The Poetry Editor blog began in hopes of helping poets to become their own best poetry editors, and with experience and practice that will indeed happen, but the New Year offers a timely time to take another tack and revise the initial intent. Therefore, in this article, and, hopefully, others to come, The Poetry Editor will bring you interviews with real-live poetry editors to give you a realistic view of the editorial work that goes into poetry-making and poetry publishing. If you’re a poetry editor who would like to participate, I’d be glad to hear from you. At present, I'll start with poetry editors I’ve worked with – ones who accepted my poems for publication (thank you very much!) and, preferably, ones who write their own poems in addition to editing ours.
This naturally brought to mind Annmarie Lockhart, whose words appear in fine journals, online and in print. She’s also the founding editor of vox poetica, an online literary salon dedicated to bringing poetry into the everyday, and the founder of unbound CONTENT, an independent press for a boundless age. A lifelong resident of Bergen County, NJ, Annmarie lives, works, and writes two miles east of the hospital where she was born, but her creativity and innovative work on behalf of poets and poetry is, well, unbound.
Annmarie, how did you get started with vox poetica?
I think the same way a lot of editors get started with journals: I was looking for something that didn't seem to exist. I wanted to read a journal that published daily poetry content and that spoke to a wide variety of readers. I was reading amazing work on personal blogs, so I knew there were tons of good writers looking to be read. I wanted to create a space where those writers and others like them could come to share their words. We are lucky to live in a technological age with few barriers to entry. Creating the website was simple, sending it out into the world was exciting, and watching it grow has been a creative life source beyond my expectations.
That’s wonderful to hear! Sometimes expectations limit us, for example, when poets expect or, perhaps, fear that revising and editing will ruin their poems. As a poetry editor, how would you help poets to see the value of good editing?
Editing can be the difference between a good poem and a great poem. At the very least, it can help ensure that the words are all spelled correctly and that any unconventionalities of grammar/ usage/ punctuation are intended for artistic merit and not mistakes. Sometimes editing reveals where a writer might have gone off point or, inadvertently, composed a second poem somewhere within the first. Or it can clear away the redundancies that many of us build into our poems because we're so focused on words and not meaning. It's hard to learn to cut mercilessly. Sometimes it's easier to let someone else do that, but whether it's oneself or another set of eyes, an edit stage is crucial to all poems.
A great example of this is a work-in-progress at unbound CONTENT where Alice Shapiro's manuscript Saltian became a living editing experiment. Alice wanted to explore the idea of there being many views of the same poem, so we assembled a board of editors and assigned them all individual poems from the manuscript to critique. We then posted those at unbound CONTENT's blog to open the poems and the critiques up to readers. After that Alice took the work back and revised each poem based on the collected feedback. As the author she reserved the right to make any, all, or no changes to her original poems, of course. But the result is a collection of work and a sampling of other ways to render that work. It really speaks to the creativity and wonder of the editing process. I would encourage writers to have fun with editing and definitely not to fear it.
Does a poetry edit or revision risk any loss of the poet's voice?
It shouldn't. If the voice fades in the editing process, the editor failed the work. It's very important for the editor to hear the voice of the narrator within a poem. That voice may or may not be the poet per se, but it is the teller of the story in that particular poem. If anything, voice should be stronger at the end of the editing process. For writers who edit their own work this can be difficult as sometimes a writer hears a different voice when editing than when writing. This is where the ear and the gut really matter in the process. Read the work. Listen to it. If it doesn't sound right, chances are it isn't.
What about the spontaneity of a poem? Do revising and editing mar the lyrical impulse or emotion initially captured?
That's a great question. Many poems come from a very in-the-moment inspiration and seem to write themselves. These poems are often quite complete in a first draft. I know several writers who use this technique exclusively. But again, editing shouldn't change the inherent energy of any poem. It's still important, though, to read for spelling, inconsistency of image and voice, word choice, and tone. Many writers who work this way find the editing phase useful for minor revisions, a word here, a line break there. Editing doesn't have to be extensive to be effective.
How important is style or form?
