Poetry--Read It, Write It, Love It

Today is the last day of National Poetry. I used this poster early in the month to make readers aware of what we are celebrating all this month. So, it seemed appropriate to repeat it as we finish this time of recognizing, reading and writing poetry. 

It doesn't mean we should ignore the other eleven months of the year. Certainly not. Instead, it is hoped that the month of giving attention to poems and poets will inspire others to both read and write poetry. 

Do you have a favorite poet? Is it someone from ancient days or a contemporary? A person you know? Or just a poet you admire? 

I have several friends who write and publish poetry. I admire these people as they have no fear of releasing their innermost thoughts and feelings through their writing. They have a desire to share with others, and we readers are often the better for it. I have purchased the books listed below and have read them all more than once. Do read a poem multiple times. So much more comes through the second, third and fourth time. 

Books of poetry by people I know. Find some of them on Amazon. 

Moonstain by Ronda Miller

Music I Once Could Dance To by Roy J. Beckemeyer

Asparagus Roots by Jane Banning

Today, Fish Only by Miho Kinnas

The Museum Muse by Tom Mach

Stage Whispers by Roy J. Beckemeyer

So Runs The Water by Tom Mach

What do you notice about the titles? Each one piques interest; leaves a question or makes you a bit curious. It must be difficult to title a collection of poems. Some poets will use the title of one poem in the book. Others will use the title of a theme that runs through the many poems in the book. The next time you're in a bookstore, go to the poetry section and read the titles. Do some stand out for you more than others? Are there some that you want to remove from the shelf and leaf through? 

Have you ever read or heard a prose writer praised with a comment like His prose reads like poetry? A high honor indeed. 

We say farewell to National Poetry Month today, but I hope that you will make time to read or write some poetry the rest of the year, too. 

A Victorian Era Poet

It's still April, still National Poetry Month. So let's take a look at a Victorian era poet.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a familiar name in the world of poetry. Anyone interested in writing poems might benefit from learning about the personal histories of well-known poets. What things did they experience in life that led to the poetry they produced? 

Writers pull from their background experiences to write both fiction and non-fiction, and poets do the same. Elizabeth Barrett lived in the early part of the nineteenth century. In 1821, at age 15, she had an accident that injured her spine. She became an invalid, spending most of her time in her bedroom at her parents home. Some twenty years later she met Robert Browning and married him secretly after a year's time.

Her parents were against the marriage. Perhaps they were overly protective of their invalid daughter. Or maybe they just didn't like the man she'd chosen to spend her life with. They forbade her to marry Robert Browning, but she defied them and fled with him. They married and moved to Italy where she had a son and regained her health. The sunny climate and the joy in her marriage were most likely factors in healing her body.

But her heart had one sore spot. She wrote regularly to her parents who still lived in England. They never answered, and she learned much later that they had never opened any of the letters. What a tragic loss for both sides when it didn't need to be. 

Elizabeth continued to write poetry throughout her life. She is thought to have written poems about love, and she most definitely did. But she also wrote many about social injustice and political situations. Her best known book is Sonnets from the Portuguese, so named because her husband often referred to her as 'my little Portuguese' because of her dark hair and complexion. The book is subtitled A Celebration of Love.

You can read what is perhaps her best known poem How Do I Love Thee? at a fine poetry website. Read her poem several times to receive the full benefit. You may be inspired to read the other 43 sonnets in her book. 

Color Me Happy

The September issue of A Long Story Short ezine was released today. My poem, Artists All is on the poetry page. Go to www.alongstoryshort.net and click on the poetry page, then go way down the page to find my poem. Or read it here. I would encourage you to check out this highly regarded ezine that showcases fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

It's a good place to submit your work. They are quite selective in the pieces they choose to publish, so don't give up if you don't make it the first time. I tried several times before they began to accept my non-fiction and poetry.

The poem won third place in the Kansas State Authors Themed Poetry Division in 2007. The theme for that year was "Pen Life As Art." I am not a trained poet, not by any stretch, but I enjoy reading poetry and have had fun writing it. If you've never given it a try, I urge you to do so. Like all things, you'll get better as you continue to write poems.

Artists All

Painting with oils,
watercolors brushed across canvas,
clay molded by loving hands,
marble chiseled to exquisite form

Artists ply their trade,
by the golden light of day
and velvet depths of night,
with passion and verve.

One more artist joins the rank.
The writer brushes words over paper,
molds a story bit by glittering bit,
chisels a novel to survive the ages.

The writer gathers life’s stories
from country roads to city streets,
written from the depths of a heart
bursting with intensity and rapture.

Artists all, masters of creation,
be they painters, sculptors or writers,
leaving footprints on canvas, marble and paper--
heartfelt tributes embraced by mankind.