Sowing the poetry seed

You and I both know--because we are poets--that poetry is one of the greatest, most expressive art forms there is. We also know that it takes a lot to convince some people that it's a worthwhile pursuit. Often we are met within indifference, apathy. It's clear that some others don't share our passion. 

"Yeah, well. Not really into poetry..."

"Too many thees and thous for my liking..."

"Poetry is boring..."

I'm sure you've heard these types of remarks before. I certainly have. Many times. It's a shame because poetry can be very exciting, dynamic, liberating, inspirational. 

As a poet you owe it to your friends to switch them on to something good!

So what does it take to get people interested in poetry? Well, you need to sow some poetry seed.  Here are a few things you could try:

1. Buy your friend/family member/work colleague/cell mate a copy of one of a great poetry book. One of the Wheelsong anthologies for example. They are packed full of premier poetry, and the poems are diverse. There's something in these books for every possible taste.

2. Show them a video of a poet performing their work. The more dynamic the performance, the more impact it will have. 

3. Set them a challenge to write a poem. Get them to read it out, and then, together, go through it to find the strong points, and areas where it can be improved.

These are all great ways to encourage people to get interested in poetry, but the last one is probably the most powerful. If they realise they can write their own poetry, they will definitely start to build an interest. 

Steve Wheeler 

Image used under a Creative Commons licence

Poetry Inspired By Photography

Warning!!! 

This article should not be taken as irrevocable truth!!! 

When it comes to creating and art, most rules are subjective. They are rather meant to be broken, in order to implement change. Thus, there is always another fresh “movement” of various ideas and implementations. 

Thank heavens… it would be a rather boring world otherwise, wouldn’t it?!

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Many poetry groups offer photo prompts as a way of moving poets to write of what they perceive. It is an effective way of inspiring a writer because  it is all right there. Just let the hash fly… detailing descriptions, atmosphere, character development, ambiguities… all the usual content suspects to a writer.

I always considered writing a poem about a photo cheating. All the images are frozen there for a poet to immediately suss out in the moment. Nothing is left to imagination as far as capturing anything that happens after the fact. It is but a snapshot of a memory. 

Many artists like to paint or sketch from a picture. This is how they paint, and more often than not, it comes out amazing. The shade is right on and the colors are appropriate. How can they not be? They are right there…

Photos contain many useful attributes for poets to utilize. Not only content, but the feel of the atmosphere, action , suggestive shapes, and

expressions amongst other things…

Since writing is an evolving craft, writers must evolve with it. Not only in terms of what readers want, but what we as writers want to convey. The amount of information we work with and put out can get stagnant. Thus, the use of any and all provocative processes of our craft should not only be attempted, but REPETITIVELY ENCOURAGED! 

                                        —

I have gotten over my personal dislike of writing from pictures, and now find it amusing (if not somewhat successful) in creating a crafty keeper. It can be amazing how many particular subjects an imaginative poet can expound upon to be inspired!

                                        —

Do you write poems from observing pictures? Do you not? Please free to elaborate as to how and why you do… POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW! I’d love to hear from you. 

Matt Elmore

Aspiring to inspire!

Inspiration! 

What is it? What drives us to aspire to new tasks, to envelope the degrees of difficulty and overcome the highest heights? To master the navigations of damage control, and be the best at what we can do with what we have? What is inspiration?

Upon playing with my nieces that live so far away at a family reunion this weekend… I saw generations of loved ones past sparkling in their youthful eyes. It was both so endearingly sweet and sad at the same time… yet encouraging to me. The progress of our families in the existence of our times…

                                           —

Poetry can be inspiring. It draws me into its complicated webs weaved by so many poets of different cultures, places, perspectives, and most of all, dreams. This diversity feeds the poet soul, which is both curious and insatiable for information about the human condition.

Inspiring poems take readers in new directions they may have never considered when they hit the target of the heart. They aim to motivate us, direct us, and push us into becoming someone or something better than what we are. Directly, or in metaphor, these poems are the ones we like to quote or keep as a reminder when things go rough…

                                           —

Consider this invitation from “Invictus”, by William Ernest Henley, to remain strong and honorable even in the face of death…:

It matters not how strait the gate

How charged with punishments the scroll

I am the master of my fate

I am the captain of my soul

The two last lines echo the sentiment of positive construction, expression, and direction needed to keep one’s head up and stay on the ball no matter what. We go on!