Style or form is as elemental to a poem as voice or selection is key. Certain poems lend themselves to formal construction, while others fight against rules. It's important for a writer to know the difference. Sometimes a phrase within the poem is the determinant. It calls for language that fits a sonnet format possibly, but it seems stilted and undirected in a free verse format. Sometimes a writer is using a form as a prompt or a creativity challenge. When that works it's great, but when it doesn't, the writer might try applying a different style or form to it to see if that alters the viability of the poem. I've seen great results when a writer steps back and alters the construction of a poem just to see what happens. Trying something new is good for creativity essentially all the time. The worst thing that could happen is if you don't like the results. So you scrap it and you keep the original structure as it is. You have nothing to lose in trying.
True! And experimenting eventually helps poets to improve the literary quality of their work. What else can poets do to take their poetry to the next level?
Improvements in writing can only come from two things: reading and writing. You want to write better? Read more and write more. Discipline yourself to do both of those things. Read with a critical eye, absorb what you're reading, write just for the sake of writing, apply techniques of craft to your work. Above all, mimic what you like and experiment.
Excellent advice! Before we close, is there anything else you would like to say to poets who want their poems to be published?
If you want your poems to be published, you have to submit them. Often. You will get rejection notices. Embrace them. Use them as an opportunity to take a fresh eye to the work. Sometimes the work really needs some revision. Research the outlets you're submitting to. Don't send Goth poetry to a romance poetry journal. It will not be accepted there. Read what a journal publishes. Does your work fit with what you read there? If not, try another journal. But be persistent. If the guidelines say send 3-5 poems, don't send one. Don't send ten. Send five. Give an editor a chance to see something she likes. Send your best polished work, not your first drafts. Keep track of where your work is being considered. Be respectful of your work and the editor's time. Apply yourself to the task of writing and the goal of publishing.
Thank you so much, Annmarie, for giving poets a better understanding of poetry, the work of a poet, and the vitality of the editorial process.
~~
For more articles on poetry writing and information on how to get a poetry edit or critique, visit The Poetry Editor website.
~~
© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. Please do not use without permission. Thanks, and may God bless you and your New Year!
~~
The Poetry Editor
The Poetry Editor blog began to help poets and writers become their own best editors. That goal continues, but poets also need to hear what The Poetry Editors of books, journals, or e-zines have to say about reading, writing, and editing poems. If you edit poetry by others, contact Mary Sayler through The Poetry Editor website.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
Resolutions for sober poets in the New Year
The word sober means clear-headed, so as you approach the New Year clearly ahead, consider what you hope 2012 will bring for your poetry and your life as a poet. For example, do you want:
A book of poems published by a traditional poetry publisher?
A published chapbook?
The top award in a reputable poetry contest?
A self-published poetry book?
Each of those goals requires some clear-headed thinking. For instance, a book will be more likely to be accepted by an editor if you have 50 to 120 pages of your best poems ready to go to a publisher who publishes that very type of poetry. Similarly, a chapbook will be more likely to place if you have 18 to 24 poems centered on a single theme that interests your potential publisher.
Manuscripts of poems can also be submitted to a contest for books or chapbooks, either of which you can locate in Poets & Writers' online classifieds. For individual poems prepared to compete, consider entering the international contest sponsored each year by Writers-Editors.com. Since I’m one of the judges in that competition though, be sure you do not submit poems I have previously edited or critiqued.
You have more control over the outcome of your goals as a poet if you self-publish, but please, please do not do this until you have gotten a critique or poetry edit! The Poetry Editor (aka me) charges for one-on-one professional help, of course, but the fee is comparatively low, especially considering your overall costs of time and money for self-publication and subsequent ads or marketing.
Regardless of your personal goal as a poet, a New Year’s resolution can re-solve or revisit solutions you believe to be most needed for you and your poetry. So keep on writing. Keep on reading your poems and each revision aloud. Then be soberly honest with yourself as you clearly see where you want you and your poems to head during the coming year.
~~
For additional suggestions from previous months, see these helpful posts:
Sending your poems to poetry journals
Start your New Year with new tools for writing and revising your poems
Line breaks can make or break your poem
Scan a poem. Catch the beat. Change the rhythm as you revise.
Righting haiku and writing syllabic verse
Revising your poetry can be a smooth move.
Three techniques for revising your poems
~~
© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. Please do not use without permission. Thanks, and may God bless you and your New Year!
~~
A book of poems published by a traditional poetry publisher?
