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Amazon, Booyah a dverse book, Brian Miller, Now what, PubTalk, quacks like a duck it must be poem, Topping yourself
Happy Monday everyone! Have you seen the picture to the left? It’s our new dVerse Anthology that just hit the virtual shelves at Amazon on Saturday—nearing our second hundred sold already—
It features over 90+ poets from around the world…names you will be familiar with from OpenLinkNight or one of our other events.
It is the Christmas gift everyone will want…smiles…so get yours today @ Amazon.com:
Paperback & Kindle:
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon)
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon UK)
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon France)
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon Germany)
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon Spain)
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon Italy)
Kindle Only:
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon India)
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon Japan)
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon Brazil)
The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry (Amazon Canada)
Special thanks to Frank Watson as well for putting this together…it was no easy task, trust me. For those of you that missed entering this volume—i have it on good faith that there will be another in the works before you know it.
Today, I want to continue a conversation that was started this week in the comments—the initial question was:
After you write a really good poem, how do you write another – or – how do you motivate yourself to right the next knowing it might not be up to the same standard?
It’s an interesting question—I will hold further thoughts on it for the comments, so have at it poets—what’s on your minds? ~Brian
dVerse 
pubs open…look forward to your thoughts…
and congrats to all the poets that are in the book
woot
I’m so excited by this book – even though I couldn’t contribute to it this time round. I tried to get it earlier today on Amazon.co.uk and it said the title was still unavailable, but will persevere.
As for your question, Brian, I don’t think writing poetry requires any motivation on my part. Prose, yes, but poetry will come unbidden. Writing to a prompt, however, now there’s the challenge!
smiles…just did an interview today where i was asked about writing to prompts…
as to motivation, i def think mine comes from real life…
to the question i would say, i treat my poetry like children and dont compare…and if one does well, i applaud it but dont dwell on any success…as it is def fleeting…smiles.
will check out the uk link…hmmm….and we will have another soon enough and would love to see you in it…
I like that, Brian.
Spoken like a true father who loves all his children.
May the book be number one.
Looking forward to checking the Anthology out.
As far as motivation to write another poem after a good one… Every time I write something that really pleases me, I spend a day thinking, OK. I’m done. I’ll never need to write a poem again. And then some little meddlesome something will pop into my head and I’ll worry it and worry it and worry it until it pops out in poem form. Funny, isn’t it?
ha. i hear you. never need another poem again…oy…its like famous last words and the world says oh, yeah…how about this one…smiles…
I have ordered and mine is on the way ~ Thank you to Frank for making this a reality ~ And yeah for another one ~
As to your question, I read poems of others to motivate me to continue writing as I know that I am still learning the craft ~
I keep verses unfinished in my drafts, including some titles that I thought would be interesting (like all the colors) ~ So for looking something to write, I go back to it and put the “finishing touches” ~ Another technique that I find helpful is to continue my post, from another perspective, like a series ~ The trick I have yet to learn is sometimes how to end my post, but I am learning it doesn’t have to be finite and final ~
Happy Monday to all ~
good technique that…i have about 90 poems in draft mode that for some reason have not made the cut…not including my notebook…i like to go back through my notebooks—old ones, for poems that never were birthed as well…ideas that it was not just their time yet….that perspective trick is pretty cool…have not tried that consciously…
90, wow, I don’t think I have that many ~ And I hear you about the timing, sometimes ideas need to brew & simmer for a while ~ I picked up this technique from Susan – get the last line of your previous post and make it your first line of your new poem ~
thats pretty cool…have not tried that…
in that 90 there are some stinkers, so, ha…i was just going through some yesterday to see if there were any i needed to just copy to the notebook and put to death…ha….
Cool, Grace. For those who cannot stop writing …
Cool idea! That would be fun way to challenge yourself to a serial. I think it would be more challenging for me to not make it a continuing story. If I ever get to keep my computer, I would like to challenge myself to do this for a few days on my blog.
Well…. an interesting question… most of what I write is not great, good or even adequate, but I keep on writing. Because, on very rare occasions, a poem forms in such a way that it is just almost exactly what I meant to say. And that is always the best I can do. So I just keep on writing until it happens again.
