Your hairdresser. The mail delivery person. The landscaper, the hummingbird feeder refill person. The person who diligently washes, folds and presses your socks. 

And, for sure, writers should play around with poetry. 

I’m talking to you, non-fiction writers. I’m talking to you, business and copywriter, you life coaches blogging away about practical steps to evolve the life you want. Hey you—yes, you, that serious journalist with the Pulitzer prize for your coverage of the public health crises of gun violence in the US—I am for sure talking to you about poetry right now.

You might think poetry is only for those sensitive, mysterious literary souls who see magic in the glow of green from a leaf in the sun. 

This is erroneous. (I used that word for you, technical copywriter!) 

If you have a minute, I can assure you that poetry will make your everyday writing infused with life and light. 

Yes, even you, instruction manual writer (are there any of you out there? I am so sorry for never, ever reading them).

Poetry Redefined

Let me redefine poetry for you in a way that makes more sense:

Poetry is a literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. (Lexico.com)

Writing how you feel with style and rhythm. 

Like a song. 

Like Eminem’s popular hit, Lose Yourself.

And you don’t even have to sing what you write for millions of fans. 

If you’re still with me, I can tell you are already three steps ahead of this article and are realizing how therapeutic playing around with poetry can be for all kinds of intense emotions like anxiety, depression, shame, and even grief.

So many writers shy away from poetry—and I can understand why. It’s like shining a spotlight into the deepest, darkest sides of your soul. I can see why most writers would rather pretend that kind of belly gazing is for the elite few. 

Why you should consider playing around with poetry

Playing around with poetry will improve your writing. You might say, “Says you, Angela Banagela, but how does it do that?” I see you, skeptical engineer/memoir writer, and good job rhyming my name. 

There are three main ways writing poetry improves prose and those are forcing us to focus, to be mindful, and to work within the restraints of structure.

Focus

Poetry forces you to focus on one moment. That green leaf glowing in the sun. Or on what you are feeling. 

Did you know most people can only name three emotions? Anger, sadness, and happiness. We are complex social beings with the capability of feeling many things at once. When you try to put that into words and do it with style and rhythm, something in your heart breaks open and you realize there are other feelings hidden beneath the obvious. 

Writing poetry is probably the only time I am focused enough on myself to realize how sad I am. Or how joyful. Usually, both at the same time.

About a year ago I sat down and wrote a happy poem about being outside with my toddler, how his inner wild and nature’s outer wild echoed and reflected back at each other. And in the end I realized I was also sad because I knew this time would be short. That soon enough he would be grown and gone, but I wanted to remember that small jewel of a memory. Like a photograph not just of a moment in time but of how we were that day. Joyful, sad, content, grateful.

Mindful

Poetry slows us down. Poems are such powerful, economic animals. You must choose your words thoughtfully, methodically, and mindfully. You could get lost in the effort and when you look up from your paper you realize you’re not the same scattered, stressed-out person who started it. If you haven’t tried meditating for stress relief, try writing poetry first.

Structure

Some poetry have rigid rules around rhyming, placement of syllables, and even form and theme. I’ve spoken lovingly about Haiku in the past, but that is not the only form of poetry that requires us to work within restraints. 

Going from freewriting to a Sonnet, for example, can get all the wheels working from your logical-analytical brain to your limbic system to your creative side. It’s like a workout for your brain AND heart. 

Playing around with poetry is just good for all the systems we need to be functioning well in order to be a positive, contributing member of society. And…fun. 

Practice Playing around with Poetry

I won’t leave you flailing about with that blank sheet of paper staring at you, don’t worry, I got you. Try this next time you’re stuck on an article, or you can’t get motivated:

We’re going old school here: grab a pencil and paper (I like those small spiral notebooks they sell at Walmart), then write the first few thoughts that come to mind when you hear the word “spoon.” 

Write as long as you like. 

Have fun with it. 

I bet you’d be surprised how much your mind has to say about something as innocuous as a spoon. 

When you feel like you’re done, try to make a rhyming poem out of it. Give yourself 15 minutes to write whatever rhyming scheme you want. AABB, ABC, ABC, you get the picture. 

You don’t have time to do this right now—you just read this whole article! Throw the notepad and a pen in your purse (or man bag) and next time you’re waiting and realize you forgot your book, try scribbling out a poem about a spoon, see what happens.

As usual, Neil Gaiman said it best: 

“If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.” The Graveyard Book.

Tell us in the comments: How will you play around with poetry today?

Angela Yeh is an East Coast Canadian native that lives and works in the great state of Texas. Angela loves to garden, write about magic, and eat cake. If you’d like to check out her first published novel, A Phoenix Rises, a finalist in the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction for 2021, that would be peachy. Angela lives with her family, three cranky fur babies and a gecko. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram or her website.