A published chapbook?
The top award in a reputable poetry contest?
A self-published poetry book?
Each of those goals requires some clear-headed thinking. For instance, a book will be more likely to be accepted by an editor if you have 50 to 120 pages of your best poems ready to go to a publisher who publishes that very type of poetry. Similarly, a chapbook will be more likely to place if you have 18 to 24 poems centered on a single theme that interests your potential publisher.
Manuscripts of poems can also be submitted to a contest for books or chapbooks, either of which you can locate in Poets & Writers' online classifieds. For individual poems prepared to compete, consider entering the international contest sponsored each year by Writers-Editors.com. Since I’m one of the judges in that competition though, be sure you do not submit poems I have previously edited or critiqued.
You have more control over the outcome of your goals as a poet if you self-publish, but please, please do not do this until you have gotten a critique or poetry edit! The Poetry Editor (aka me) charges for one-on-one professional help, of course, but the fee is comparatively low, especially considering your overall costs of time and money for self-publication and subsequent ads or marketing.
Regardless of your personal goal as a poet, a New Year’s resolution can re-solve or revisit solutions you believe to be most needed for you and your poetry. So keep on writing. Keep on reading your poems and each revision aloud. Then be soberly honest with yourself as you clearly see where you want you and your poems to head during the coming year.
~~
For additional suggestions from previous months, see these helpful posts:
Sending your poems to poetry journals
Start your New Year with new tools for writing and revising your poems
Line breaks can make or break your poem
Scan a poem. Catch the beat. Change the rhythm as you revise.
Righting haiku and writing syllabic verse
Revising your poetry can be a smooth move.
Three techniques for revising your poems
~~
© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. Please do not use without permission. Thanks, and may God bless you and your New Year!
~~
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Poetry editors are people too: an interview
Martin Willitts, Jr., the retired Senior Librarian in central New York, is also the former poetry co-editor of hotmetalpress.net. Nominated for two Best of The Net awards and his fifth Pushcart, Martin had several poetry chapbooks accepted in 2011, including True Simplicity (Poets Wear Prada Press), Why Women Are A Ribbon Around A Bomb (Last Automat), Protest, Petition, Write, Speak: Matilda Joslyn Gage Poems (Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation), How To Find Peace (Kattywumpus Press), Swimming In The Ladle Of Stars (Pudding House) and Secrets No One Wants To Talk About (Dos Madres Press.) When I met Martin, however, in the lively discussions about poetry in the Poetry Editor Group on LinkedIn, I had not yet discovered his work before learning about our similar experiences as poetry editors, poetry contest judges, and traditionally published poets who try to help other poets and writers, and so I asked:
Mary Harwell Sayler: Martin, if you were to give poets advice, what would you say?
Martin Willitts, Jr.: There is no shortcut answer to writing poetry since there are so many ways to write a poem. Being open to revision is hard for many writers.
MHS: That was true for me when I first began to focus on revising. Since I enjoy word games though, I began treating revisions as a game – playing with connotations and sounds in synonyms. What other ways might poets go about the work of revision?
Martin: Have a self-critical eye. Listen to yourself as to how to write in your unique voice. Be aware that if you have something new to say that it must be new.
MHS: Yes! Many poems I’ve critiqued over the years had musicality or a rhythmic beat but nothing new to say that had not been said many times by many people. Similarly, advanced poets have sometimes sent poems for an edit or a critique that came across as workshopped. In other words, the poets wrote on a literary level with lilting lyrics but did not invest themselves in their poems, so their work sounded like everyone else's.
Martin: What happens a lot is that writers listen to friends who pump them up with positive feedback, so they think they are a great poet. Or they belong to a writers workshop where the dominate voice influences all the other writers, and everyone writes like that one writer.
I work alone, do not belong to a workshop, do not teach at a college, and have no contact as I write. This is a blessing in terms of keeping my "own" voice and vision, but it is also a curse since I do not have a sounding board to tell me when I need revision.
MHS: That’s been true for me too, especially since I live in a rural community. Thankfully, though, my husband developed a discerning ear and has become an excellent first reader who helps me to gain balance in my work by pointing out the strengths and weaknesses I might not notice.
It’s far easier to see or hear what needs improving in someone else’s poems, and I understand that, when you edited poetry, you actually gave each poet a one-on-one response. That’s rare!
