Ever since I first searched like hell for a poem I’d written by the title that isn’t obvious, I knew there would be a problem. How the hell do you find that one poem in a cache of hundreds? I tried sorting by date, even putting the date in the title. Yeah, that lasts as… Read More Organizing Poetry Files
I have reams of poems that are rich in detail, haunting, full of promise and definitely worth sharing. They remain, however, unpublishable. See, the subject matter is one that involves another person. And there’s little doubt who I’m writing about. While the poems aren’t unflattering (well, not all of them), they are from my perspective,… Read More The Unpublishable Poem (or is it?)
Remember that poem I was so excited about that my writers’ group wasn’t so excited about? Guess what was just accepted for publication? I want to feel vindicated. I knew that format worked best for the idea I was trying to present. The group didn’t like it, in particular, they didn’t like the format. It… Read More Vindication = Confusion
You know that moment when you finish a poem you think is really amazing and you can’t wait to share it with someone? That was my moment last week when I hosted writers’ group at my house. I was excited because it was the first time I’d used a new format for a poem. Usually,… Read More Being True to Your Audience
An epiphany — no, let’s just call it a moment. I had a moment recently (yesterday) where every poem I’d written looked, well, wrong. Not one — not even the one nominated for the Pushcart Prize — appealed to me. I would open one file, move some words around, then close it in disgust. I… Read More That Sink-or-swim Moment
I was talking with another writer recently about familiarity in writing: specifically, colloquialisms. For those unfamiliar with the term, a colloquialism is that word or phrase we would use in ordinary speech. Slang, idioms, local vernacular — all of it falls under the colloquial umbrella. Anyway, the conversation was about my use of one word… Read More Informally Yours: Colloquialisms in Poems
Maybe I just want something different. My goal with this blog is not to provide a running monologue of my work, but to share thoughts, discuss techniques, and build camaraderie around poetry. For me, the conversation is much more important. But is there a purpose to sharing one’s works? These days, publishers ask “What’s your platform?”… Read More Sharing Your Poems Online
Poet Under Construction 