The post Why All Writers Should Play around with Poetry appeared first on DIY MFA.

Spring greetings, leisure learners, and word nerds! I hope this April has found you immersed in the power of individual words, a la National Poetry Month. Now, what happens when you put a whole bunch of words together, complete with punctuation? Hopefully, a short story. Pair it with the month we are heading into and you can conclude that May is National Short Story Month. Please note: friends from across the pond, beside the pond, and any other orientation involving the pond are always invited to join in on our bookish themes!  

WARNING: Lots of good feels possible this month!

Here is your April 2022 Leisure Learning List:

5 Minute Reads

As mentioned before, May is short story month…but sometimes we don’t even have time for short stories. 

As such, here is a compilation of short, short stories by literary greats. You will find Nathaniel Hawthorne, Oscar Wilde, Kate Chopin, and Franz Kafka among the many authors in this list of stories, which has the additional benefit of being organized into Feel Good, Introspective, Dramatic, Witty, and Other-Worldy categories, among others. 

One piece I feel obligated to mention is Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, as there is a deep appreciation among word nerds for The Yellow Wallpaper itself. 

10 Outstanding Contemporary Short Stories

If the 5 minute reads whetted your appetite for something longer, here are 10 outstanding literary short stories. 

Pravesh Bhardwaj of the famous Twitter #longreads account went through the list of the 276 stories he posted throughout 2021 and chose the best of the best. Each link on his page gives you full access to the work listed.  

Look for Lauren Groff’s short story as well as one by Sally Rooney. All pieces pair well with wine. (I have verified this for you.) 

All Stories Aloud

Ok, so maybe you had time for a Short Short story, but that was about it. How about listening to one of these acclaimed longer stories while doing errands or on a walk? 

The All Stories Aloud Youtube channel features free short stories read aloud by Albert Camus, Haruki Murakami, Graham Greene, and Alice Munro, among others. The time budget is about 20 mins to 1 hour if you want to listen to a story in its entirety.   

Comfort Books

Have you had a hard time getting back to life these past few months? Pandemic? War? Disgruntled by Pantone’s “it” color for 2022? (I actually like it.) 

My point is that life can be difficult to get through right now. 

While there are a ton of excellent self-help books out there, it is tough to keep up with the pace of coping skills one needs to acquire before the next disaster comes rollicking upon the world stage. 

LitHub has come up with a workable solution for modern-day families and adults who need short boosts of bravery when gearing up for human interaction. This list rounds up several lesser-known selections intended for children, but equally enjoyed by adults. Topics include pessimism, overall sadness, grief, calming practices, guilt, and even those days when you kinda-sorta hate yourself.  

I plan on reading through ALL of them.

Cornelius Eady Trio

Since it is technically still April, I’m sneaking in poet Cornelius Eady’s band. Eady himself is a renowned poet whose work is inspired by family life, race, and class. One of the elements that make his work easily recognizable is the use of rhythms found in blues and jazz music. He is the author of seven volumes of poetry, one of which qualified him as a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award in Poetry while another garnered a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize. 

Level the experience of National Poetry Month up by checking out his poems fully realized as music, played by himself and bandmates in the Cornelius Eady Trio. 

Even if you’re not particularly fond of jazz, it is still worth considering how musical rhythm enhances the meaning of the lines in a poem or the meaning of a word. (Ahem, ahem—prompt idea, anyone?)

Tell us in the comments: Which of these April 2022 Leisure Learning picks are you most excited to try?

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among other books. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat or download a free coloring page at www.catulathebook.com.

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In this month’s column, I challenge you to update your knowledge of poets (see first link), and also take the time to celebrate the magic of what happens when just a few words, put together in just the right way, combine to create powerful human emotions.

Here is your March 2022 Leisure Learning List:

Button Poetry

This is a fantastic site to learn about cutting-edge poets. This is a small press whose focus is on inclusion, and their poets represent almost every walk of life. 

What do I mean by that? Well, just think along the lines of “Darfurian child bride who learned of this at her own wedding.” That’s the type of cosmopolitan diversity this press offers. 

The link above is for Button’s list of poets. Their bios alone are interesting, if not radiant at times. I suggest you look at some of the poets to see their specific areas of interest, then watch them reading their work on Button Poetry’s YouTube channel.

How Do We Read? It’s Magic (Almost)

This is my kid-friendly pick of the month. Obviously, if you are here, then you value reading. But how exactly does your physiology work to make that happen? Why are letters and numbers shaped the way that they are? Are curved letters the same height as flat-topped letters in the same font? 

This video is geared more for kids, but it does present some of the most recent research about how our brains process words, therefore I recommend it for all ages. It’s a good way to update what you learned in that Psych class years ago.