And I am so thrilled about the book – was over the moon to have a copy in my hands. Told my husband it was wonderful to see so many friends in one volume. Congrats to everyone and a special thanks to Frank for his hard work – it is a lovely book! K
i love how you put that…i’ve said it several times and will repeat it again…ha…i had someone tell me 90% of what i will write is crap (or not good enough) but you have to go through it to get to the 10%…i find freedom in that honestly….just keep writing…that is def good wisdom there….
i like that 90/10% thing… takes the pressure away..
Yes, I like the 90% / 10% too. If we didn’t write the 100% we wouldn’t get the 10%!!
Yes!
Hey Brian! I’ve ordered my copy of the book from Amazon and can hardly wait to have paper copies of so many favorites from dVerse (one of mine, too), woohoo!
On your topic: I can’t stop writing, so the next isn’t holding back, but I like that I can revise and write more than one and revise and wait and use a prompt and wait (etc) before posting another. I throw out as much as I keep and try not to let my poems compete with each other. Sometimes lesser poems improve from reader comments, sometimes they move readers more than I expected. I have written more since I began blogging on my own and with dVerse Poets Pub, Poets United, Real Toads, and Theme Thursday.
that might be a good topic sometime…how you use reader feedback to revise your poems…as i pointed out in a previous comment i keep my throw outs as it may just not be their time…and i agree…sometimes it is ones that dont necessarily feel the best to me that others seem to get something from…i just chalk that up as i wrote it for them…smiles…
Thank you everyone for contributing your poems and making the volume a success! I hope this volume will give all the contributing poets much deserved exposure to a broader audience and I will do my best in marketing to make that a reality. I do plan another anthology next year, so keep on the lookout for the next submission period around January-February.
Regarding motivation to write new poems, I just keep writing without worrying about the quality. I figure some of them will be good and some won’t, but it’s hard for me to predict ahead of time, so I just keep writing. I’ve been very surprised sometimes with the results–work that I thought was good got little attention while work I didn’t think much of turned out to do well. Shows how little I can judge my own work!
For the last month and a half I’ve been averaging 500-1,000 words a day of poetry, most of it posted on Twitter. This happened as I switched my focus from translation to original poetry, but I would still like to do occasional translation as it’s a wonderful learning experience.
I think it’s good to have some sort of internal goal–like a number of poems per week, lines per day, or words per day. Even if you’re writing garbage, at least you’re stirring the creative pot. This is what I took away from reading books on writing by Stephen King and Ray Bradbury–even though they’re talking about fiction, I think the same process applies to poetry.
Anyway, that’s my two cents.
P.S. The paperback is back in stock everywhere. There was a temporary availability issue that’s since been resolved.
ah i love Kings book On Writing…and i like the thought of a goal…i generally write 2-3 poems a day on average…or at least start them…some are just vague ideas…some days it may be less and others more but it is probably about the average…stirring the creative pot is huge….
thanks for answering the question on being out of stock…glad we are back up and running….woot
Thanks for all your hard work in putting this together, Frank!
woohooo on our first dVerse anthology… my copies arrived already and so cool, reading through the poems in a real book (it has already dog’s ears– chocolate stains soon to follow… ha)
frank – you did an excellent job and i can really imagine what hard work it must have been – thank you and thanks to all of you who submitted your poems – what a wonderful collection
oh i am jealous…mine is still in transit…and the mailman left nothing today…so i am pouting…smiles…
how cool would it be to have everyone at the next OLN (not tomorrow—the next) to have a picture of them with the book…this would give time for people to get it…we could see it move around the world…
that’s a very cool idea… we could announce it tomorrow & post them next tuesday?
need to see who is up tomorrow, so that can happen…
I love that idea. I was disappointed mine didn’t come in the mail today either.
Great Idea! Was going to take one as soon as my order comes anyways to share with FB friends. Let us know if this is happening for sure!
Ha, that was my initial question…smiles. Thanks for using it, Brian. This past week I wrote a poem that I really liked, and it was apparent from comments that it resonated with others as well. Truthfully, after that it WAS hard to sit down and write again (and in a way it still is). I realize I don’t write to that standard every day, don’t always love what I write, but once in a while it comes together for me. I would guess that would be true for many of us.
I think that when I see what I am capable of writing SOMETIME (perhaps on rare occasions – LOL) it is hard at other times to observe my own poetry without being dissatisfied, as I would ideally like every poem to be like that ONE that really did it for me, the one that was a high!
