So You Want to Be a Writer?

"so you want to be a writer?” is an example of free verse poetry. The poem features no rhyme scheme, and the lines have varied syllabic counts. Some lines contain over 10 syllables, while others have only one. The unstable form matches the volatile life of the true writer. The real writer is the result of an unpredictable force, and the poem's form is similarly capricious. Bukowski is free to determine the line length, the stanza length, and to disregard meter.

Bukowski’s rejection of a prescribed form or meter is also seen in the poem’s grammar. In American English, the first letter of a sentence is supposed to be capitalized. In Bukowski’s poem, the first letter of a sentence stays lowercase. There are no uppercase words in the poem. Like the Modernist American poet E. E. Cummings, Bukowski arranges and stylizes his poem according to his own rules.

The repetition of specific words and phrases contrasts with the temperamental form. The line breaks and stanza lengths are unpredictable, yet readers expect to see certain words throughout the poem, including "don’t” and "you.” The heavy presence of the second person pronoun "you” infuses the poem with intimacy and directs the lines to the