Inklette’s Literary Playlist

First, let me just say that this non-profit online poetry ‘zine has one of the best taglines ever—For the Ink Hearted. That alone is worth appreciating. 

Poetry is often musical, and this list takes that concept to a literal level. It starts with Tennyson’s Ballad of Shallot being retold from the maiden’s point of view and takes off from there. Even if harpsichord rock isn’t your thing, comparing the original ballad with Emilie Autumn’s version is a worthwhile endeavor.

The Last Printing Press…

In the United States, where books are produced entirely by hand, this short YouTube video shows how a team of craftsmen (and 1 featured craftswoman) work together to produce a book that is also a work of heart. From setting the individual letters to sealing those beautiful, gilded covers that are swoon-worthy, this video will wow anyone who has become accustomed to push button printing.

Visual Poetry

These are 10 examples of words that have been turned into visual art. You will find gorgeously rendered black-out poems, letters arranged into jewels and sentence diagramming turned on its linear head. 

If you are hungry for more, these should satisfy your appetite.

Tell us in the comments: Which of these March 2022 Leisure Learning picks are you most excited to try?

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among other books. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat or download a free coloring page at www.catulathebook.com.

The post March 2022 Leisure Learning appeared first on DIY MFA.

Last year taught me to be content with the good memories, and to be grateful for those who were with me in the low moments. 2021 was, for me, a year of adapting, of being flexible and taking things as they come, to let go of the way I thought things should be.

This year my focus is on rituals, nourishment, and slowing down. I want to celebrate the simple joys each new day brings. I am learning I can’t control anything except my own breathing, and what I choose to focus on. And that’s okay. That’s enough.

Haiku as Self Care

In that spirit, for the month of January, I focused on the Japanese poetry art form of Haiku. If you’ve never heard of Haiku—it is a type of short-form poetry. Traditional Japanese Haiku usually consists of three phrases that contain a kireji, or “cutting word” that either finishes the poem or when used in the middle cuts the stream of thought. It is usually in a 5, 7, 5 syllable pattern. 

But don’t get too caught up in the rigors of the form. Haiku is meant to be enjoyed like a good sake. On its surface, it is a simple and humble celebration of the ability to focus on the present moment. And then there are layers, meanings that float up to you out of the darkness of your own mind like a shimmering flash of gold from the depths of a Koi pond.

For me, reading Haiku is a form of self-care. A retreat from the world of fast and loud and over-stimulation. Even in the middle (hopefully the end?) of this pandemic, I think everyone feels overscheduled and overcommitted from time to time. Reading Haiku is a great way to give yourself a small bubble of stillness, even if you’ve got young kids around and it is never actually silent. (I hear you stay-at-home-parents.)

Three Simple Lines

Here is an example of a wonderful and ancient Haiku poem from Masaoka Shiki that is now one of my favorite translations:

Peeling a pear –

a trickle of sweet juice

along the blade

Thank you to Natalie Goldberg whose book, Three Simple Lines – A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland, this translation is taken from. Half poetry, half memoir, this book has got me sending the kids to Walmart with their dad so I can sit down and read just a few more pages the way this book was meant to be read: gratefully, in stillness, in the quiet reflection of solitude.

Sitting alone now, after all of the holiday hubala has faded and the guests have gone home (and the kids are at Walmart with their dad) and the decorations are put away for another year—this book, these poems, are what my heart needed. I am comforted and at peace, my haywire-holiday brain aligned and focused on the three simple lines. The rest of the world falls away.

I am not exaggerating when I say Natalie’s insights into writing and reading Haiku have changed how I see the world. Everything is Haiku now. The mug of tea steaming in the sunlight, the dog curled up at my feet. You don’t need a master’s degree or a writing technique to memorize to do this. You just need stillness, and the courage to experience profound moments of joy (or grief) in everyday scenes.

Putting the Spirit of Haiku into Action

Usually, at this point in the article, I go on to talk about the other books I am reading but I’m not going to do that this time. I am going to honor my focus for the year, which is to slow down, self-nourish, be present, do one thing at a time. Breathe in, breathe out. Read the next three lines. 

All you need for this self-care ritual is a pot of tea and a couple of Haiku poems. 

How are you going to take care of yourself better this year? What rituals or books are you looking forward to opening for yourself?

Tell us in the comments: How are you going to put the spirit of haiku into action?

Angela Yeh hails from Atlantic Canada but lives and works in Texas – after her liberal arts degree she wandered into Corporate America but managed to escape. She is a staunch advocate for writers and literacy/learning with her online writing community at DIYMFA.com. She lives with her husband, two lovely human children, and two cranky fur babies. You can check her out on Twitter and Instagram or on her website.

The post The Spirit of Haiku: Finding Nourishment and Joy in Daily Life appeared first on DIY MFA.

