocean.
heart. pain. love.
trees. pain. love.
numb. pain. love.
dream. dream. dream.
love. love. love.
love. love. love.
love. love. love.
love. love. love.

12. active collections
activecollections.org
photo by linda norris

13. object name: top hat
object type: Hats
date made: mid 19th century
maker: davis, j. y.
physical description: silk (overall material)
measurements: overall: 7 in x 10 3/8 in x 12 in
place made: united states: district of columbia, washington
accession number: 38912
catalog number: 9321
create object records that
encourage poetry

14. “poems are not words,
after all, but fires for the
cold, ropes let down to the
lost, something as
necessary as bread in the
pockets of the hungry.”
—mary oliver