FOUND POETRY
from Teaching Poetry Writing to Adolescents by Joseph I. Tsujimoto

Steps
1.  Copy one or two unique, rich, musical, or odd sentences found in a newspaper, magazine, history book, encyclopedia, letter, and so forth.

2.  Break the sentences into poetic lines, arranging the words and phrases as the most meaningful and surprising ways.

3.  Title your poem.  Beneath the title, in parentheses write, "Words from" and the title of the article, publication, date, page number.

Example
    This assignment should introduce you to the poetic line.

"Pasta"
(words from "Food Report," Honolulu Advertiser, September 1982, p. 1)

Pasta ranges,
In shape,
From the strand
of spaghetti,
To the butter-
Fly-like
Farfalle,
To the penne pasta.
And,
It ranges,
In size,
From the bird-
Shot-
Like acini
De pepe,
To the large,
Tube,
Called
Mani-
Cotti.
                                        -arranged by David Liao (grade 8)