                                           —

What about good old Walt? Not Walt Disney! Walt Whitman… his Song Of Myself continues to bring smiles even to this day to many an English and Literature class with the early morning rays of educational sunshine beaming through those sweet windows…

I celebrate myself, and sing myself, 
  And what I assume you shall assume, 
For every atom belonging to me as

  good belongs to you.

An originality and individual value is within us all, not only to be recognized, but validated and cherished as beautiful as well. Song of Myself says this in so many ways…

    

                                           —

Take the breath of Rudyard Kipling in his monumental inspiration entitled “If”:

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run—
   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

This applies not only to “man” but women, children, and all human souls! I live by this fiercely bold and courageous philosophy…. “Yours is the Earth and all upon it, if you can “fill the unforgiving minute”… seize the opportunities laid before you! Take control of your destiny! Shades of Invictus… this is a prevailing theme in inspiring poems.

                                           —

Women have an equal (if not more) of a voice in poetry today than has ever been heard in the history of our prestigious craft. Women such as Rupi Kaur, Maya Angelou, Carol Ann Duffy, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson… transcend emotion into inspirational action… 

Take Wheelsong poet Imelda Zapata Garcia, who continues to encourage a strength and determination that is so original, creative, practical, fierce, and beautiful all at once. This is such an awe inspiring exposition…  “The Gambit”:

Each wrung she stepped upon
led to a faltering height
try as she might, to climb
slipped to the base of the flight
the steps which rose up
from the floor 
led straight to another
in store
Beams of illusion it seems
crept in from high up above 
with promise of hope in a dream
naught much else when
push comes to shove 
What shone at the top of the stairs
a blinding white light on the morn
was merely a glimmer of hope
which climbing that crucible 
had worn 

The promise and glimmer of hope sprinkled within this poem exhibit an unbridled exuberance to overcome the most difficult obstacles, to challenge “the gambit” of life, and come out ahead. It reflects dark and light in such a way as to cover the reader in honest shades of brilliant reality… leaving them forearmed to face the day. Such an amazing inspiration! It’s reassuring to know poets such as Imelda are out there interpreting reality for us!!!

                                          —

This is a blog for writers by writers. So I have to ask… What do you find inspiring? Does it aid in your writing? How so? Please feel free to comment below! I love hearing from you! 

Thank you for reading, and until next time… write on!! And inspire!

Matt Elmore

Using Images to Complement Your Poetry

As poets, many elements inspire us. However, did you know that pictures are subject to copyright for the life of the picture? Using pictures from the internet can be an infringement, especially if you are using them for commercial use, such as attempting to create book covers. You will not only find the picture will be distorted, but you could find yourself with legal problems. I stay safe by using the links provided below, or I take my own pictures.  

I am inspired by the world around us. I listen to conversations whilst out and about. Also, have you ever tried listening to music as an inspiration? Just writing the first thing that enters your mind. It’s amazing how a piece of music can sound so different from all the other times you have heard it.

I hear you asking: What’s the difference between taking pictures from my phone or a camera? 

A camera gives you more definition. It will provide you with a higher resolution of at least 300 dpi. A mobile phone (even with super duper lenses and all whistles with bells) gives you just 72 dpi. That’s great for the internet, but when it comes to printing a large format image such as a book cover, you’ll want it to look the best.  

We all know how much effort we put into our writing process. It’s the same for photographers. They share their work that they have worked hard to create. I don’t mind anyone using my pictures, but if they are specifically copyrighted then it’s polite to ask for permission to use.

I also use official copyrights for my poetry, such as: ©️2023 Charlene Phare

This provides a way for you to track back to your original work, should you find yourself a victim of plagiarism.

Personally I use free resources to find images, Pixabay is a great place, I use the Copyright sign for my own photography.

I have used a little trick in the picture that accompanies this blog, see if you can spot what I did.

Free resources for inspiration: 

https://pixabay.com/

https://unsplash.com/

Image ©️ 2023 Charlene Phare photography

It’s in You and it’s Gotta Come Out!

Have you ever watched the sequel to a movie you loved so much only to leave the screen asking yourself what happened?! I laughed, I cried, I kissed two and a half hours goodbye…? All except for the laughing and crying part?