Martin: I used to give feedback to every submission. I took time with some kind of comment rather than the standard rejection slip. Then I found some writers did not like the word "no" with an explanation. They insisted on writing and justifying how great their poem was and how "stupid" I was to reject them. I stopped writing comments after that experience. I still get nasty emails from one rejected person five years later. If it was such a great poem, why didn't someone else publish it? In other words, it was so terrible, no one wanted it.
MHS: (Sigh.) In poetry groups on the social networks, I’ve noticed the word “idiot” used in references to poetry editors, and I just do not understand! Why do poets treat editors as idiotic enemies? (More sighs!) I’m beginning to think that, with the availability of free blogs for posting one’s poems, some poets have begun to write, but not read poems, with such profusion that they have disconnected from our literary past and become, well, unteachable.
Poets who are serious about their work, of course, will read and study poems by poets who write with skill. They welcome and listen to professional feedback even if it causes a temporary ouch! But, after all that, their poems still might not be accepted by poetry magazines or publishers of poetry books and chapbooks. Why does this occur?
Martin: I have been fortunate this year to have had nine chapbooks accepted for publication. I know how rare this is, and I appreciate the good fortune which came out of hard work and determination.
Although there is no right answer to your question, I have seen enough bad manuscripts and enough good manuscripts to say that a lot of rejection is due to a really bad collection or where the contestant did not read the instructions (i.e., too many pages; rhyme for free verse contests; no theme for theme contests). I once received a 100-page manuscript for a 25-page limit.
MHS: I’ve noticed this too. It’s as if poets or writers get in such a rush, they cannot slow down enough to catch crucial details in contest rules or writers’ guidelines.
When poets do follow the rules or guidelines or patterns established for the forms in which they write, does their conscientiousness pay off in terms of having their work accepted more often?
Martin: Acceptance rates are highly unpredictable. As an editor, I was limited by the number of acceptances (let's say ten), and I would get 100 submissions. Therefore, 90% would get rejected due to space. The same in a contest where only one entry could win, and I would look at several hundred manuscripts. After a while, things seemed blurred until I decided to go with immediate yes/no piles. I would go back a second time to look at the yes pile and narrow it down. One contest I had five poems that I liked and wanted to publish, but there could be only one winner. It was difficult picking that one winner. As it turned out, all the other four were published later, which vindicated my difficult decision as well as the strength of the last five choices.
MHS: Again, I’ve had a similar experience. When I first began judging poems entered in the international writing contest sponsored by Writers-Editors.com each year, I felt overwhelmed by the responsibility of honoring some poems at the expense of others! Deciding between good and good can be most difficult!
Martin: The selection process relates to a purely subjective view of the judges or editors, based on what they like.
MHS: That makes sense, of course, but when I first began judging, I was afraid of playing favorites, so I probably did the opposite: i.e., I became more critical, technically speaking, of the poems I liked. Now I judge poems according to the merit shown in use of technique or form, but I also look for readability or something to connect a poem with other people.
As a freelance poetry editor, I try to help poets improve their poetry, but I do not accept or reject poems for a publication, nor do I publish poems. So our experiences differ here, Martin, since you edited a specific journal and accepted poems that later saw print. But what about poems you did not accept? What word of advice would you now offer to those poets?
Martin: Sometimes it is a matter of sending your poetry elsewhere. For example, if you write rhyme, look for formal magazines, and make sure the rhymes are good. If you write experimental poems, search for places that accept them.
MHS: Thanks, Martin, for all of the helpful suggestions you have given to other poets. What do you hope for your own future work?
Martin: I would love to find another magazine to co-edit but would not want to expose myself again to negative feedback from rejected writers. I, too, have been rejected many times, and I, too, am willing to resubmit. I have even accepted an editor's suggestion for revision.
MHS: Yes, good editorial advice can help even well-published poets write with greater skill. But, oh, your poetry has such gorgeous imagery that you have been nominated several times for a Pushcart. And now that I have seen such exquisite poems as your “Swimming in the Whispering,” which recently appeared in Ragazine, I look forward to reading your poems again and again.
