Poetry Critique Checklist

Even if it’s been years since you’ve been in school and learned the basics of poetry, anyone can write poetry and learn to do it well. A great place to start is to read a lot of poetry. Read poems in diverse styles by dead poets, well-known living poets, and unknown writers.  Read form poems (sonnets, cinquains, villanelles, and haiku), blank verse and free verse.  And of course, write! Beyond that, the one tool that has been the most helpful for me to improve my poetry craft is regular poetry critique sessions.

Do not be afraid of the word or concept of critique. It is simply a detailed evaluation and review. Bring an open mind and heart.

I started out with a writing buddy. We met once or twice a month, to read and discuss each other’s work. I was fortunate to find someone who was a better writer than me, and who was also a teacher. But you can learn and grow with anyone who has a sincere desire to improve their writing.  When life and circumstances broke up our sessions, I found my way into a vibrant community of poets on Meetup called Living Poetry. From there I began attending monthly poetry critique workshops run by LP’s fearless leader, Bartholomew Barker.

I highly recommend the process. If you can’t find a group to meet with in real life there are virtual options online. I promise you will learn a lot, make friends, and become a better poet.

“Yeah, but how do I evaluate a poem?”

I’m glad you asked. One of the long-time members of my critique group, a wonderful poet named Chris Abbate, (check out his website!) left us to start his own group. He created a list of questions to guide his group members. I loved the idea, so, with permission, I stole the idea and a few of his questions and created a checklist just for you.

The checklist identifies the main components of a poem and gives you questions to consider for each one: Title, Opening; Language; Imagery; Line breaks; Stanzas, and Conclusion.  In addition to these objective terms, you will also learn to identify Hot Spots and Cold Spots.

Click here to download my Poetry Critique Checklist.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments. Happy Writing!

Poetry News

Hello! How are you?! (pant, pant) Don’t mind me. I’m just catching my metaphorical breath after a very busy five weeks.  Actually, April was busy.  The first week in May was  only metaphorically busy. There was of course May Day, but I skipped the pole dancing festivities. I did watch a lot of Star Wars movies though because, May the 4th be with you. And yes, I ate a few tacos on Cinco de Mayo.

But let’s get back to April poetry news. I successfully completed the Poem A Day Challenge! Of the 30 poems I wrote in April, about half are just fluff and fun. The other half are solid and are either done or in my queue for the next three months of critique workshop.

The month was filled with poetry events in the area celebrating National Poetry Month, as well as … drum roll please … the roll-out of the Heron Clan V poetry anthology. I’m very happy and honored to have two of my poems included in the fifth book in this popular series (page 148 and 149 respectively). There were several readings in the area to give as many as possible of the poets in the book a chance to read. I will be one of the readers on May 10th, 7:00 pm at the Pittsboro Youth Theater, Center for the Arts. Thank you Doug Stuber and Katherine James Books!

As much as I’ve loved the poetry saturation, I’m glad for the break. I’ve been thinking that it’s time to stretch myself a bit and do some fiction writing. Stay tuned for more thoughts on writing. Until then, let me leave you with this poem I wrote on April 23, after attending the Poetry on Your Plate event at the Carrboro Town Hall.

 

Poetry on My Plate

three poets reading
dessert and friendship
an evening well spent

we are what we eat
dessert is around my waist
poetry is in my veins

Catching Up

It’s me! (She runs in, metaphorically, panting, literally.) I’m here! I’m here! It’s been a while and I have much to tell you. While April was chock-a-block full of poetry, May was as empty as the crumpled wax paper that was wrapped around the burger I just ate, the only thing in it, a limp fold of mayonnaise soaked lettuce. I missed the second Thursday poetry open mic for reasons I can’t remember. I missed the second Sunday open mic because it was Mother’s Day and I was busy feting the one who brought me into the world. And the monthly poetry critique workshop was cancelled because a workshop requires a group, and two people make a line. Fortunately however, two people can work virtually so I was able to salvage some  bacon from the almost-empty burger wrapper.

June brought another afternoon of Poetry on Demand, which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite things to do. I and the Living Poetry crew gathered in the main exhibit space of the Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center for the Rhythm of Race event.  If you missed the event, don’t worry.  Just leave me a word in the comments and I’ll reply with a poem for you.