To celebrate the almost end of this particular chapter of my life, I thought I’d share some of the books on the craft of poetry that influenced me the most over the past three years in grad school. In compiling this list, I wanted to focus on books that might be useful to brand new poets, as well as anyone looking to brush up on their knowledge. 

It was hard to narrow my list down to the five poetry books included below, but I think they offer a great starting place for beginning and experienced poets alike.  

1. The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux 

This was the first book on the craft of poetry I bought as a graduate student and one that I recommend to almost everyone who tells me they’re interested in writing poetry. 

When I first started grad school, I quickly realized that I didn’t have a lot of background knowledge on the nuts and bolts of crafting a poem. Sure, I could write poems, but ask me to explain how or why I made certain choices, and I’d be at a loss for words. 

Enter The Poet’s Companion. Divided into four parts, Addonizzio and Laux’s book includes chapters on subjects for poems, the craft of poetry, the writing life (including dealing with writer’s block and self-doubt), and a section of writing exercises. 

I found the language of The Poet’s Companion to be warm and inviting, which makes this an excellent book for poets who are just starting out. The writing exercises are also very helpful and can be used in the classroom or workshops.  

2. A Little Book on Form: An Exploration into the Formal Imagination of Poetry by Robert Hass

Over four hundred pages long, Hass’s Little Book on Form is anything but little. Expansive and covering almost every form imaginable, this book has been an excellent reference to me as I read and attempt to deconstruct and analyze the books on my reading list. 

How is a sonnet constructed? How might we analyze a prose poem? What does “scanning” a poem mean? And what the heck is a variable stanza? Hass covers all these subjects and more. 

What I really appreciate about this book is that it doesn’t read like a glossary, but more like a conversation. The chapters consist of short, informal “notes” on each form discussed, and I found Hass’s analyses to be especially helpful as I work to develop and hone my own understanding of poetic form and structure.  

3. A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon: New (Soma)Tics by CAConrad

Overwhelmed and looking for reading recommendations in my first semester of grad school, I visited one of my professors and asked for “something different.” CAConrad’s A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon is one of the books my professor handed me.

I would argue that this book isn’t necessarily a book on the craft of poetry (not like The Poet’s Companion, anyway), however, it is a great book of exercises, and it is deliciously unconventional. 

To give you a little taste of the wonderfulness of this book, here’s an excerpt from one of the writing exercises: 

“What is the best Love you’ve ever had in this world? Be quiet while thinking about that Love. If someone comes along and starts talking, quietly shoo them away, you’re busy, you’re a poet with a penny in your mouth. . . . Now get your pen and paper and write about POVERTY, write line after line about starvation and deprivation from the voice of one who has been Loved in this world.” 

If you’re interested in experimental poetry or are looking for less conventional writing exercises, then CAConrad—and this book—are must-reads. 

4. The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within by Stephen Fry

In his foreword to The Ode Less Travelled, Stephen Fry writes: “I have a dark and dreadful secret. I write poetry.” 

So begins a humorous, and very practical, guide to reading and writing poetry. This is another book I like to recommend to beginning poets, as Fry’s tone is incredibly encouraging and easy to understand. Like The Poet’s Companion, there are plenty of writing exercises included throughout the book, however, Fry focuses more on craft elements and form rather than subject matter. 

5. Madness, Rack, and Honey: Collected Lectures by Mary Ruefle

I cheated a little by adding this book to the list since it’s technically not a craft book, but Mary Ruefle’s lectures on poetry, literature, and writing are absolutely captivating, and I really enjoyed the inclusion of personal anecdotes, as well as the instructive quality of the lectures. 

I actually stumbled upon this book when I was researching witchcraft and poetry, and though Madness, Rack, and Honey is definitely not a book about witchcraft, I think it captures the strangeness and magic of poetry in a way that feels a whole lot like witchcraft. 

For instance, check out this beautiful gem from Ruefle’s “Poetry and the Moon”: “I am convinced that the first lyric poem was written at night, and that the moon was witness to the event and that the event was witness to the moon.”

Magical, right? 

Conclusion

Back to you, poets!

Tell us in the comments: Are there any books on the craft of poetry I haven’t mentioned here that you’ve found particularly helpful?

Manuela Williams lives and writes in Nevada. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks and one paranormal fiction novella. When she’s not writing, Manuela loves reading romance novels, drinking *all* the coffee, and playing video games.

The post The Poet’s Toolbox: Must-Read Books on the Craft of Poetry appeared first on DIY MFA.