I think we all probably strive for those ‘highs,’ but when we do hit it occasionally, I think it is hard the next day to put something in the blog that doesn’t meet that same standard. At least it is for me. I just had to force myself, bite the bullet, and write. But it was hard. I think after I write something well, it is harder once again to write something average..as I do know the difference. (And I expect each of us knows this about our own work).
Anyway, that is my story. So I am interested in if it is harder for others as well AFTER they have written something they really liked to keep writing…? It is, for me, harder to cut myself slack after I do something ‘good.’ It is harder to try again after I have succeeded (for me) rather than just writing average (for me) verse.
And you?
smiles…for one, i think we are always harder on ourselves than reality…well most people anyway…there are those that think they never write crap, but that is a whole different topic…ha…
i think at times it is harder…i def have my favs that i have written…there is actually one poem i wrote the first year i was writing which to me is the gold standard that i hold others up to…it still resonates with me and i can about read it word for word from memory…and there are days i wish i could write like that…ironically it one that many may not think is my best but it was for me…
that being said, i would say i bite the bullet very often and move on…perhaps its the endless quest knowing occassionally i will hit it just right…smiles…
Good way of looking at it, Brian…to ‘bite the bullet and move on.’ Ha, I will be doing that tonight. Smiles. You brought up another interesting point. Sometimes a poem may not be what others consider your best, but it is for you. I have had that happen as well. I am sure even well known poets have!!
for me it’s much like cooking… if i cook something really good, i’m happy (&my fam as well) it doesn’t keep me from cooking something new the next day though – but what i do is analyzing why this special meal turned out so well and then try to adapt it to other meals as well… sometimes you can / sometimes not.. and sometimes it’s more interesting to try new things.. always taking the risk that it works or not (believe me, my fam has suffered at times…)..oy…. smiles
great analogy claudia…i like the analyzing to find the special bit…but also trying new things too…risk is huge…and being willing to fail….
I like your thoughts, Claudia. And it IS fun to try different styles, just as fun as it is to try different foods. Hey, I am feeling better about writing again. LOL.
It isn’t hard for me on my Blog, but I have been trying to pull out a book for months and there I am having a hard time. I want to like all poems equally both as valuable content and skilled art. So far? No book. Ha. It would be great if my shrink would do it! She told me to chose 80 I love and call it “A Mixed Bag” so I would let it grow up without further training.
ha. hey not a bad idea at all…smiles…your book will happen
I like that analogy, Claudia.
I can’t wait to get my copies in the mail… so exciting!
As far as the question, I need to think a bit, but will be back.
woot woot…
think away laurie…look forward to heairng what you got…
I’m very hard on myself. Most of the time, I look back on poems I’ve written and think they’re crap. I’m always trying to make them better. There are only a few I am really proud of. The prompts and support are what keep me going. OLN is my least favorite night b/c I never know what to share. I used to write something new each Tuesday, but summer’s been challenging. Sigh. But when I do write one of those WOW poems, it doesn’t hold me back… it gives me encouragement to write more.
I think I may be hard on my poems too. If I retread an old poem, especially one that was serious, I find I usually laugh when I read it and wonder
what was I thinking.
i def think you are hard on yourself…you are a wonderful writer laurie…only a few…i find that hard to believe…
summer is hard as well…and now that i am back to school tomorrow its gonna get a bit harder for me…at least the next week in all the prep and training meetings i have to be in….
Really pumped about the book; my physical copy arrived this morning … smiles
seriously seeing some european favoritism by Amazon…between you and claudia…not fair at all…smiles.
Frank, I also want to thank you for all the work you put in on the anthology. I see some people have received theirs already. Sigh. I ordered mine the first day, and I am still waiting. I can hardly wait.
in the same boat mary…smiles.
Excited to get The dVerse Anthology in my hands. You’ve done stellar work in putting this together, Frank. I am grateful to read some of my favorite poets on paper.
Honestly, I can look at a poem one morning and think..yes! that’s what I was going for, then look at it –even as soon as later that same day– and wonder what it was I thought worked so well because suddenly its turned to nonsensical mush.
