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Posts tagged ‘poetry’

May 17

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How to use symbols in your writing

As a poet, I collect symbols. Because poems are usually shorter than novels, we have less space to get our meanings across, and a symbol can convey a mood or theme in a few words.

In a longer work like a novel, symbols can help deepen the plot, add to characterization, and expand themes.

But what exactly is a symbol? I like this definition from http://fictionwriting.about.com:

A symbol is a person, place, or thing that comes to represent an abstract idea or concept-it is anything that stands for something beyond itself. Read more

May 11

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A poem from my son in honor of Mother’s Day

 

One of the benefits of our recent remodel has been finding treasures as I put the house back together. Below is a poem I found that my son wrote when he was seven years old. He liked to create little booklets of poems and give them to me for special occasions–Mother’s Day or my birthday.

Books have been a part of my life since I was a young girl sitting on my mother’s lap, lulled by the stories she read to me. I, in turn, cherished reading books to my son when he was young. I guess you can say we have “book love” in our family. See for yourself:

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May 1

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What I learned by reading poetry in front of the Rotary club

Yesterday was the last day of National Poetry Month. We had a fun month here in the Pacific Northwest. It seems as if each year, more and more local community organizations get involved in promoting the arts.

Last night, I joined eight other poets for a reading at a local Rotary Club where we were featured in their program. I almost didn’t go to the reading because reading your work in front of other poets who you know is one thing, but reading your work in front of a group of strangers with probably no poetry background is quite another.

But, forcing myself to go fearward, I attended the event and I’m glad I did. We ate great food, had fun, and shared our poetry with others in the community who weren’t familiar with poetry. And, I think we dispelled a few myths about poets along the way: only one poet wore a beret, only one poet wore all black, and nobody dangled a cigarette from their lips while reading (though one poet did read her poem “19 Cigarettes” about when she tried to quit smoking). Read more

Apr 25

Get your RDA of poetry here

As National Poetry Month draws to a close, make sure you get your RDA (recommended daily allowance) of poetry!

This 15-minute Ted.com talk by former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins  should give you the boost you need. With his trademark wit, Mr. Collins shares a project in which several of his poems were turned into animated films in a collaboration with the Sundance Channel. Five of them are included in this entertaining and inspiring talk — don’t miss the hilarious final poem!

Apr 13

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Three poetry sites to inspire your muse

In honor of National Poetry Month, here are three poetry websites I subscribe to and why:

Academy of American Poets at www.Poets.org.  I lead a busy life, so I especially love receiving the poem of the day in my email. I may not have time to peruse the entire site each day, but I do have time to open an email and read the poem of the day. I feel as if I’m enriching my life a poem at at time. Read more

Apr 11

A poem about a poem becoming a poem

Considering my love of all things related to writing, it makes sense that I like poems about writing.  A friend recently sent me the poem “Workshop” by Billy Collins–a poem about a poem becoming a poem.

You’ll have to read the poem to understand what I mean.

Collins’s poem sparked my own idea for a poem. Double bonus.

Exercise: Pick a favorite poem about writing and use it to inspire your own.

Happy National Poetry Month!

Apr 5

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A new poem for National Poetry Month

 

In honor of National Poetry Month, I’m posting one of my poems below. Ideas for poems are everywhere. Most of my ideas come from daily life–like this poem below, “A rice farmer from California.”

Please visit us again this month for more posts about poetry.

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