Mine is “If” by Rudyard Kipling. There’s just nothing there to chew on. You know what the ending tag line will be from the second you read the first few. Link: https://youtu.be/EEFMVIfl2UY

Hello friends – I wanted to share this opportunity with you all. A lit magazine which a friend of mine works on is holding a micro chapbook contest. Prize is $1,000 USD and publication of the work. https://maydaymagazine.com/mayday-announces-poetry-micro-chapbook-contest/

Hey all! I came across this great resource for submitting poetry. A website compiling poetry/lit journals with ratings on their levels of competitiveness as well as if they pay, charge a submission fee, etc. Dunno if she’s a cover, but LC Poetry on instagram shared it with me initially, so thanks to her! https://chillsubs.com/

Hello. Finish Your Will. By Derrick C. Brown I tried to write my will in a Miami Cubano bar with my friend Jo. The idea sounds like a good drinking game: Think of all your material possessions, the t-shirts that were souvenirs of a beautiful time become rags, the thousands of dollars of books that will sell for 50 bucks total. The unused knives that made you feel safe, 25 cents a piece at the estate sale. Your worthless, desperate journals, a chuckle to your married friends. Who will I gift this stuff that no one wants? Who can I burden, as a last joke? I have too much. I tried to and stopped. I cried spring colors. As the objects were listed and the names were assigned, I shook, uncontrollably. All these people on the list are friends. That much love is an earthquake. I have so much.

I just stumbled across this resource and had to share. This is super helpful - a ranked list of literary journals from most “prestigious” to least. All the journals listed come with a level of “prestige,” but the higher ones are just more selective. Have any of you seen publication in any of these journals? I recently had a piece in Sheila-Na-Gig, camping out in the 197s :) https://cliffordgarstang.com/2022-literary-magazine-ranking-poetry/?fbclid=IwAR0AsZRGyfuh31vLBiVrcX9krZ84nLEyzT9TcGWy61bTDCxE9GdfLNgIuxs

Hey friends! Wanted to share info for a poetry contest currently taking submissions. The winning poem will earn the author $1,000 and all submissions are considered for publication in Poetry by Chance: An Anthology Powered by Metaphor Dice. The anthology is to be published by Button Poetry https://metaphordice.submittable.com/submit

I consider myself a recovering inspiration addict. For a long time I sat around waiting and waiting for lighting to strike, for a poem to come slap me in the face, for magic to happen. I wrote next to nothing across a span of about two years, blaming “writer’s block” before I admitted that the reason I wasn‘t writing anything was that I wasn’t writing anything. I have since dedicated myself to more consistent writing. I want to hold myself accountable to show up to the table and write - even if I don’t immediately like what I’m writing. I still love when inspiration hits, but I am learning to write without it. After all, the muse makes no appointments. I have always loved this quote on the creative process by Chuck Close. He was a painter, not a poet, but I still think what he has to say applies to us as writers. “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightening to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.”

I was browsing the past posts from an account I follow on Facebook, “Poems from Rose Ridge,” and found the following. Has anyone else experienced what the author was trying to convey? “microessay No 28/ I was writing yesterday and formed an assemblage, partly on paper, partly in my brain. I examined it, how it was and how it might be...and I realized at some level close to the surface, that I did not know anything, that I had no method. It felt as if I had no experience to draw from. In short, I felt completely lost, even as I composed and assembled lines into a poem. It felt as if I'd never written a word, a poem, until that very moment. And I felt damned and blessed all at once. A genius and an idiot all at once. A child. A dead man. Resurrected. G.E. journal 1.24.16” Sometimes, I have an idea in my head that exited me, but it’s like I can’t find the appropriate language or the right structure to carve that idea out of the fog that exists in my brain. The joyous discovery of trying to free the poem in my head is like writing your first piece all over again. It’s what I live for as a writer.

Altar – George Eklund One makes little altars repeatedly I drop my weight into a chair At the desk Amazed by the violins and their particles And the quiet color of my clothes Every picture that comes to me Is a derangement Place from place A pellucid cry across the barren easter The pointless stroll through the city The wheels of grief complete And our hands follow our eyes Skimming upon the circles of the altars. Wanted to share a favorite of mine. What are your thoughts and reactions to this piece?

