How to Use A Commonplace Journal for Poetic Inspiration

A commonplace journal is a notebook where you store and organize information and notes for later use. Once described as “a diary without the risk of annoying yourself,” commonplace journals do not include any of your own thoughts or introspection, only the quotes, ideas, and bits of knowledge of others. They are a great tool for poets, allowing you to connect ideas, memorize poems, and keep track of the prompts, passages, and people who inspire you. Below, we’ll discuss how to use a commonplace journal for poetic inspiration!

Why keeping a commonplace journal is a helpful practice for poets

As a poet, you’re likely already making note of media that inspires you, whether you’re bookmarking Read Poetry articles, printing out Mary Oliver poems to tape over your desk, or highlighting meaningful passages in your favorite books. Why not keep all of your sources of inspiration in one place?

Keeping a commonplace journal can help you:

• Collect great ideas and influences for later reference
• Make unique connections to spark your creativity
• Learn and retain information more easily 
• Read with more focus and frequency through active note-taking
• Reflect without agonizing over personal expression

If you need more convincing, look to the greats: Famous writers and leaders like H.P. Lovecraft, Henry David Thoreau, Virginia Woolf, and Thomas Jefferson all kept commonplace journals to help them collect and organize ideas. 

What to keep in your commonplace journal

Your commonplace journal can contain anything that inspires you. You might choose to create several themed commonplace journals—for example, one where you copy down poems and song lyrics, one where you keep track of news and events, and one where you jot down your dreams—or, you might use one journal to keep track of all of those things at once. 

Here are some other ideas of what you might write in your commonplace journal:

• Quotes from books and poems
• Newspaper or magazine cutouts
• New vocabulary and their definitions
• Writing prompts
• Small details you notice in your daily life
• Overheard dialogue
• Lists (books to read, recipes, etc)

Tips for starting a commonplace journal

All you need to get started is a blank notebook and a writing utensil. Here are some tips for starting and maintaining a commonplace journal:

• Read a lot, and pay attention. 
• Keep it with you at all times—you never know when you might stumble on a good idea!
• Number the pages (if they’re not already numbered) and use a table of contents and/or glossary so it’s easier to find things later on. 
• Don’t worry about keeping it neat. It’s for your eyes only!
• Read back over your notes every once in a while—this will help you retain the information, and the fresh perspective can help you spark new ideas. 
• Use Post-it notes, highlighters, different colored pens, and other color-coding materials to tag and organize information. 
• Print out images, long passages, and digitally-sourced information and tape it inside your book. 

Happy (commonplace) journaling

More than anything else, the commonplace journal has the potential to become a dear companion and comfort to you. Although it doesn’t contain your own thoughts, it contains a map of your intellectual and creative journey over time. We hope you use these tips to create your own commonplace journal for inspiration, learning, and record-keeping over the course of your life!