HOW DO YOU WRITE A GOOD POEM?

 If you have any desire to write poems that are distinctive, fresh and are notable for having a language style that is interesting and able to “express the inexpressible in terms of the unforgettable “, you have to cleanse yourself of the vanity that everything you write as a poem is precious and must remain untouched . 

You have to read what you’ve written with a critical eye and find out what it is you’re trying to say , and then chip away everything that in the draft that does not add up to a convincing poetic sequence. Having favorite poets and being aware of the techniques that make up their style is a must; if you understand why particular poets appeal to you, have an effect on you, cause you think about your world in a more nuanced way, then you have the start in developing a good critical ear for your own work. There are things that great poets like Whitman, William Carlos Williams, Eliot, Laux, Wanda Coleman, O’Hara do make their poems memorable and a proper and alluring expression of their personalities.

 So it wouldn’t be at all harmful to your creative expression to get into the weeds a bit and study precisely HOW your favorite writers are achieving the resonance that comes from a well considered poem. This will likely improve your habit of mind as you compose and will strengthen your creative flow while writing. Along that line, you have treat your first draft as a first draft and realize that half of what goes into a poem, more often than not, is rewriting, revision, correction, editing.

 I was told by a poet fifty years ago that in order to make something wonderful in the form of a poem, the “best writing has to be removed.” For me , this was getting rid of didactic language, lectures, pointless literary allusions, and concentrating on what is truly “poetic” in something I’d just written. This next point has an endless stream of variations, theories, styles and the lot and each has a coherent aesthetic , but any poet worth reading over time realizes the difference between poetry and prose. They do different things. As a wise writer named Clyde Hadlock once said of the two, “Prose is the photograph, poetry is the x-ray.” 

GETTING STARTED IS THE HARDEST PART

 Perhaps because I'm showing every calendar day of my 68 years , or  maybe because I've been typing poems, reviews, short stories and features stories for over  40 years some folks have assumed that I know what I'm talking about . A few anonymous folks on the various internet venues that concern themselves with creative matters have been brave enough to pose a question or so to this graying and cranking presence. Most recently a soul queried whether " writing 500 words a day, three times a day, too much?"  The question wasn't quite clear as posed--did they mean writing 500 words three times a day?  Charge, said my ego, bluff your way through the ambiguity. This is what I answered :

"Not if it works for you in terms of getting the writing done . If you have a lifestyle that would not be adversely effected by writing according to a work schedule—social life, family responsibilities, personal care—then no, it’s not too much. Consider that the word “write” is a verb in the sense that I’m using it, and verbs describe action; writers write, it’s an activity they perform on a regular basis. It’s why we call them writers. Consider also that great writers, popular writers write pretty much every day because there is usually a project they are working on, a writing project they are more than likely getting paid for.

"This mean the writers are working against deadline, and that means they have to “go to work” to meet the deadlines and be paid for their labor. Which brings up the next point, that writer is an occupation, and that writing is labor, work. Even authors of literary masterpieces will tell you no less than that. If you desire to be a writer, whether poet, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, or even a dedicated blogger, you have to have the discipline to take a seat and write as required whether you feel like it or not. Getting started is the hardest part of writing."