poetic advice

78. Ink smells great. So do incense cedar pencils. Computer screens? Not so much. Chose your tools, but don't fetishize stationery.

poetic advice

132. Verse chorus verse. Verse chorus verse. Bridge! Verse. Chorus. Yawn.

poetic advice

63. Be observant.

poetic advice

15. All poems protest. But great poems profess.

poetic advice

10. "Poet" is a label you have to earn. You can't give it to yourself. Well, you can, but that's kind of like throwing yourself a surprise party: what's the point?

poetic advice

128. Read everything with an eye towards craft.

poetic advice

27. Nothing quickly sinks a poem like adverbs.

poetic advice

5. Do not ask an editor for advice, but take any advice that is freely given.

poetic advice

31. Write your poems, then put them in a drawer for a few weeks, months, or years. Then revise.

poetic advice

4. Poetry makes good therapy. Therapy does not make good poetry.

poetic advice

94. Don't worry about publishing. Worry about getting it right.

poetic advice

47. One way to spot a weak poem is its reliance on adjectives.

poetic advice

3. No one cares how you feel. We care about what happened.

poetic advice

53. Focus on the experience, not your feelings about the experience.