Hey all! I stumbled across a Reddit post in r/writing where someone expressed their pet peeve for overly descriptive prose in fiction. There was a comment that said “unless your narrator is a mortician and the character is dead, stop writing autopsy reports.” This got me thinking about my own pet peeves when it comes to poetry, and I think I have to say it’s double/triple adjectives. I think adjectives in general are like the “lite beer” of metaphor and imagery. My issue with them is that they tell the reader things when the poem should truly be showing them. I’d almost always prefer and strong metaphor or image over a string of empty adjectives. My personal rule is “you only get to use one.” If I am writing a piece and I’m using multiple adjectives to describe a subject, I force my self to a.) pick one and can the rest or b.) toss them all and rewrite the line. Of course, this isn’t an absolute rule - there can always be exceptions when I think double or triple adjectives can work. But if your piece is littered with them, maybe consider stronger metaphors/images. And that brings me to ask - what are your poetry pet peeves?

To my friends who are posting their poetry to Instagram accounts - what apps are you using to put together you posts? Any you’d recommend? i’m looking for templates images that are subtle and not too busy. How do you guys go about putting your posts together and setting text to an aesthetically pleasing background?

I’ve begun to notice that my poems are getting longer whereas my first poems were very short. It’s not uncommon for me to take up more than a page with my poems now. I’ve also noticed that there’s much less of a sense of “trying too hard” in my work now. many of my first poems sounded like someone trying so, so hard to sound smart or interesting. My poems now have a much more narrative bend (lately) and they just seem to breathe more easily. So I’m interested to know…how has your poetic voice changed?

Any one here completed or considered enrolling in an MFA program for poetry? I have a friend doing one now, but have heard they are a controversial topic among writers. I’ve spoken to some who encourage it and others who are adamantly anti-MFA. On one hand, it’s a great way to focus on writing for a few years. However, it also isn’t a very “cost-effective” degree to pursue unless it’s a funded program. Some also think it may be a creatively stifling process, as you may simply be trained to write poetry that your specific professors like. what are your thoughts??

So…I have a confession. I’m a hypocrite. Due to the scoff and scorn that my preferred form of poetry (free verse) receives, I tend to lean on the side of “poetry can take many forms/there are no rules/etc.” And I’m generally consistent in that opinion. However, there is a form of poetry that I just…can’t stand. Emoji poetry. I frequent a Reddit sub called /r/OCPoetry and there’s a user who submits these things frequently. The emojis they select are not always used as place holders for the words they represent, however so much of the reading is spent wondering “what word am I supposed to read here?” They’re essentially retelling a sort of genesis account with a mix of emojis and plain English. I don’t know if I find it lazy or needlessly convoluted or pretentious. But I have a visceral eye roll reaction to them. Which prompted this question… What are your hypocritical or unpopular poetry “hot takes?” And what are your thoughts on emoji poetry?

The Ticks - George Eklund In the morning heat we yank the ticks off Old Skip at times from each other’s necks and scalps. Me and my brothers showed them off to each other. Horrible blood gems held up in the morning glint. Their little demon heads still wedged in a piece of skin we’d lost. The fat ones we hated most. That was our blood, Old Skip’s blood. Sucked out of us. Robbed. Sealed away. Tom liked best to light them with a match. John and Jimmie set them adrift down Amazon puddles. Old Skip didn’t give a damn whether they screamed or not. But me and my hammer... Hot damn! How we yelled laughter when our blood was set free and you could see our blood was still blood and not turned to some animal pus. A purple stain darkened the stoop and stayed all summer. Thought I’d try and prompt some collaborative poetry discussion here. What do you think of this piece? It’s one of my favorites for its visceral storytelling and the very clear images it conjures.

I think a lot of us would agree that writing is an emotional practice, that we lay ourselves bare and confront our feelings and thoughts in our writing. But what about the craft and the skill of it? Poetry is a lot like bleeding, but a lot of times I think it’s also like building something. One of my favorite writers/musicians, Tim Minchin, once said “I don’t see how writing a song is particularly different than doing some really nice plumbing.” He treats writing as a craft, a skill to be honed and learned. Do you “practice” your writing through exercises? Do you set out to hone particular skills or do you “just write?” If you do practices or exercises, what do you do?

Personally, I always learn something from George Eklund and Derrick C Brown. The poem “Ringlets” by Derrick Brown is one that reminds me of the power of narrative and imagery.

Billy Collins once said in a masterclass that the poet’s job is to “look at clouds and watch chipmunks” and that the writing process involves a lot of staring. whats your blank staring to actual writing ratio? i think I stare out the window 99.999999% of the time 😂