~~
P.S., A Word to Wise Poets: If poetry editors keep returning your poems, visit the Market and publishing Resources pages on The Poetry Editor website. Also, consider getting a professional Critique for a reasonable fee. If you plan on self-publishing your poems, get an Edit of your final draft before you self-publish.
~~
© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved
~~
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Good times to write in rhymes
Steady rhyme and rhythm with no variations usually produce boringly predictably poems with a sing-song beat and end-line ping that sometimes prejudice readers (and other poets!) against rhyming poems of any kind. Nevertheless, rhymes have been popular for many, many centuries, and their echoing sounds continue to expand our options as poets, writers, readers, and people ready to learn.
Repetitive sounds help readers to remember the poems they like. Strong rhymes and a lively beat also help people of all ages to learn, relearn, or retrieve information. Therefore, poems with rhythmic rhymes can be very useful in helping children to learn new information or helping elderly patients and stroke victims to retrieve information and recover memories.
Effective rhymes emphasize thoughts and feelings. If rhymes happen to be key words at the end of the lines, the emphasis increases – again, making a poem easier to recall.
Sometimes poems with regular rhymes and rhythm readily sing their way into song lyrics and hymn ballads.
Poets with a strong sense of musicality – and poets who fret over where to break a line in free verse – may find traditional forms useful to study and liberating to write.
Poets who enjoy writing humorous poetry can often bump up humor with the drum roll of a strong beat and sound of true rhymes. If those rhyming words have three or more syllables, so much the funnier.
Amusing or not, end-line rhymes work best when active verbs and strong nouns add sense to each sentence.
Conversely, end-line rhymes usually do not work well when they consist of abstract concepts or weak words that cannot be pictured such as love/of/above.
End-line rhymes can become problematic, too, when they hinder creativity or the flow of ideas, locking a poet into rhyming words that torture syntax (sentence structure) or thwarting poets from developing their unique voice.
If you like to write in true rhymes but don’t like end-line jingles, enjambment will often soften the sound as you wrap a sentence around one line onto the next.
To vary sound echoes, slant rhyme and alliteration provide interesting substitutes for true rhymes.
For more help with rhymes, see these articles on The Poetry Editor blog:
• Freeing Your Verse in Rhyme
• Rhyme, rhythm, and reality: traditional English verse
• Unlocking clockwork rhyme
For lively discussions about rhyme and other aspects of poetry and being a poet, join the Poetry Editor Group on LinkedIn.
For one-on-one help with your particular poems - rhymed or not, get a professional Critique for a minimal fee from The Poetry Editor.
~~
© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. Please do not use any of the above contents without permission.
~~
Repetitive sounds help readers to remember the poems they like. Strong rhymes and a lively beat also help people of all ages to learn, relearn, or retrieve information. Therefore, poems with rhythmic rhymes can be very useful in helping children to learn new information or helping elderly patients and stroke victims to retrieve information and recover memories.
Effective rhymes emphasize thoughts and feelings. If rhymes happen to be key words at the end of the lines, the emphasis increases – again, making a poem easier to recall.
Sometimes poems with regular rhymes and rhythm readily sing their way into song lyrics and hymn ballads.
Poets with a strong sense of musicality – and poets who fret over where to break a line in free verse – may find traditional forms useful to study and liberating to write.
Poets who enjoy writing humorous poetry can often bump up humor with the drum roll of a strong beat and sound of true rhymes. If those rhyming words have three or more syllables, so much the funnier.
Amusing or not, end-line rhymes work best when active verbs and strong nouns add sense to each sentence.
Conversely, end-line rhymes usually do not work well when they consist of abstract concepts or weak words that cannot be pictured such as love/of/above.
End-line rhymes can become problematic, too, when they hinder creativity or the flow of ideas, locking a poet into rhyming words that torture syntax (sentence structure) or thwarting poets from developing their unique voice.
If you like to write in true rhymes but don’t like end-line jingles, enjambment will often soften the sound as you wrap a sentence around one line onto the next.
To vary sound echoes, slant rhyme and alliteration provide interesting substitutes for true rhymes.
For more help with rhymes, see these articles on The Poetry Editor blog:
• Freeing Your Verse in Rhyme
• Rhyme, rhythm, and reality: traditional English verse
• Unlocking clockwork rhyme
For lively discussions about rhyme and other aspects of poetry and being a poet, join the Poetry Editor Group on LinkedIn.