“Great JeanMarie! But what about the dollar?” Yes, it’s true, Poetry on Demand is not free. It costs $1. For this blog post only, I’m waiving the fee, on one condition. Pay it forward. Put a buck in a charity collection jar, or hand it to someone holding a sign at a street light asking for help. You’ll be glad you did.

And finally, the best update of the bunch. Last year I submitted three poems for consideration for a new book of modern poems about the timeless subject of mythology. It was to be an international, bilingual book out of India. I got the news in December that two of my poems were accepted, (Jump! Jump! Squee!) but unfortunately they didn’t have room for the screenplay. Hmm… Which two poems were accepted? And I don’t write plays.  I was invited to attend the book launch and open mic but as it was held in New Delhi, India and I am a non-travelling American, I passed. I did wonder occasionally which of my poems got published, but life is busy and time moves quickly. However, perhaps it was because May was a slow poetry month, but I finally sent an email asking about the book.

For all you aspiring poets out there, I hate to break it to you, but there’s not a lot of money in poetry. Shyam politely informed me that they couldn’t afford to send me a complimentary contributors copy, but that I could purchase one, which I was happy to do. He did the dollars to rupees conversion and told me that I could pay him after I got the book. Trust.  As you can see from the picture, I got my book: Mythos: An International Bilingual Antholog by Poets, Artists Unplugged. It is really lovely, and I’m not just saying that because they published all three of the poems I submitted! It is 370 pages, half in English, half in Hindi, and with over 20 pages of beautiful full color artwork. I can tell you that I’m as pleased as Jenny Lou Carson must have been when she became the first woman to write a No. 1 country music hit, in 1949!

Keep on writing folks. Get connected with Calls for Submission group on Facebook, or sign up for one of the many free email newsletters promoting writing and poetry markets and contests. Then send your babies out into the world!

 

 

 

April showers brought poetry

April 2017 is officially over and so we put to rest another National Poetry Month. Don’t know about you, but I had a very good run this year. Let’s review.

Not quite one a day, I wrote a total of 29 poems. That was due in large part to the wonderful fundraising event, Tuxedo Cat Ball, for Safe Haven for Cats, where I and 3 other poets, plus one terrific poet wrangler from Living Poetry wrote Poems on Demand. POD: $1 (or $5 if the event is held at a country club) and 1 word buys you a completed poem in 3 minutes.  Between pestering my friends for words to practice on and the event itself I wrote 21 poems. Two of my “customers” at the Ball liked the poem I wrote for them so much they said they would put it up on the wall. (Squee!) The rest of the poems came from spontaneous prompts.

Other poetic events of the month included the monthly poetry critique workshop run by a fellow poet and friend, Bartholomew Barker, and performing at two open mic events.  I submitted poetry to four different poetry journals, and, last but not least, I read lots and lots of poetry!

By the end of the month, I started finding poetry everywhere! Beyond the red roses and violets of blue, poetry can be found in an image, or a turn of phrase by someone in conversation, or a document, or even, as shown below, an article about the revival of the Cornish language.

If it cannot spread, Cornish may be trapped in eternal reawakening, not truly asleep, but never making it out from under the covers into the world.

Lovely! So much nicer to think of a language as sleeping than dead.

So what’s your takeaway here? Don’t be afraid to immerse yourself in what you love! Find your art. Create it. Purchase it. Share it. Art can be visual, literary, dance, culinary, gardening, bird watching, the list goes on and on.  It’s good for your heart.

And speaking of sharing, here is one of my more successful poems on demand, from a word requested by a good friend of mine. Enjoy.

Buttocks
high and tight
or low and lumpy
everyone’s got ‘em
even humpty dumpty
they give you a place to sit
and fill out the back of your pants
they’re fun to have and to hold
shake ‘em when you dance
whatever you call ‘em
booty, bum, tush or butt
wherever you go be sure
to make your buttocks strut!

