The Moment as Poetry
How a borrowed ladder can be elevated in poetry.… Read More The Moment as Poetry
Category: Poetry technique
Knowing Your Assonance from a Hole in the Ground
I remember my first encounter with exceptionally written assonance in poetry. I was in a writers’ group in my hometown, and a friend of a friend joined the group for just a few meetings. She read her poem and I fell in love with the sound. We begged for more. Twenty-one years later, I still… Read More Knowing Your Assonance from a Hole in the Ground
Poetry Technique: Enjambment
More good news — another poem published, this one in the March 2015 issue of TAB: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics by Chapman University. Very cool. I was reading up on technique recently when I came across the idea of enjambment. It’s a simple, yet powerful method of running one thought from one line to another.… Read More Poetry Technique: Enjambment
Ambiguity in Poetry
In a writing group recently, one of the participants said about a poem of mine “It’s accessible.” I thought about that. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or insulted. I chose happy, but only just. The poem wasn’t meant to be ambiguous, so I couldn’t fault the participant for the statement. But it… Read More Ambiguity in Poetry
Poetry Technique: Brainstorming
What I love most about writing prompts is the ability to write freely without putting a lot of thought into what I’m doing. I don’t know about you, but when I write poetry, I’m prone to having an idea dig at me until I have to sit down and write it out. Brainstorming takes that… Read More Poetry Technique: Brainstorming
Writing Prompt: New Meanings
As I read more Gertrude Stein, I admire the way she would reclaim a word and give it new meaning. Even if you don’t get it, there’s something about it that draws you in. Take, for example, this excerpt from Negligible Old Star: NEGLIGIBLE old star. Pour even. Why the word “negligible” and why in… Read More Writing Prompt: New Meanings
Poet Under Construction 