                                     —

Sometimes I write a poem and it resembles this feeling. A dark feeling of regret, doubt, and despair. Like the well has all gone dry! No more gas in the tank! The babies have left the nest! They are never coming back again!!

No matter what form I plug my thoughts into, or clever disguise I place over that warted nose, I cannot hide the terrible nature of misguided content with no message. The veil always eventually opens to reveal the hideous bore within… and the work goes right over the head or in the trash! Often both in the old days of college rule notebooks!!!

                                     —

Why do we write? Where does it come from?

I asked these questions in the last few blogs I’ve posted here. 

I started out talking about the differences we all have… not only in culture, class, education, and all the most obvious considerations…. but also the ones in individual perspective and expression as well.  

Then I went on to write about my brothers and I singing goofy song lines to each other, making them up as we went as we were fishing or hanging out or camping or whatever. It was fun. But they are just working guys. They have no fancy poetic aspirations. They didn’t seem to have any “writers block”.

What does this have to do with poetry? EVERYTHING!

                                     —

We are the culmination of our experiences. We are the directors of our own movies, the actors playing ourselves. As poets we represent our fellow human in all of his or her splendors, whether they be comedic or tragic. We are the interpreters of reason, translators of truth, and lights on the hill to so many in the darkness.  We are POETS!!!!

I have come to the impasse of asking myself “WHY BOTHER?” many times in the past. Things just didn’t work out. I give up. No sense of wasting my time. WHY BOTHER?!

Then I see a child cry. Or a senior citizen laugh. I feed a hungry stray dog. I watch the birds singing their morning songs with a cup of coffee or a bit of Earl Grey. And it all comes back to me. Just like that. How? Why? 

Simple. BECAUSE I HAVE A POETS SOUL. All the above elicited a response deep down inside of me….

I remember the first conversation I had with my friend and colleague Steve Wheeler about something like this… he’s the best to bounce ideas around with. A brilliant guy. I just recall us talking about writing… mentioning writing poetry is like what BB King said about defining the blues, “If you gotta ask what it is… you’re never going to get it baby”.  

What does this have to do with poetry? Yeah ok…

I believe you are with me!! 

If you are a poet by heart, breather of words like air that fill the lungs so much you have to exhale poetry of some sort eventually just to go on…. Then you know it. You know what I am getting at! Yes,… YOU! POET! 

“It’s in him and it’s gotta come out!” John Lee Hooker… Boogie Chillin! 

I keep correlating this with the blues because the blues filters emotions, which is what we do as poets! It’s in us and it’s gotta come out!

                                    —

                              

Is it in you reader? The takeaway from my series here is that by using what is your natural talent interpreting the world around you… you MUST NEVER GIVE UP!!!!  If your sequel is not happening… take up another story and go from there. Stagnating in despair only leaves one drowning in quicksand of unnecessary doubt. 

When I’m in a hole… I write myself out.

Have you ever been here dear reader? Do you also have a poets soul? Have I missed anything?! Please feel free to post your comments below and let I me know how you feel about this howl!!! I’d love to hear from you…

Matt Elmore

writing, poetry, Matthew Elmore

Passion for Poetry

Why did I start to write poetry? What was the catalyst? It all began when I was around 18 or 19 years old. I was working at a local college, in the technical department that supported academics and students in their teaching and learning. I was seconded to the library, where one of the tasks was to take valuable paperback textbooks and prolong their lives by removing the flimsy covers, and dismantling them, before pasting them onto card and then reconstructing them with a laminate cover. Thus I learnt how to book-bind. 

While working in the library over those months, I happened by chance to walk past the literature section, and there... in the middle shelves, I found the works of Dylan Thomas. I admit, at first, it was heavy going, but after a while of reading the Welsh bard, I became seriously hooked on poetry. The library was throwing out a pile of old poetry books that had seen better days. I managed to grab a dozen or so, and took them home to read - I still have them in my collection today. One particular Penguin edition contained the work of Charles Bukowski, Harold Norse and Philip Lamantia - three American poets that inspired me further. 

Soon afterwards, I was writing my own experimental forms of poetry, and eventually, I began to perform my work at festivals, open mics and so on. It's important to acknowledge your roots and inspiration. For me the encounter with these four poets led me down the road to a lifelong love of poetry, both reading and writing. 

What was your inspiration? What has fuelled your passion for poetry? Why are you writing poetry right now? Answers in the comments box below please!