A Writer’s Holiday Survival Guide by Bess (Cozby) McAllister

This two-part guide is all about being able to celebrate the holidays without “losing your writing muscles, your friends, or your life.” This advice still holds up today! There is so much going on in late December, so many people to see, things to wrap up, and so on that sometimes it’s easy to skip out on your writing time. This guide has advice on scaling back, carving out a little bit of time, and writing on the go—whatever works for you. Part 1 is linked above and here is part 2.

Flash Fiction as Holiday Therapy by Alicia Audrey

Whether you spend time this season with family or friends, the holidays are ripe for awkward situations and interesting drama. Use it! The great benefit of flash fiction is that it is manageable to write in a single sitting. This post helps you turn situations into stories. Even better? Alicia includes an example of a piece written from her own awkward holiday gathering.

#5onFri: Five of Winter’s Gifts to Every Writer by Stephanie Lucas Basile

Sometimes winter gets a bad rap. And I say this as a person who doesn’t do cold and who gets extremely anxious about it getting dark at 4:30 every afternoon for months on end. The point is we CAN find some good things about winter that can help us get to writing. This #5onFri elaborates on some of the “gifts” of the season and how they can translate into inspiration for our writing.

Why You Should Review Your Writing Year by Gabriela Pereira

While writing isn’t bound by a single calendar year, the calendar year makes a neat container for goals and marking progress. Thus, the end of the year makes a great time to stop and reflect on the goals you’ve set for yourself, how they went well, and what could have gone better, so that you can set new (and better) goals for the next year. In this post, Gabriela poses some reflection questions about where your writing journey has taken you and what you’ve learned and offers some guidelines for setting new goals in the future.

Episode 22: Five Lessons About Writing and Life (From Santa Claus)

This is a throwback to an early, early episode of the podcast. Gabriela does a solo show here where she talks about the Santa Claus story, why he is the master of creative motivation, and what we can learn from him about the creative process. She shares five lessons about creativity, writing, and life and a couple of important things to remember if you wind up getting coal. Don’t have time to listen to the full podcast? You can check out this post that shares (and expands upon) the same lessons.

Episode 285: Character-Driven Holiday Romance — Interview with Sarah Morgan

In this episode of DIY MFA Radio, Gabriela interviews Sarah Morgan, bestselling author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. It highlights her 2019 release, A Wedding in December. In the interview, Gabriela and Sarah discuss what makes holiday romances so popular, how to navigate stories where a HEA (happily ever after) ending is guaranteed, developing an authentic setting, and so much more.

Cozy Mysteries and the Holidays by Stacy Woodson

There’s just something about the height of winter that makes you want to curl up under a blanket with a book and a hot drink and get cozy (this is literally the only benefit to the cold and darkness, in my opinion). This post is a great introduction to cozy mysteries as a genre, including common elements within the genre, where to find cozy mysteries, and why they are so perfect to read during the holiday season.

Seven Cozy Poems of Winter by Angela Yeh

Continuing our theme of getting cozy, poetry reading columnist and Community Welcome Dragon Angela Yeh wrote this post with the best snow-themed poems. In it, she talks about the magic of winter and getting cozy to help you prepare for the experience of reading about the beauty and stillness of a snow-covered world.

However you use this holiday-themed round-up, we hope you have a happy holiday season!

Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. Though she’s fallen off the wagon as a writer, she’s hoping to return to writing essays (perhaps even a novel!) through her involvement with DIY MFA. She is also Launch Manager, Web Editor, and Podcast Producer for DIY MFA and a Book Coach. She resides in Smalltown, Oklahoma, with her husband and their cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.

The post Holiday Themed Round-Up appeared first on DIY MFA.

Mark is an award-winning poet, author, podcaster and host of The 21st Century Creative, as well as a coach for creative professionals. He is also someone I’ve had the pleasure of calling a colleague and friend for nearly a decade. When Mark told me about his latest project, a new podcast titled A Mouthful of Air, I knew I had to bring him on DIY MFA Radio to talk about it.

The podcast centers around poetry, and episodes alternate in focus between contemporary works and the classics. For episodes featuring contemporary poets, Mark invites them to read a single poem and talk about the writing process behind it. In other episodes, he reads classic poems and talks about what we can learn from them as writers.

This is an awesome podcast, and one that writers of all genres can learn from and enjoy. A Mouthful of Air has been awarded funding for the first 2 years of the show by Arts Council England, and I can’t wait to see where it goes!

In this episode Mark McGuinness and I discuss:

• What effects a good poem can have on the reader that transcend academic understanding.
• What method poetry is and the writing processes of contemporary poets.
• How reading poetry out loud—even just to yourself—enhances the experience.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Mark McGuinness

Mark McGuinness is an award-winning poet based in Bristol, UK. He has just launched a new podcast, A Mouthful of Air, where he invites contemporary poets to read a single poem and talk about the writing process behind it. He also reads classic poems and talks about what we can learn from them as writers. A Mouthful of Air has been awarded funding for the first 2 years of the show by Arts Council England.