I have no solution to the process. I admit though, sometimes a poem is just done… good or not good. I feel completion. I wonder if this happens for others.
ha. i feel you…the process…
there are times a poem is done for me…and i appreciate the feeling as it allow me to move on…as i said earlier sometimes i think it is all about timing….
and i have done the same, looked at a poem and wondered what the heck i was thinking….
Congrats, everyone!!
As per the question, I try to never compare my works– each new creation should stand on its own merit, for what it is, for the time it was written or drawn or painted or whatever. I don’t create and try to think of greatness…I simply try anew each piece. All of life is merely practice; sometimes we fail, sometimes we succeed. If I can create at least a single poem that touches someone, then all is worth it.
Thanks for a great question,
~peace, Jason
i think you bring up a key point…and that is the context within which it was written….there may have been something going on in my life that caused a certain flair in the poem…all life is merely practice…ha…i like that too jason…
Thanks, Brian. I’ve come to that conclusion out of necessity. I used to treat all of life as a live-or-die test. Boy, that only made me the Paxil poster boy. Life is much more wonderful without the added pressure of giving myself final exams at every turn. Cheers, J
you def made a wise turn there…..
Frank’s done a marvellous job on the anthology, I’m so proud to be included. It’s all my favourite poets in one tome, I love it. Thank you so much.
In answer to the question, it has to be something different … I don’t want to be doing the same sort of poem over and over again, it must be different … that’s what motivates me. 🙂
nice…i can relate to that in someways…i try to find new ways to tell a story, to get at what is really going on, so i oft look for new and different ways to accomplish that…
I received my anthologies copies the day after I ordered them…there’s a warehouse near us in Fallon NV. KUDOS to Frank for the excellent job he did. It’s a huge task. I’m in the midst of editing my first collection that I will self publish, first on Kindle. I can’t imagine dealing with so many.
As to your discussion question–just keep at it. Eventually another good one will surface. I often feel like going back and deleting some that I’ve posted…especially those that are a little forced to meet the prompt. I don’t want to say “lower expectations” but, you know the saying, “Perfectionism leads to procrastination leads to paralysis.” Or something like that.
I save bad poetry in a File that I’ve named “Trash or Edit.” I don’t trash them, but sometimes I’ll go back and glean something to re-create.
In the meantime, I still haven’t come up with anything for OLN!
ha, i like that quote on perfectionism…and very true…dont want to get baked into a squat….
Congrats to all. Good job …
thanks jamie
oh, this is so cool… just ordered my copy – can’t wait to hold it in my hands!! how great will it be to read my fellow poets’ words on paper… 🙂
as for your question, Brian – when i write something i really like, i usually let it sit there for a couple of days, and won’t write anything else… perhaps to ‘let it settle’. eventually, a thought will strike me, that needs to be written down – or i’m just not as ‘intimidated’ by my own words to do a follow-up and i pick up the pen. that’s how it goes for me…
cool…on letting it sit and get the attention it deserves..
do you get intimidated by your own words?
it might sound strange, but sometimes i do. english not being my first language, i sometimes shy away from my word pairings… heh.
In my case, writing is something between a desintoxication process and a discovery process. When the first words activate the creative process, there is no turning back. I just write. The first step (writing) is almost automatic. Then I stop (for no good reason), I read what I wrote and I start erasing words and some verses, or rearranging verses and stanzas. This editing process comes as a consequence of whatever I wrote or wherever the words took me on a given piece. Then I keep writing, reading, and editing until I feel I can stop… Usually, I do not know what the poem is going to be about until I finish step one, sometimes it takes a bit longer.
As for the anthology, congratulations! I have to wait until I can get amazon to send a copy to Norway.
interesting to take a peek into your process…most times i will write the whole thing out in one sitting and then let it be…walk away from it before i look back at it…
pretty cool voyage of discovery isnt it…
we might be able to parachute one into norway…smiles.
I was hoping to try to take part but between picking curriculum and trying to work on my tan, sigh- oh well! Anyway- on the question
I just write it all when it flows, and it just keeps flowing. I feel I never edit enough but here’s the catch…that’s why I never shared before 2011. Lots of poems are still sitting in the journals caught on paper, tweaked and left behind. What I do is just write, go back and edit…then either move on and keep writing, if it is not feeling like it’s coming, I just leave it and move on to the next. Poetry writing for me is like surfing- you watch wait, catch some waves…once in awhile you get a really great wave- you just ride it all the way in. Then swim back out for the next one. Smiles, Dawn
Congrats to all of the great poets who are included in this anthology! And for you all @dVerse for making it happen!
nice…leave it and move on…i agree there…oo i like the analogy of surfing too…waiting on the wave and just riding it…very cool….
and hey, you can be in the next…smiles.