What to Do and Not Do at an Open Mic

Just got home from another great poetry Open Mic in the Triangle. The two featured poets were great, as were most of the 17 poets, including yours truly, in the open mic. One young man in particular stood out to me. His poem was so poignant and tender it made me cry (which is a good thing with poetry). Unfortunately, when he got to the mic, the first thing he said was, “This is one of my early poems, so I apologize if the quality is not very good.”

He and I had a little impromptu coaching session during the after-mingle, and I decided that I would share my tips with you as well. Besides, it’s been a while since I posted. Holy Crap! My last post was October?! Wow. But I’m not going to apologize; and that so happens to be the number one piece of advice I have for you tonight.

When you take the stage to read a poem, sing, play an instrument, give a speech or perform comedy, Do Not Apologize. Most people, myself included, are their own worst critic. It takes years of honing one’s craft, and receiving feedback to work it all out. If you are a newbie poet, singer, speaker, you probably don’t know how your performance is going to land with your audience until you deliver it.

You may have a really good poem (song, whatever) that has won an award or been published, but the audience that night doesn’t like it. You can tell because the applause you receive will be short and polite. The reverse is true as well. You may have a poem that would be completely dismissed by experts in the field but the audience loves it and responds enthusiastically. Finally, you can perform the same piece in front of different audiences and get completely different reactions. Trust me, the audience wants to be entertained. I know I do when I have my butt in that hard folding chair. Please don’t give me a reason to not like you before you even start.

Now that you know what to not to do, what should you do? Be confident. If you are smirking right now and thinking, “easier said than done,” smirk no more. Create confidence by doing your best work; get feedback from people you trust if you need it. Create confidence by preparing, and rehearsing. Create confidence by putting your best, non-drunken, foot forward, like a BOSS!

You can do it. I believe in you.

How to Write Female Characters

A hundred years after women earned the right to vote, and fifty plus years after Betty Friedan wrote the Feminine Mystique, and the Equal Pay Act passed in1963, women are still fighting for representation and equality in society, on celluloid screens and the pages of novels. So, kudos to every writer who creates strong women characters!

Now, in order for characters to be multi-faceted individuals with realized identities, they need to do more than run and fight. They need an emotional life. Many writers find it easy to write action scenes, but they fall into clichés when it’s time to explore the emotional life of their characters. Before you can fill your character with depth and believable emotion, you have to remove the cheap stereotypes. Here are a few of my personal pet peeves.

Stop making her cry!
Her eyes well, fill, hover with tears. Tears flow silently, slowly, steadily. Tears slip, spill, and track down cheeks. She sobs and weeps with a quivering chin or mouth. Shoulders shake. If there are tears for fear, sadness, joy, beautiful moments, anger and jealousy, I’m not going to like this woman.

Addendum: A reader asked me what I had against people who cry. Nothing. I cry myself. It is the amount of crying that I find disturbing. More than 40 references to moist eyes in a 300 page manuscript is too much. Also, if you are using wet eyes as a synonym for emotion, please try again. Thank’s B.

Stop making her blush!
Blushing happens when someone is embarrassed, flustered, or shy. It happens to everyone at some point; but kick-ass women, who fight, carry guns, think and strategize to save the day, are probably not easily embarrassed, flustered or shy. For the sake of your readers, current and potentially future, do not make your heroine blush, flush, slightly blush, redden, or pink up on a regular basis.

If she must blush, remember that blushing is physical and behavioral. The sympathetic nervous system causes blood vessels to open wide, flooding the skin with blood and causing the skin to redden. In some people, the ears, neck and upper chest may also blush. Physically the skin gets warmer. A blushing person may look down or away, smile or put their hands to their face. Put some emotion into your action scenes, and some action into your emotional scenes.

And by the way, don’t think I didn’t notice that all those blushing characters in your book are all white. Black people blush too, although darker skin color often hides it. But their cheeks get warm, and they are subject to the same ticks mentioned above. Diversity. It’s a thing.

Allow her to mature.
When she is young and inexperienced in the ways of love, she might blush at a mere glance from the boy – or girl – she likes. I’ll buy that. But after the first tender kiss, subsequent dating, making out, heavy petting, etc., please have the decency to let the character grow from the experience. If you are going to include romance in your novel, please note that even the shyest, sweetest girl should be allowed to gain confidence, knowledge, and understanding in matters of the heart.