Outside of poetry, Mark has been a coach for creative professionals since 1996 and he has published 4 books of career guidance for creatives. He also hosts the popular podcast for creatives, The 21st Century Creative.

You can find Mark at his podcast, A Mouthful of Air, or follow the podcast on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can also follow Mark on Twitter.

Link to Episode 387

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 387: A Mouthful of Air: Poetry as a Spoken Artform – Interview with Mark McGuinness appeared first on DIY MFA.

First off, I want to talk about the poetry collection What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer. Then I want to delve into a classic book on poetry as a craft, A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver. We’ll follow that up with a quickie poetry prompt for your writing practice pleasure. Sounds good? Excellent, let’s go!

What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer

A New York Times bestseller published in 2020, Kate Baer’s debut poetry collection is both remarkable and relatable. As a mom of two young kids, this collection hit home for me. We’re struggling here and Kate captures the mood of a generation of women caught between the old guard expectations of what marriage and motherhood should be like, and the new internal expectations of looking for equal footing and missing a step. 

Baer writes in a style that is both irreverent and refreshing. For example, “Like a Wife” takes some terrible wedding day advice and ends in a fun cannibalism for the giver of that advice. 

There is something about her style that on the surface seems simple and straightforward, but underneath there is a complexity and creativity that begs for a second and third reading. 

If you’ll forgive me for taking poetic license here, her words taste like dandelions (I see these words everywhere) but once in your body burst in your nervous system like a firecracker (why am I crying right now?).

These are brave words, set down by someone who has suffered but who has turned that pain into a weapon to curve back the curtain and shine a light on how powerful women can be. There is hope here. 

Her poem “On the Evening of Her Birth” captures the overwhelming emotions brought on by tucking her newborn under her chin, “even the glass of water is poetry now,” perfectly captures the mysterious intersection of the miracle of motherhood and the persistent reality of practical matters.

Her newest collection of poems—I Hope This Finds You Well—will be released in November, and you know I have a copy on order already! (I order all the best poetry books)

A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver

I am personally drawn to Mary Oliver in the same way I am drawn to the poems of Robert Frost. Often their poetry focuses on the quiet happenings in nature. I will never write The Iliad, but when I see the willow tree in my backyard pick up her tresses in a gust of wind and the setting sun shines through, I feel like this is what miracles look like. 

If you’re looking for a craft book on poetry, no matter what your favorite subject matter, you can’t go wrong with Mary Oliver.

Her philosophy on writing and improving the craft is simple—conductors, painters, and musicians are taught step by step ways to improve their passions, and building a poem is no different. The desire to write a poem in the first place may be mysterious, but the techniques to get those words polished and impactful are things anyone can learn, and she can teach you those things. I am still finishing this one but my biggest takeaway so far is her advice about poetry workshops. She says if we have a choice between reading poetry and taking a workshop on poetry, read the poetry. Some solid guidance.

Last but not Least—Quickie Poetry Prompt

Now I am veering from poetry books, but this is still poetry adjacent! Recently I splurged on some magnetic poetry tiles to put on my fridge. Almost every day this week as I’m filling a glass of water I pull out a sentence. Just one. Here are a few:

when will the whisper roll into a kiss

barefoot sky clouds bring rain thoughts

They’re silly and fun, but also inspiring. The trifecta. I also like that I’m forced to use only the words in front of me. It is a wonderful way to tune in, focus, and be reminded that poetry is everywhere: in the words of the street signs we pass, in the graffiti on the railway overpass, and even on the magnetic tiles on our fridge. 

Next time you’re out for a walk, take note of the street names. Could any of those be the start of a poem? Bring those words in, work them around like a jigsaw puzzle until you find the pattern. It doesn’t have to be a Shakespearean sonnet, but it does have to be fun. I would love to hear what you come up with! 

Share a line or two in the comments below.

Happy writing (poetry) and reading! 

Tell us in the comments: What poetry books have you been loving lately?

Angela Yeh hails from Atlantic Canada but lives and works in Texas – after her liberal arts degree she wandered into Corporate Canada but managed to escape. She is a fantasy author who is gobsmacked she gets to work for and with writers from all over the world at DIYMFA.com. She considers it a personal challenge to find an article or podcast that will answer any question you ask us. Bring it on! She lives with her family, big Texas pine trees, and three cranky fur babies. You can check her out on Instagram or Twitter.

The post Gushing about Poetry Books appeared first on DIY MFA.

A full-length poetry collection is typically between 50 and 98 pages. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. If you have fewer than 50 pages, you’ll be looking at a chapbook manuscript, which is typically between 25 and 30 pages. If you’re thinking about submitting your manuscript to presses or contests, make sure you keep these page ranges in mind, as some presses specifically request chapbooks (as opposed to full-length manuscripts) and vice-versa. 