For one-on-one help with your particular poems - rhymed or not, get a professional Critique for a minimal fee from The Poetry Editor.
~~
© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. Please do not use any of the above contents without permission.
~~
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Title Tales: on finding effective titles for your poems
The other day a poet said he always starts a new poem with a title, which bothered me only because of the word “always.” Poems often do offer up their names by way of introduction to get our attention or coax us into taking the time to write down whatever follows. However, an effective title – for the poet and for the reader – generally acts as an open door. If, though, that door locks the lines too tightly before they have their say, the title can hinder the poet and also the readers from getting to know a poem beyond the nodding acquaintance of a name.
To give you examples of titles that seemed to work reasonably well, I scanned the list of poems I’ve placed over the years, and here’s what I found:
A title hints but does not give away the story. For example, my title “After Selling Joseph into Slavery” draws on a familiar Bible story to examine how Judah might have felt after he and his siblings sold the younger brother of whom they were so jealous.
A title might be one word, one phrase, or one long sentence that meanders into a poem. “The Middle-Aged Mother Goes Up, Up, Up in Iambic Pentameter with Champagne After” sets the stage for a rhythmic poem about my terrified then buoyant experience of riding in a hot air balloon.
A title entices but does not tease readers with fake labels. “Abracadabra” sounds like a magic trick but was actually the title rhat came to me for a light poem with a rhyme scheme of a, b, c, and d with r for repetition.
A title gives a poem a tag your readers can remember. “Bugged” tagged a humor piece about my efforts to kill a cockroach that just would not stay dead.
A title plays with words, sounds, thoughts, and symbols until the poet finds an appropriate name. As I stressed over a subject to write about, the title “Following the Brick Road” played with a Wizard of Oz symbol for finding my way home and writing about what I care about or know.
A title seldom repeats or replays what the poem says or shows. Using a title to repeat words or phrases in a poem usually seems like a waste of space! Nevertheless, I entitled a poem “Wait” to emphasize something my religious readers (and I) often need to consider. Apparently the title had the desired effect because the poem has been accepted and published over the last fifteen years by five different editors, but see what you think. Better yet, read the poem aloud and, hopefully, you will hear why I chose to repeat a word from such a short poem for the one-word title:
Wait!
Wait for God to respond.
He hears.
He turns toward His crying child.
He reaches down into your clay crib
and brings you up, high,
high,
into His bosom.
He sets you on His shoulder.
He jostles you on His knee.
And when you're comforted and quiet,
He holds you closely
and teaches you to speak,
to pray.
© 1996, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.
~~
If you need help finding titles or almost anything else for your poems, consider getting a professional Critique for a minimal fee from The Poetry Editor.
~~
© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. Please do not use any of the above contents without permission.
~~
To give you examples of titles that seemed to work reasonably well, I scanned the list of poems I’ve placed over the years, and here’s what I found:
A title hints but does not give away the story. For example, my title “After Selling Joseph into Slavery” draws on a familiar Bible story to examine how Judah might have felt after he and his siblings sold the younger brother of whom they were so jealous.
A title might be one word, one phrase, or one long sentence that meanders into a poem. “The Middle-Aged Mother Goes Up, Up, Up in Iambic Pentameter with Champagne After” sets the stage for a rhythmic poem about my terrified then buoyant experience of riding in a hot air balloon.
A title entices but does not tease readers with fake labels. “Abracadabra” sounds like a magic trick but was actually the title rhat came to me for a light poem with a rhyme scheme of a, b, c, and d with r for repetition.
A title gives a poem a tag your readers can remember. “Bugged” tagged a humor piece about my efforts to kill a cockroach that just would not stay dead.
A title plays with words, sounds, thoughts, and symbols until the poet finds an appropriate name. As I stressed over a subject to write about, the title “Following the Brick Road” played with a Wizard of Oz symbol for finding my way home and writing about what I care about or know.
A title seldom repeats or replays what the poem says or shows. Using a title to repeat words or phrases in a poem usually seems like a waste of space! Nevertheless, I entitled a poem “Wait” to emphasize something my religious readers (and I) often need to consider. Apparently the title had the desired effect because the poem has been accepted and published over the last fifteen years by five different editors, but see what you think. Better yet, read the poem aloud and, hopefully, you will hear why I chose to repeat a word from such a short poem for the one-word title:
Wait!
