Sanding involves smoothing awkward syntax, accidental repetition, clumsy transitions, or distracting sound clusters after the poem’s larger design is in place. It differs from cutting because the goal is refinement rather than removal. Too little sanding leaves the reader snagged on unintended friction; too much can erase productive roughness and make the voice generic. In workshop practice, sanding is most useful after the poet has tested the poem aloud and identified which abrasions are expressive and which are merely accidental.

Sanding smooths verbal roughness without dismantling the poem’s main structure. A poet may remove accidental repetition, awkward transitions, excess adjectives, or distracting sounds while preserving the central image and movement. Sanding differs from radical rewriting: it is a controlled refinement. Read the poem aloud after each pass, because a surface that looks smooth on the page may still snag the ear or lose productive friction.