It’s funny, my son and I just had a conversation about this today. I was explaining to him how I think maybe one out of every 10 poems I write is actually okay (worthy to stand with other poets) whether it’s clearer, more concise, more composed or better worded than the rest. I told him that I often write to prompts or even just some idea that comes to me, and that I think the most important thing isn’t whether it is perfect or even well received, but the fact that I keep on writing. I have 3 folders I keep, one of Poetry Published (shared), one of Poetry Unpublished, and one with Works in Progress.
Still waiting for my Anthology order to arrive–according to tracking, should be here tomorrow! Can’t wait!!
isnt whether its perfect or well received but that i keep on writing…amen sister….
pretty cool synchro on the convo with your son too…
Yeah, he’s pretty much my biggest fan or worst critic, depending on the piece. In his 20’s now, he’s been a avid reader since he was 6. On occasion has helped me come up with a word or turn of phrase I hadn’t thought of, and doesn’t hold back if he thinks the piece is “crap!” Still love him in spite of it!! 🙂
ha. it is good to have though…i am sure he presses you to do better in those moments…smiles.
Read one of your comments further up the page about that 90/10 ratio, and just realized that’s basically what I said, too. Comforting to know so many of us think along the same lines, that I’m not alone!
Congrats on your anthology. I know I don’t hang out here much but I know how fun it is to have all your friends (poetry family) between two bookends. As for your question, I was emailing back forth with an editor today of a poetry book concerning one of my poems. His words of wisdom were that publishers these days sometimes make us feel as if we need to cut cut cut instead of pushing to find where the poem is taking us. He had previously urged me to add more tension and revise a particular poem that he had rejected. I admit, it took many months to even want to put forth the effort. I have a file full of stagnate poems that I will now make the effort to push through to find what they really need to be. I never assume a poem is finished. Or that my best poem is behind me. It seems that the more I learn, the more I experience i gain, the richer the poems should be getting. That’s my thought anyway. I do like that 90/10 theory. That’s about right for me, too.
interesting thoughts between the cutting and finding out where the poem is going…there is def some wisdom in that….
Had a busy day, and arrive late at this dVerse discussion. I had to do some shopping, will pick up my wife at the airport tonight, back from TX seeing her aging mother through a Medic Alert issue, went to an Indie film picked by my Film Club this afternoon, had decided to post an older poem 4 OLN that only (4) people had commented on from last year, and then got very involved in writing a new poem about today being the anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death. I am such an optimist with each new poem, usually thinking about 50% of them are going to be earth movers, but like Tony, I find out later they may get a lukewarm reception. I envy those of you who write poetry every day; 3-4 times a week for me, and most of the time I am moved by a prompt, usually from the dVerse challenges. Life continues to be my classroom, and I have cataloged almost 70 years into my mental recall notebooks, so like the guy who knows a million jokes, one thing leads to another.
I am so pleased to be included in the Anthology this time; been waiting over a week for my Amazon copy–what’s with the European distribution favoritism?
thats what i am saying …but then victoria burst my bubble saying she had gotten hers too….i wanna know who i have to pay…smiles…
life as the classroom, i can get into that for sure….learning everyday man…
so how was the indie film? what was it?
and are we getting marilyn tomorrow then?
My copies will arrive around September 15th! Thanks Frank for all the hard work and emails making sure everything is done, and for being so patient with all of us.
On the question, Brian, each poem is unique. Sometimes I work hard at it, sometimes it falls into place in a flash. I no longer write in notebooks, keying in all poetry directly on to my notebook, or iPhone.
I do look at my old notebooks (some from school!) with nostalgia, but writing seems something I reserve for special letters nowadays…
*writing longhand…
interesting…there are a few i key in directly but most start in my notebook…handwriting it is the way for me…smiles…and def some are easier than others that is for sure….
sept 15th…oh my…that patience will come in handy on your end too…smiles.
