Using only direct quotes from the novel, how can a student create a poem from All Quiet on the Western Front?

Creating a found poem is a lot of fun and gives you an insight into how poets work and the differences between poetry and prose. 

There are a few ways you can approach this activity. Here is a process you can follow to make your found poem, which includes some different options for how to proceed:

1. Find a page in All Quiet on the Western Front that you feel is resonant in some way. It could be a descriptive passage, dialogue, or internal monologue. Remember that poems can tell stories, and they usually create an image and have a theme. So find a page from the novel that contains imagery (which could also include metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, etc.) and has a theme (the horror of war, the brotherhood of the men, etc.)

2. Print off or photocopy the page.

3. Now you need to select the words and phrases you want to use in your poem and eliminate the words you don't want to use. Here are a few different ways you can do this:

• Use a marker to cross off all the words you don't want in your poem. What is left is your poem.


• Use scissors and cut out the words and phrases you do want in your poem. Arrange them on a separate paper and paste them down.


• Highlight the words and phrases you want to use in your poem. Type or write them on a separate piece of paper.

When you're selecting the words and phrases you want to use, be very picky. Remember that poets select every single word for its sound, meaning, and connotation. Keep going over the page again and again until you are satisfied that you have selected only the essential words and phrases to get across the imagery and theme that you are trying to convey.

Remember to look for figurative language. You don't need to have complete sentences in a found poem, and you don't have to have correct grammar. This deliberate misuse of language is called 'poetic licence.'

If you choose the second or third method above, you can put some thought into the form of your poem, or the way it actually looks on the page. You can consider whether you want all short lines, all long lines, or a mix, and see what form echoes the tone or theme of your poem the best. You can line up all the lines at the margin, or you can spread them out to emphasize certain words or ideas. 

Don't forget to give your poem a title. It can be a specific line, the theme, or a summary of the poem, but it shouldn't be "All Quiet on the Western Front Found Poem." 

More information on All Quiet on the Western Front can be found to help you choose which page you want to use for your found poem.