How to use poetry to better your writing

At the Surrey International Writers’ Conference this last weekend, I received the honorable mention award for poetry in their annual writing contest. It was an incredible honor and an exciting, inspiring conference. Later this week, I’ll share some of my personal highlights from the weekend—including a few tips I learned from author Diana Gabaldon on writing sex scenes and author Wendy Roberts on what makes a good villain.
In honor of my poetry award, below are three previous posts about ways to use poetry to better your writing:
Two exercises to help you write poetically
Four ways to stimulate creativity and cure the writing blahs
Three ways to feed your muse: hunting down inspiration
If you have other ways you use poetry to better your writing, please share!