Wait for God to respond.
He hears.
He turns toward His crying child.
He reaches down into your clay crib
and brings you up, high,
high,
into His bosom.
He sets you on His shoulder.
He jostles you on His knee.
And when you're comforted and quiet,
He holds you closely
and teaches you to speak,
to pray.
© 1996, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.
~~
If you need help finding titles or almost anything else for your poems, consider getting a professional Critique for a minimal fee from The Poetry Editor.
~~
© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. Please do not use any of the above contents without permission.
~~
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Punctuation and grammar provide poets and writers with language tools of the writing trade
Poets from countries outside the U.S. have recently been requesting critiques and edits from The Poetry Editor more often than American poets, which usually brings up correct usage of English grammar and punctuation. Both of these crucial aspects of language have been touched on in previous articles on The Poetry Editor blog such as “Revising your poetry can be a smooth move” and “That Punctual Punctuation (Anyway) How” but to recap a few important reasons:
• Punctuation guides readers through a poem.
• Punctuation and good grammar assist understanding.
• Punctuating a poem in a weird way punctuates imperfections and weirdness.
• Well-woven syntax (sentence structure) threads each line with artistry.
• Awkward or unnatural syntax confuses and loses a reader.
Almost every poet wants to stand out or be different, but breaking rules, peppering and assaulting poems with periods and commas, or twisting syntax into pretzels seldom has the desired effect. Most often, freshness comes in other ways as poets decide to:
• Be observant.
• Be clear.
• Be accurate.
• Be highly visual.
• Keep looking to find a fresh picture, perspective, insight, or comparison.
• Keep listening to the music by reading aloud each version of each poem.
Being consistent makes an effective choice too. For instance, some poets put a comma at the end of each line whether it’s needed or not, or they omit punctuation along each line then suddenly add a period at the end of a verse. Since a number of poets seem to be doing the same thing, this might be a trend (albeit ineffectual), or maybe the poet doesn't know normal punctuation works well, or maybe poets in general no longer learn about punctuation and grammar in grammar school.
Regardless of the reasons, poets and writers really need to fill or refill their toolbox of primary writing aids. If, for instance, you do not know how to apply punctuation or grind out grammar in appropriate times and places, you can improve your language skills by finding out what is correct and what is not. How?
Poets and writers with Microsoft Word software can:
Go to “File” then “Options” then “Proofing” and check the boxes needed.
Or call up a file you have saved in Word. Go to the “Review” tab on the menu bar, then click and activate “ABC – Spelling & Grammar.”
Your best options, however, include these suggestions:
Get a grammar textbook, preferably one written for grammar school kids! Why? Well, why not make learning as easy as possible?
Visit the Resources page on The Poetry Editor website to find hotlinks to language and grammar sites on the Internet. For example, you will find:
Chicago Manual of Style online
Guide to Grammar and Writing (college level)
Online Resources for Writers (from the University of Richmond)
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Yes, studying proper use of grammar and punctuation might take some time, but then you will know the information and be able to use it in innumerable ways. Even more, though, as a poet or writer, your writing deserves whatever you can give – not tricks or weird maneuvers but skillful use of the tools of your trade.
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P.S.
If English grammar and punctuation do not come easily for you, consider getting a Critique for a reasonable fee.
If you plan to self-publish your poems, please get an Edit of your final draft before self-publishing.
~~
© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved
~~
• Punctuation guides readers through a poem.
• Punctuation and good grammar assist understanding.
• Punctuating a poem in a weird way punctuates imperfections and weirdness.
• Well-woven syntax (sentence structure) threads each line with artistry.
• Awkward or unnatural syntax confuses and loses a reader.
Almost every poet wants to stand out or be different, but breaking rules, peppering and assaulting poems with periods and commas, or twisting syntax into pretzels seldom has the desired effect. Most often, freshness comes in other ways as poets decide to:
• Be observant.
• Be clear.
• Be accurate.
• Be highly visual.
• Keep looking to find a fresh picture, perspective, insight, or comparison.
• Keep listening to the music by reading aloud each version of each poem.
