Found Poem Assignment
Found Poem Assignment
Reshaping the World’s Words into Poetry
Reshaping the World’s Words into Poetry
A found poem is a literary collage. Instead of writing from scratch, you take words from other places—a news article, a social media post, a speech, a street sign—and transform them into poetry by the way you cut, rearrange, and reframe the text.
You are not the author of the words—only their editor, their curator, their re-visionary.
“A pure found poem consists exclusively of outside texts: the words of the poem remain as they were found, with few additions or omissions. Decisions of form—such as where to break a line—are left to the poet.”
Your task is to create a found poem using a real-world source. You may not write any new words of your own (except for the title). Your role is to select, extract, edit, and reformat the language to reveal something new and poetic.
Choose a Source
This can be anything with real, original text:
News article or headline
Social media post (Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
Political speech or press briefing
Product review or text thread
Historical letter, email, recipe, ad, law report
Another poem, short story, or piece of literature
Extract and Rearrange
Highlight or copy words, phrases, and lines that jump out to you
Rearrange them—no changes to the actual words (you may delete or omit, but not add or modify)
Break the lines and stanzas intentionally—let form match meaning
Create a Title
This is the only part of the poem you may write in your own voice
A strong title can offer irony, context, contrast, or clarity
Source: Police Report
An unemployed
machinist
who travelled here
from Georgia
10 days ago
and could not find
a job
walked
into a police station
yesterday
and said:
"I'm tired
of being scared."
Source: Donald Rumsfeld, Department of Defense briefing
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.
Your poem must be at least 8 lines long
All language must be taken directly from your source (no made-up words or lines)
You may not write your own words, except for the title
Include a link or citation for your original source
Submit your poem and source link via Google Classroom
Let your source surprise you—don’t force a theme too early
Cut away the clutter; let strong phrases speak
Look for emotion hidden in plain language
Combine pieces from multiple sources if desired (but cite each)
Use spacing, line breaks, and repetition for emphasis and rhythm