It can be challenging to compile and organize a collection of poetry. Depending on your material, you won’t always have a clear beginning, middle, and end like a novel might. 

However, despite not being novels or short stories, I think some of the best poetry collections still have some kind of developmental arc. 

Maybe, like the original arrangement of Sylvia Plath’s Ariel, they trace the breakup of a marriage before ending with the images of spring, hope, and renewal. Or maybe, like Kim Addonizio’s Jimmy and Rita, the collection serves as a novel in verse, tracking the development and relationship between the two title characters. 

The arrangement of poems in a collection shouldn’t be random. Instead, think of the individual poems, through their arrangement, as working together to create larger meaning. When readers finish the last poem in your collection, what message do you want them to take away from the collection as a whole (as opposed to the messages of individual poems)? 

Here are some ways to think about arranging your poems to maximize the larger ideas and messages as you organize a collection. 

Start with Your Strongest Poems

Generally, when readers pick up your collection, they begin by reading the first few poems to determine whether to keep reading or not (very similar to readers of novels and short stories!). So it’s always a good idea to start your collection off with your strongest work. Think of the first few poems as your “hook.” If you don’t hook your readers early enough, they’ll put your book down. 

It might also be helpful to think about your first few poems as teaching your reader how the rest of your collection will unfold. 

What major themes will you be exploring? What problems will your collection address?

Organize a Collection by Narrative Arc or Emotional Development

If you find the majority of your poems revolve around a similar theme, event, or problem, consider arranging your poems in a way that mirrors a more traditional narrative arc, with a beginning, middle, and end. 

For example, let’s say you’ve written a series of poems about the death of a close family member. You could potentially arrange the collection in three different parts—poems that focus on the time before the family member’s death (perhaps developing the speaker’s relationship with the family member), poems that deal directly with the death, and, finally, poems that deal with the aftermath of death. This is a very rough outline, but it does show a narrative arc. 

Another option could be to focus on emotional development. You might focus on how a speaker (or multiple speakers) develop over the course of a collection. To use the Sylvia Plath example from above, if you’re writing about the breakdown of a relationship, you could start from a place of endings and brokenness and move towards a sense of wholeness and hope. 

Organize a Collection by Theme or Subject Matter

If your poems are more varied, consider arranging them by theme or subject matter. That said, in order to ensure your collection feels cohesive, make sure your themes are connected in some way. 

For example, if the main theme of your collection is loss, you might consider sections containing poems that deal with loss in different ways. If you write nature poetry, you could consider arranging the poems based on setting, or even season. 

If you find that your poems are a little too varied—to the point where the transitions between poems or sections feels jarring—you might need to cut some poems that don’t necessarily fit with the major themes of the collection. 

And that’s okay! 

This happened to me a lot when I was preparing a first draft of my own poetry manuscript. Although I absolutely loved some of the poems individually, I ended up having to cut them because they didn’t really fit with the narrative arc I had planned for the collection. 

Again, this is totally normal, and it doesn’t mean that you have to scrap the poem or poems entirely. Perhaps they can be a part of a different manuscript!  

Experiment!

The tips and tricks I’ve given above are pretty traditional and they definitely shouldn’t be viewed as hard and fast rules. Don’t be afraid to try out more experimental arrangements for your collection. The poems in Like by A.E. Stallings are arranged in alphabetical order, for example, and Tommy Pico’s IRL doesn’t contain individual poems or sections at all, rather, the collection is composed of one long poem! 

Have fun with it and, remember, you can always keep rearranging your collection until you’re 100% happy with it. 

Manuela Williams lives and writes in Nevada. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks and one paranormal fiction novella. When she’s not writing, Manuela loves reading romance novels, drinking *all* the coffee, and playing video games.

The post The Poet’s Toolbox: How to Organize a Collection appeared first on DIY MFA.

Here is an average weekday in my life as a poet:

Around 7 am, I walk from my apartment in the Lower East Side to my writing space, Paragraph, on 14^th St, collecting impressions of the city along the way. I have been reading lots of image-rich Classical Chinese poetry in translation and am slowly building up a collection of my own Chinese-influenced poems based on urban images for my next book. New York City is my great love, and I try to take a different route each day.

Good Morning!

Humming, I celebrate another dawn.
All that I witness, sash
lifted, has panache
and purpose: steam and trash
rise up with jubilance;
the courts New Yorkers keep in lieu of lawn
are launchpads for romance,
as day comes on.

Even the rats are skittering
with special, light
skritterings, like they all
got laid last night.

I hear the backed-up traffic sing
obscenities and honks
from Chelsea to the Bronx.
My friends, I hear the call,
yes, I repeat the call:
“Let’s do this thing!”