I know it is now considered “old school”, but handwriting is where all my poetics start, with sentences & stanzas circled, blue-penciled, with arrows and extra notes in the margins; can’t imagine writing in any other way. Word processing does not have the personal connection. Remember reading an article on Hemingway, how he enjoyed writing everything in long hand. The typing, now the keyboarding, is like a middle step for me; and it is always still magical to watch my words appear so neat & organized, before they make it to a printed page, or my blog, or get submitted for publication.
Brian, the Indie film was Pedro Almodovar’s I’M SO EXCITED, part of a trilogy the Tacoma Film Club is doing in August, along with TALK TO HER, and WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. Yes, the Marilyn Monroe poem is up now, ready to link to dVerse today; THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.
Once in a while, I write a poem that hits a universal nerve and gets a lot of comments… then I simply grab a prompt and write something else. I can always “clean it up” later…. I’m not that picky about what goes on my blog, and I find my stream-of-consciousness, hell-bent-for-leather poems, which fall from the sky like dew, are my reader’s faves… Who knew? Thanks, Brian, Amy
ah people def like to see passion so hell bent for leather surely will draw attention…light yourself on fire…smiles…hiya amy….
If I do light myself on fire, it will be in protest over something, and it will be in front of the Congressional offices!!!
Ah well the question comes then who sets the bar? It is us or our readers? Guess bit of both esp when there are pieces written well by our own std. But not seen that well in the public eye or not so great piece recvd well! So long the muse is inspired…after all poetry can be written only with the love for it not otherwise
My comment got signed in with my wordpress account that I dont use. Came by to read others. Will book for my copy of the anthology and congo! to all and well, the pic thing is good! Interesting to see different ideas and perspectives floating here around writing poetry. The real thing is to keep writing and enjoying it. There is always room to make a piece better.
Amazon India offers only the kindle version. Guess the paperback is available only in the US.
def the goal is to keep writing…i like that we can talk shop though at times and get the different perspectives as i think that is how we grow each other a bit and gain a bit of understanding…
who dictates what is good is a great point…just because readers respond well to it does that make it good?
Sometimes controversial poetry gets a lot of hits because it strikes a chord in pp, but yes, that doesn’t make it good… I’ve experienced that. Some of my faves got very few comments!
Wow, this is cool, just popped by dVerse and I spotted this little gem. I’ll be buying it soon! I’d love to see how to go about getting a poem submitted to the next dVerse anthology.
Congratulations on this book all dVerse members, poets, and community!
most def…i think in january we will be running another open submission so keep your ear to the ground….
Was there an announcement for this book’s open submission period, and if so where was it announced? I just wanna know where to look for it. =)
Yay! Congratulations on the book! I have a hard copy ordered, but also realized that I could download it to my phone, so I went ahead and did that too. Now I have a hard copy to share and one that will always be on my phone. I had written a long, thoughtful reply to this post earlier and it looks like my phone ate it. My computer came back from repair Saturday and looks like it has to go back tomorrow, so let’s see if I can get this comment posted first.
I always write poetry with the assumption that the end result will be poo. Also, I have not been in the habit to go back and edit once something has been written. I am almost always happy with what I have written, but I don’t know if it is good or not. Every now and then, I will write something (this happens more since I started writing with dVerse and other prompts) that gives me that tight, tingly, tummy feeling that I still get when my husband looks at me in that way he has…When I get that feeling, I do sometimes have a hard time writing more poetry because I keep going back to the poem and letting myself think “you, know, that’s really not that bad.” At some point I start feeling creatively constipated and will look for some exercise to jump start me back writing. Occasionally, I will get way too angry or lusty about something and kind of vomit a poem in a few seconds. I am baffled when people can look at their stuff and say this is good, this is bad, this is art. I want to ask, how do you know that? I only know I like what I like, and how I feel about what I read or write. (and I know that I freaking love the movie “Jaws 2” so I know that taste is probably not one of my strengths.) I apologize for the long comment, again. This is a fascinating post for me. And, I apologize for all of the bodily function references, please someone reassure me that my preoccupation with that stuff will fade as my sweetie-pies get older?
smiles…as if the end result would be poo…i hear you…i have used the metaphor of going to the bathroom as creating poetry a few times…ha….as to your question…i think art is subjective…
my fav poem of my own was about an interaction with a little girl on a train…why is it my fav…i dunno, it moved me, even though i wrote it…ha…and i can picture it so clear in my mind…there is an innocence there….