PS: This advice applies to male characters as well.

Bonus:
He said, “You’re driving me crazy.”
She said, “You’re driving on the wrong side of the street.”

What I’ve learned from getting published

I am lucky to know a lot of writers but I do live in North Carolina which is described by the North Carolina Writer’s Network as the “Writingest State.”  All of us crazy people, I mean writers, have a different reason to write: passion, compulsion, fame, fortune, etc. Underneath all of those things, is the desire to be seen and heard. See me. Hear me.  If you want to be heard by a larger audience than your family and friends, you need to be published. To get published you must answer the siren call: Submit! Submit! Submit!

The process of submitting to contests and open calls from journals and webzines,  is not difficult. Most submissions are handled online through Submittable, or in email. But just because it is not difficult, doesn’t mean it is easy to do. Which one do I pick? What are the editors looking for? It’s easy to get stuck in an infinite doubt loop. Submit anyway. Offering your writing for publication is like job hunting. There’s no way to know what is in the heart of the editor, or the hiring manager. If you needed a job to pay your bills, you would send in a resume. It’s the same here. Write the best that you can and  send it in.

My own experience in seeking publication is that I am not the best judge of my own poetry. I just had a poem published this week in an online poetry journal (Squee!) Frankly, it was a total surprise. My poem, The Delicate Cycle, was published in The Rat’s Ass Review, on their 2016, Love & Ensuing Madness page. Their submission call states:

We will gather a broad variety of views and offer them for our readers’ enjoyment, discomfort, education, horror, titillation, disgust, stimulation, and, we hope, satisfaction. Help us prepare a smorgasbord of the good, the bad, and the ugly of sexuality.

I had just written a neat little poem about infatuation which, frankly, I am just a little too in love with. Deep down I knew it didn’t fit the magazine, but I submitted it anyway. And because the submission guidelines specified up to 5 poems, I threw in two older poems, just for grins.  You guessed it. It was one of the “throw-away” poems that got selected.

Let this be your encouragement for the day. SUBMIT!

If you are interested in Nature, check out my poem, Talking Back to Mother, published in Field Notes: Interpretations of Nature, Volume 2 a poetry anthology from My Nature Place. My friends have often heard me say, nature is something you drive by and look at. So to be published in a chapbook of poems by an organization that is all about connecting people to nature is ironic. Alanis Morissette has nothing on me baby!

It takes more than a good idea

I encourage everyone to write. Writing is good for the soul, creative, therapeutic, and helps make one think better. It doesn’t matter what you write: a journal, a short story, a poem, a book, an editorial, or a warm personal letter to a friend (bonus points for snail mail). Just write.  (End PSA)

If you want to write a book, you need an idea, (courage, determination, and coffee).  If you actually write a book, you need more than just an idea. You need a basic working understanding of how to write: grammar, punctuation, capitalization.

I just came off a marathon stretch of book editing, where I spent countless hours turning huge long blocks of prose jammed with dialogue and action from multiple characters, into standard fiction format. It was miserable. I don’t understand why any author would submit a manuscript in that format. Was it because he didn’t know the correct format for written dialogue? Or, was he too lazy to do it and/or just didn’t care? In addition to unpacking the text, I also added some variety to an endless parade of ‘he said’ and cut about 25,000 words of redundant and unnecessary text.  By the time I was finished, one might ask: Whose book is it?

If you’re going to write a book, put some sweat equity into it!  Learn the basics of your craft. Read other books. Get help from an editor, but don’t turn over all control. After all, it’s your book, isn’t it?

There are many good articles on the Internet which discuss the craft of writing dialogue, but here is your 25 cent refresher  course:

Dialogue punctuation and capitalization

• new paragraph every time the speaker changes
• comma after narrative verb (said, exclaimed, whispered, etc.)
• quotes around the character’s speech
• closing punctuation inside quotation marks (American)

 

Samples:

• She said, “I’m home.”
• “We’re home,” the children called upstairs.
• He shouted, “I’m home,” then sneezed violently before continuing. “Where is everyone?”

Good luck, and happy writing!.