Being consistent makes an effective choice too. For instance, some poets put a comma at the end of each line whether it’s needed or not, or they omit punctuation along each line then suddenly add a period at the end of a verse. Since a number of poets seem to be doing the same thing, this might be a trend (albeit ineffectual), or maybe the poet doesn't know normal punctuation works well, or maybe poets in general no longer learn about punctuation and grammar in grammar school.
Regardless of the reasons, poets and writers really need to fill or refill their toolbox of primary writing aids. If, for instance, you do not know how to apply punctuation or grind out grammar in appropriate times and places, you can improve your language skills by finding out what is correct and what is not. How?
Poets and writers with Microsoft Word software can:
Go to “File” then “Options” then “Proofing” and check the boxes needed.
Or call up a file you have saved in Word. Go to the “Review” tab on the menu bar, then click and activate “ABC – Spelling & Grammar.”
Your best options, however, include these suggestions:
Get a grammar textbook, preferably one written for grammar school kids! Why? Well, why not make learning as easy as possible?
Visit the Resources page on The Poetry Editor website to find hotlinks to language and grammar sites on the Internet. For example, you will find:
Chicago Manual of Style online
Guide to Grammar and Writing (college level)
Online Resources for Writers (from the University of Richmond)
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Yes, studying proper use of grammar and punctuation might take some time, but then you will know the information and be able to use it in innumerable ways. Even more, though, as a poet or writer, your writing deserves whatever you can give – not tricks or weird maneuvers but skillful use of the tools of your trade.
~~
P.S.
If English grammar and punctuation do not come easily for you, consider getting a Critique for a reasonable fee.
If you plan to self-publish your poems, please get an Edit of your final draft before self-publishing.
~~
© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved
~~
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sonnets traditionally require poets to use rhythmic rhymes and argue nicely in fourteen lines
Poets who prefer writing with rhyme and rhythm do well to get acquainted with traditional forms of English poetry. Why? Traditional verse forms, such as the villanelle discussed last time or the sonnet this time, have been popular since their appearance many years before Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450.
If you’re inclined to write poetry of 20 lines or less with strong rhymes and solid rhythmic beat, consider revising those poems with the sonnet in mind. If you’re inclined to write poems with strong opinions and solid arguments, that’s even better!
So, what do you need to do to shape a poem into a sonnet?
Even up the meter. Although other types of meter can certainly be used, let’s stick with the old standby – iambic pentameter. As discussed in the previous article “Scan a poem. Catch the beat,” iambic pentameter means each line has five feet, most of which are iambs. And, as previously discussed in the same article and in “Poetry forms help re-form a poem as you revise,” an iamb is a foot of meter consisting of two syllables that end on an upbeat note.
Occasionally, a poem might have an extra syllable or two to allow variation without losing the beat, but generally a line of iambic pentameter has 10 syllables per line with the even numbers accentuated the majority of the time.
Confine your sonnet to 14 lines.
Follow a rhyme pattern of your choice. An “a” marks the first rhyme, “b” the second, and so on with the most long-lived patterns being Italian (Petrarchan), Spenserian, and Shakespearean. Each of those forms has its own rhyme scheme as follows:
Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet – The first eight lines (octave) have a rhyming pattern of a b b a a b b a, while the last six lines (sextet) offer rhyme options such as c d c d c d or c d e c d e.
Spenserian Sonnet – Edmund Spencer, author of The Faerie Queen, invented the pattern of a b a b b c b c c d c d e e.
Shakespearean Sonnet – William Shakespeare experimented with the use of three quatrains (verses of four lines each) in his sonnets, which closed on a couplet (two rhyming lines.) That rhyme scheme usually followed this pattern:
a b a b
c d c d
e f e f
g g
The couplet at the end of a Shakespearean sonnet can nicely close a debate or open the ending of the poem into a new way of thinking. An Italian sonnet, however, might state a case in the octave and present the other side in the last six lines. So, while a villanelle works well when you want to emphasize and repeat a particular thought or obsession, the sonnet works great when you present an unusual viewpoint, express an opinion, make a case, or just feel like arguing!
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If you want professional feedback on traditional poems or free verse, see the minimal fee and info about what to expect on the Critique page of The Poetry Editor website.
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© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. Please do not use without permission.
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