Many thanks, Frank, for the work on this excellent volume. I’m so delighted to be in it, and I love every poem on its pages.
PS Mine has been shipped. I don’t know if it will reach Australia in time for the next OLN.
based on a few comments we may have to push back that deadline…or leave it open and running so that we watch the spread continue…
As for how I motivate myself to write new poems – I don’t have to. dVerse and Poets United do it for me with their prompts. In fact I can’t keep up!
ha. there are def days i feel like i cant keep up…gonna be a little harder as i head back to school today…happy day to you….
Very cool news, guys!
most definitely!
Woohoo on the anthology, thanks so much to Frank for all his hard work! I ordered a few copies the other day and can’t wait to see them in person.
I used to worry more about the next good poem than I do these days… I have come to accept that I will love some more than others, that there are good days and bad days, that sometimes, you miss the mark.
I just keep writing, showing up, practicing. I no longer strive for perfection, I simply strive to be there.
Thanks again to you all for putting out this wonderful collection!
Congratulations on the anthology!!!
Still working on the first part of that question…
I tried to comment earlier but I must have hit a wrong button on my keyboard, so here’s me having another attempt.
First, let me thank Frank for all the hard work that he put into preparing the Anthology. As I said above, I have my copy to hand, and very nice it is too. It’s a book of poetry I just know I’m going to come back to again and again – and not jsut because I have 2 poems in it … smiles.
To come to Brian’s (Mary’s) question:
Being completely honest, it is very rare for me to think straight away that I have written a good poem, although I have written some that I thought were OK. Usually one of the first people to see a new poem from me is my wife, and her reaction to it tells me a lot; thankfully, more often than not, I get the type of reaction I was hoping for. After that. it’s over to my blog readers.
I think something I need to work at is asking myself this question after each poem (and piece of prose, for that matter) is written; Is this as good as I can make it at this time? If the answer is yes, then my job as the poet/writer is done; if not, then some revision/editing is required. What I don’t ask – or what I need to learn not to ask – is, Is this as good as the last one? or “Will my readers like this?” It’s not that I don’t care what people think – of course I do, I’m human too – it’s just that if I write what I think people want to read then I’m being dishonest with them and to myself, whereas if I write what I have and put it out there, people can think what they like, but at least my conscience is clear.
I’m with you on this Tony, “what will the reader think of this?” Would kill the writing … I tend to ask , as you do, is this as good as I can make it? And try to let the piece write itself…always listen to the piece and where it is going and not where I am wanting it to go.
Very cool, Brian and Claudia – congratulations to all.
Sometimes I breathe poems.
And sometimes I suffocate them.
Mostly they show up, unkempt, and I let them be. Editing is like dressing in the dark, it seems – it fits or it doesn’t, and you’re going to change tomorrow anyways and fold this one flat. Maybe that’s why the muse visits and departs – she’s waiting for something clean to put on.
Congratulations to all the fantastic poets who have poems in this anthology! And to Frank Watson for putting it all together. Looking forward to having my own copy and reading what everyone wrote.
Hope I won’t miss the call when the next one is in the works. Would love to contribute.
As long as the ideas or the images come, that is motivation enough…as to what ones are better, god knows…I do know the short stuff I write feels more like sculpting or whittling down superfluous words and tends to stop when I feel nothing else can be subtracted or substituted and my relationship to finished pieces changes over time.
As for the anthology, got it last week through Amazon and feel privileged to share a couple of pages amongst some of my favourite writers
Congratulations on the dVerse Anthology. I plan on ordering one as I have come to know some of the poets and their works.
As far as the question goes..I write mainly for myself.. if I create something magical then I am happy. I tend to agree with Jason..I try not to compare each poem as they are all unique depending on the muse and if one person can feel my words than it was worth the effort. I guess we all have some that are better than others but, the love of writing keeps us going.
Claudia and Brian you made this place a reality and I thank you for all your hard work and effort to make it a wonderful place to visit.
ordered mine for Kindle! 😀
I missed the launch of the book, being away on holiday to Cyprus 😉 and I’m slowly catching up on all the emails (over 200!!)
Congratulations everyone!