Learning Poetry Craft from William Carlos Williams

Exposure to Lewis Untermeijer's anthology of modern American poetry, particularly the poems of William Carlos Williams, shifted the speaker's approach to writing poetry. Prior to this exposure, the speaker was accustomed to rhyming narrative poems but after encountering Williams' work, they were inspired to explore free verse. Williams' poems taught the speaker about the importance of the line, line breaks, and the use of sounds other than traditional rhyme. This new understanding influenced the speaker's poetry writing during high school and early college years.