How do you go about discovering your own writing voice or writing style as a poet? Where do you get your inspiration from as a writer? Are you aware of the kind of audience that would be keen to read your poetry? What can you do to help […]
A little over a year ago, I was living in a buddy's house, squatting, looking over the place while he was taking care of his elderly mother down in Meridian, Mississippi. Of course, I didn't mind because the rent was cheap and he had a nice place for […]
I received an amaryllis bulb from my mother for Christmas last year, which was unlike others I'd received or bought before. This one came encased in shiny red wax, stuck upon a metal stand, and required no planting, no soil, no water--all I had to do was put […]
I recently submitted two poems to a magazine (which will remain unnamed due to possible legal ramifications). When I clicked on the 'Next' icon to take me to the 'Submit' page, a wall of words, highlighted in red, filled up my screen. At the time, it appeared to […]
"I wish those editors would hurry up. This is the third day this week I haven't received a rejection email." Then there are days I mentally stamp my foot when I check my sent list and discover how much longer an editor has kept my submission than the […]
Here's a small heartbreak of mine: too many people, at least in America, are turned off by poetry. We practicing poets are sadly aware that, when we step up to a mic, when we publish our poems in magazines, anthologies, or self-authored books, our audience comprises mostly other […]
"I can't walk and talk at the same time." We hadn't seen each other in quite some time and my friend was frustrated with me. I kept having to stop every time I wanted to say something and my body was veering off course. It didn't seem like […]
You are a poet, or rather, you are someone who writes poetry. Either way you call it, good for you. Now, don't get confused. At the most basic level, all it means is that you write poetry. It doesn't make you a special case, or a better-than. The […]
Poets write because we have ideas, passions, and impulses inside of us that demand expression. We are artists. That said, when placing your work you have to be a little more practical--one part artist, one part real estate agent. Finding a lasting home for your poetry can be […]
Political poetry. Protest poetry. Resistance poetry. Civic poetry. Poetry of witness. These terms, while somewhat distinct, all reflect a poet's impulse to express a political self, to be, by extension, a "political poet," a "protest (or resistance or civic) poet," a "poet of witness." But is it possible--or […]
