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Prose and free verse; what I really think.

5/29/2014

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It's always a strange feeling to be the only rhyming poet in a room full of poets.  Where are those who love metered verse, lyrical turns of phrase, and accessible images depicted in writer's ink?  Well ... 

The Clockwork Alchemy Convention, which celebrates all things Steampunk, is always a great venue for my work, and for those who appreciate it for what it is: a secretive balancing of so many things.


I have written prose a few times, and I gave free verse a go.  The one felt a bit too much like pretty essay writing than I was happy with, and with the other it too easy to get lost going nowhere in particular.

My muse was decidedly unhappy with either of those approaches, and only begrudgingly chimed in, but I needed to investigate both forms of writing for myself to see if there was anything there for me.  

As it turned out, they did help me to stretch and grow, and some of what I learned still abides in my work to this day.  Yes, I can write prose and free verse, but they epically failed to keep me for very long.

Thus, my shared, public readings, where I bob about in a sea of prose and free verse, is a lot like being invited by an acquaintance to a big party where I don't know anyone, and am awkwardly out of sync.  

I like to think that Emily Dickinson may have felt likewise.  In my opinion, judging by two of her poems, They Shut Me Up In Prose, and her sentiments in I Dwell In Possibility, it is quite possibly so.


Many have tried to explain her away as someone simply decrying her place in life; that of a woman living in a man's world.  I don't buy it. Emily Dickinson has spoken her mind both eloquently and clearly.

As it is, I do not care for free verse, which I liken to unfinished diary entries.  The only skill involved appears to be that of being able to let words flow on their own; babbling on without purpose but to babble.

And, I encounter prose quite often when I read the Opinion page of a newspaper, and in other forms of narrative writing.  I have heard prose read well, and enjoyed it nuances, but it is all too loose for me.

Give me structure, and rules, and an obligation to hide all of my ardent deliberateness beneath the words that I so carefully choose so that only the images and ideas are obvious.  Give me my own muse!

So there, I have had my honest say about it, and I am ever so very happy that I did not know about Ginsberg , or Laurence Ferlinghetti, until it was too late for me to be too ardently indoctrinated by them.  




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Some swag for Clockwork Alchemy.

5/19/2014

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One afternoon, Emily Thompson and I were wistfully discussing our mutual love of all things Steampunk when the above phrase was born.  Emily immediately created a pin displaying this unique image.

We will be selling this and other swag, along with our books, at our shared author table during the Clockwork Alchemy Convention, May 23 - May 26.  For more information about this convention, click here.  
We hope to see you during this brilliant, full-on, Steampunk event!



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May 16th, 2014

5/16/2014

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Echoes and Echoes ll will be on hand during this full-on, everything Steampunk, annual event!

Once again, Emily Thompson, author of the Clockwork Twist series, and I will be signing our books at our author table, and will be participating in panels, during the entire Memorial Day weekend.  

\(^0^)/

For more information about this awesome convention, please click here.  We look forward to seeing you at Clockwork Alchemy.



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Introducing ...

5/14/2014

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Echoes ll, More Neo-Victorian Poetry.  This second volume of my rhyming, metered verse continues where Echoes, Neo-Victorian Poetry left off.

One
year in the making, this book includes an homage piece to the the inspirational works of Jules Verne, one of the father's of Science Fiction.

I hereby invite you to take a ride aboard an Airship, to explore the Drums of Doom, and to delight in the whimsy and romance that live in this book.

Now available online at smashwords.com and amazon.com
, 
Echoes ll, More Neo-Victorian Poetry will soon make its debut at the Clockwork Alchemy Convention, May 23rd through May 26th, 2014.




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A key to writing in rhyme ... 10

5/5/2014

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When I began writing, A key to writing in rhyme, I could not predict how many "keys" I would cover in this brief series ... which is why I didn't title it, Ten keys to writing in rhyme ... yet here we are at #10.

Writing poetry sometimes runs along similar lines.  You might not know how many stanzas you'll end up with.  The poem itself should tell you when it is finished, which requires that you listen to it. 

Knowing when it's done ... listen.
Impatience has sometimes led me to conclude that a poem I've been writing is finished, when it actually has much more to say.  This is one reason why I generally advise letting a piece ferment for a while.

When I wrote Airship, I originally left it at  five stanzas.  I shared it with a brilliant online poetry group I belong to, but then I began to hear that it wasn't the poem that it could be; they wanted more. 

I looked at the poem again with an open mind, and listened to it with a view to the group's comments.  At some point, it began to go in a whole new direction, though not necessarily the one they'd offered.

Just the mere mention that Airship needed more made me realize just how impatient I had been to give it my stamp of approval.  This poem now stands at fourteen stanzas, and is a much better piece.

Whether it comes from a writer's group, a friend or relative, or from the voice of the  poem itself, give all counsel some measure of consideration.  My poems have greatly benefited from all of these.

Though this is my last instructional "key" in this series, it is not my last word on the subject of writing in rhyme.  There will always be so much more to say, but for now, let's recap the headings we covered:

1. Seek out published poets who rhyme.
2. Immerse yourself in rhyming verse = READ!
3. Begin with a line and see where it takes you.
4. Immerse yourself in your poem = muse = atmosphere.
5. What is the shape of your poem?
6. Find the ambiance of your poem = atmosphere.
7. Poetry = a two-way conversation.
8. Editing = weeding.
9. The naming game ... titling your poem.
10. Knowing when it's done ... listen to your poem.

I sincerely hope that you found these post helpful.  Please let me know, via the Add Comment section, (below), if you have any questions or would like to leave me a comment.  In the meantime:

I will be attending the Clockwork Alchemy 2014, Alternate Empires Convention, May 23 - 26.  Please click here for more information on this event.  I invite you to visit me there at my author's table. 

On Saturday, May 24th, I will be reprising this series, Keys To
Writing Rhyming Poetry,  at 10 am in the Author's Salon.  I have also been invited to participate in a few other panels that weekend.



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    About the author:

    I've written many poems over the years.  This blog is a preview of my books: Echoes, Neo-Victorian Poetry (April 2013), Echoes ll, More Neo-Victorian Poetry (May 2014), Echoes lll, Even More Neo-Victorian Poetry, (August 2016), A Compilation of Echoes. (September 2016), and When None Command (April 13, 2019)

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