Open 24 hours, Paragraph is a “WeWork” for writers. There is a climate-controlled quiet room, where aspiring and established novelists and memoirists, along with a few editors, peck away at their keyboards. There is a café area with various sources of caffeine and a fridge. In order to feel “legit” as a full-time writer and poet, I need this special space outside of my apartment, a kind of office to which I can go from 9-5 and beyond. 

When I arrive at Paragraph I devote a half hour to an hour to “business and publicity,” which mostly means responding to emails (fan-mail, hate-mail, contracts and promotional copy) and posting on Facebook and Twitter.

To get myself in the mood for creativity, I lose myself for a time in poetry that I find stimulating, often Chinese poetry in translation or poetry by Auden. Then I get to work. 

I start with fragments—phrases or lines that I find striking. I combine them in different ways in search of a spark. Have you ever gone camping and tried to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together? That’s the analogy I want here. The phrases and lines are the sticks, and I rub them together until the fire that is a poem is enkindled. 

Some days I end up with a poem I want to keep; some days I end up with nothing. 

Here’s another analogy: fishing. Some days the fish are biting; some days, not. Be philosophical. Don’t despair if you write for hours and come up with bupkis. Tomorrow may well be better.

When I need a break from raw and active creativity, I turn to revision. I print out several poems that I have recently written and do everything I can in terms of word-substitution, expansion and contraction in an attempt to push them to their “perfect” iteration. 

Remember that, rather than being opposed to the creative process, editing is a fecund part of it. Every little problem, every little annoyance in a poem needs to be ironed out before it can be submitted, and the solutions that come to me in revision often make the poem stronger than it was before by pushing it in a new direction or providing the click that makes it a satisfying Gestalt.

I grew up as a poet when I fell in love with the reader. Whereas Jonathan Franzen says the novelist should think of the reader as a friend, I say the poet should think of the reader as someone he/she wants to make out with. A poem is an act of seduction. I know a poem of mine is done when I can I imagine myself whispering it, with confidence, like a sweet nothing, into someone’s ear:

Only Connect

A lonely soul, I know,
as earth and the years revolve,
flirtations come and go
and earnest vows dissolve.

The love I meant I marred.
Now all that’s left is my will
to catch your ears off guard,
to broach and breach until

my folderol gets through.
Let me in, please, with you.

I suppose I should answer what everyone is thinking—how do you afford this life in NYC? Some money does come from my original stuff in the form of prize money or payments for publications but, I confess, far more of my very modest living comes from translation and teaching.

I encourage translation because, yes, it can bring some money in, but also because it works as a craft exercise that pushes a writer to find a different voice and idiom. Here’s some advice: if you are going to translate something, translate something in the public domain so that, say, Euripides isn’t around to collect a share of the royalties. 

Also, think about translating a play because you can, for example, sell the printing rights and retain the stage rights. That way, whenever a theater company wants to produce your translation, it has to pay a certain amount for each performance. Multiple revenue streams.

Teaching, for me, comes as naturally as breathing. The trick with a “side hustle” is to keep it on the side, that is, make sure it doesn’t take away from writing time. I try to schedule classes for late afternoon or early evening, so that my block of creative time remains intact. 

Then, at the end of the day, I print out the day’s creations so that I can take them on the road and keep fiddling with them.

Usually around 6pm, now that the city is not locked down, I walk for a drink or two in the East Village. I find that a few drinks allow me to “get some distance” and “a new brain” on the day’s work. Yes, I am the guy you see at the bar scribbling on sheets of paper.

Oh then the happy hours
when a serene bartender
pours tequila, mixer
and ice into a blender
to make a soothing elixir.
Ease has a salty flavor.
After a sultry day’s
bright blurriness, we savor
another sort of haze.

I then walk home and, if I am in the mood, continue working with the material I had composed earlier in the day. If I am not in the mood, I revise some more in bed or re-read work by a favorite poet or two.

Then I go to sleep and get up and do it all over again.

Aaron Poochigian is a renowned poet, author, translator and lecturer. He earned a PhD in Classics from the University of Minnesota and an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University. His first book of poetry, The Cosmic Purr (Able Muse Press), was published in 2012, and his second book Manhattanite, which won the Able Muse Poetry Prize, came out in 2017. His thriller in verse, Mr. Either/Or, was released by Etruscan Press in the fall of 2017. A recipient of an NEA Grant in translation, he has published translations with Penguin Classics and W. W. Norton. His latest book, “American Divine,” came out in 2021. His work has appeared in such publications as Best American Poetry, The Paris Review and POETRY.
You can find him on his website, or follow him on Twitter.

The post The Practice: A Day in the Life of a Full-Time Poet appeared first on DIY MFA.