I’m going to do something I said I don’t do and have only done once before. It’s not often and as a general rule, I don’t publish my poetry on this blog or elsewhere until it has found a home in a journal or publication somewhere. I’m making an exception here, the reason of which…
Category Archives: Poetic Craft
Psychological Distance And Poetic Excellence
I’m convinced that there is nothing more important to a good poetic than craft. It isn’t publication. Sure, publishing credits are great for the ego. But I’d much rather have one great poem than 100 mediocre ones. I’d much rather publish one great book of poems than 100 mediocre books. I think that too many…
How NOT To Write An Epic Poem
While browsing this afternoon I happened upon an article that supposedly was written to teach people how to write an epic poem. Seriously, it made me laugh. Just before it made me croak. eHow has grown into quite a successful website, with short how-to articles on just about everything. And nearly all of them that…
Why Narrative Poetry Is So Damn Hard To Write
I love narrative poems, but they’re hard to write. Anyone who thinks narrative poetry is easy to write has obviously never tried to write one. The reasons I think narrative poems are difficult are many, but in a nutshell: The struggle is in maintaining a balance between the narrative and the poetics Too much narrative…
Jerry Seinfeld Teaches Poetry Writing
While browsing through my favorite RSS feeds and Twittering among my betters, I came across a link to this post about Jerry Seinfeld’s interview on what made him so successful. I realized that it has applications for poetry writing as well. In summary, Jerry Seinfeld’s formula for success is so simple. It boils down to…
The Epic Future: 21st Century Narratives And Poetic History
I’m splitting this discussion of poetics into three blog posts. I like to make good on my promises so here’s the first part of my discussion on the future of the epic. I’ll start with its past. For the purpose of this discussion I’m breaking poetic history down into three periods: The pre-literate, the literate,…
Critique Group Ethics: How Should Poets Help Each Other?
Getting a late start tonight. Was at a critique group I hadn’t been to in a while. We went a little later than usual. It was a good night. I found myself in the unusual position of defending a piece written by a young college-bound woman who was new to the group. It’s not unusual…
More Poetry Rules, Critical Dichotomies, And Your Own Style
How to develop your own poetic style. Who’s your favorite virgin? Deborah Ager’s unwritten poetry rules. I like Nos. 1 & 2, and have always obeyed No. 2. Diane Lockward’s. I like 7, 11, and 12, but I think No. 4 is quickly becoming overdone. Poetry Hound’s poetry review tips. The Shepherd on the poetry…
How Many Types Of Poetry Are There?
I’d like to offer a great big thanks to Timothy Green, editor of Rattle, for getting me thinking on this. He commented on a former blog post about the nature of didacticism and I wanted to respond in a way that calls for more than a simple comment on a post. Here’s his comment: The…
Apposition Vs. Exposition (Or Who Writes The Rules?)
Yesterday I sicked my inner sicko (psycho?) on the appositives to see if I could get away with murder. Today I’m going to prosecute myself. Seriously, if I were to answer yesterday’s post with a rebuttal, I’d say there are three types of poetry where appositives are a positive. They are: Prose poetry Narrative verse…
