Poetry. Can I Do It? Yes, I Can!

 I'll be honest. I want to win a Stoker. I've had a few short stories published but so have lots of people. I strive to write better short stories, so that helps. But, it occurs to me that there are few horror poetry collections out there so my best shot would be to write horror poetry. 

Major problem. I don't write poetry. Don't understand poetry. Haven't written poetry since my angst-ridden teen years. So I borrowed this book from Netgalley. It's about writing poetry, not horror poetry, poetry in general. A charming book and more easily understood than most how-to. So here is my Netgalley and Goodreads review for your eyes.

Does that really suck, to want to write horror poetry to try to win a Stoker? Even if it sucks, it's good to learn new skills. I'd rather write poetry than learn to make sourdough bread even if I can't eat poetry. Except sometimes, when I'm really hungry. Here's the review.   Beautiful cover, too.

 

I have to admit that I don't understand poetry. That's really weird because I have a MA in English Literature. But, I want to understand poetry so I undertook Lucy Newlyn book, The Craft of Poetry, to help me recognize what I didn't absorb in seven years of undergraduate and graduate work.

She shows us more forms of poetry than I ever knew existed. Each form is illustrated by one of her poems written in the style she's presenting. All the poems revolve around a beck, a local word for a stream. Even though I'm not much of a poetry reader, these are some lovely pastoral poems. They made me feel like I was walking or dreaming beside the beck and the surrounding countryside. Some poems are hopeful, some sad (lost lambs) some are funny. All are appealing.

I write short stories but I haven't tried writing poetry since high school. Yes, I avoided poetry classes in college. I can see me buying The Craft of Poetry as a reference book because I'll try my hand at poetry. Her examples are easier to understand than are some of the "how-to" poetry books out there.