I'm a nonfiction writer who has dabbled  in fiction writing over the years. I hope to do more of both, but now I also feel called to write poetry. I enjoy the idea of packing big ideas into small spaces, which is what poetry represents to me. I know there is long-form poetry from "Beowulf" to "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," but the more traditional short-form poetry appeals to me. I'm neutral on rhyming poetry, but I think a good poet can make that work without seeming sing-songy.

For now, I'm not necessarily interested in writing for show or exposure, as I am with prose writing. I'm mostly interested in experimenting and flexing my creative muscles in a genre in which I have no experience and thus feel less pressure.

However, I basically don't want to waste my time writing clichés or other crap. Do you have any tips for me? I know it's a balance between being practical by practicing often and letting myself be vulnerable and inspired, but I don't want to go down any side roads that take me to a cul de sac. If I were giving advice to a prose writer, I would offer tips like, your writing will leap off the page if you use active voice, or show, don't tell. Do you have any similar concrete tips for me? Aside from analyzing poetry in school or reading it in the New Yorker, this genre is pretty new for me.

Continue Reading...