Poetry Parenting: Day 4

The penultimate of anything is the most bittersweet.


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Poetry Parenting
Helping your babies grow up
A blog series by Stephanie 

Welcome back to Poetry Parenting. Let's go.
Wait, before we jump in, how is it going for all of you who are trying these tips out? Do you feel like the plateau is slowly elevating?

Today's tip is something I recently discovered a long time ago. As in I recently realized something that had been true for a large portion of my poetry non-career.

Tip #4: Trust your verbal instincts.

Because no one can REALLY teach you to speak.

Part of what makes poetry good is the language. Okay, not just part, most. Like 80% with a percent error of however ambivalent you're feeling today. The magic of language manifests itself in poetry, in that a certain sentence can speak to vividly to a huge audience and invoke something different but equally strong in every reader. 

Just typing that gave me chills. That's the reason we write.
It's the reason I write, at least.



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And one of the hardest things to do when it comes to language is make choices-- pick which words you can use to capture perfectly a fleeting but never-fading moment.

Something we can all learn to do better is trust ourselves to have the right words before we even know we need them. You absorb an incredible amount of information throughout the day-- newscasts on the radio, sprinklings of conversation in hallways, billboards on your way home, standout song lyrics. They stick someplace in the back of our brain where we can't consciously pull from but somehow know how to write from.


If you want to express something visceral, or even something less than that, let yourself use the first words that come to mind. They may be surprisingly fitting. 

I tend to try to include symbolism in my poems, and it's hard for me to resist starting from the symbol and then creating the poem, building around some heavily-analyzed object. But when I just let myself write, symbolism happens without me meaning for it to.
"Moral tectonic plates" popped up in a Christianity vs. suicide poem. The more I looked at it, the better it became.

Here are some examples of more good, adult poems. Notice the words, how they're precise and somehow perfect.

An Unconventional Union: http://www.amethystarsenic.com/issues/2-2/kevin-heaton.php

Carrying a baby: http://www.amethystarsenic.com/issues/2-2/shannan-mann.php

Didion: http://www.amethystarsenic.com/issues/2-2/cait-weiss.php

Anyway. Moral of the rambling blog post-- you know more than you think. Trust yourself. And always, always trust your words. 

Enjoy lowliness and remember to muse!

Poetry Parenting Day 3

Poetry Parenting
Helping your babies grow up
A blog series by Stephanie 

Okay, can I just apologize for my lack of productivity in general?
I mean, I know this is a blog about overcoming the downward-spiraling toilet of procrastination, but I guess not till now did you guys realize how bad I actually am at getting things done.

That brings us to web series day 3, about three weeks after launch date. Yum.

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Tip #3: Seek inspiration.

Because "uninspired" just doesn't sell. 

Today is a fun one-- ways to find inspiration for poetry.

Now, this is something that poetry, or writing in general, generally benefits from, but actively seeking inspiration can really help you slow down the pace of the daily grind and look for things that matter.

And, at the end of the day, aren't we all really just trying to write about things that matter?

Inspiration doesn't have to be outward. It doesn't have to be taking time out of your evening to go on nature walks, although that is one way to do it. Inspiration is trying to force yourself to think differently or see different things. Venturing to new places with new thoughts is one of the best ways to advance your writing to a new level, especially if you're stagnating around the same topics in every poem. 

TBH I didn't write about anything but nature until seventh grade. If I had just tried to seek true inspiration, revelation of novelty, that might not have been the case.

Instead of preaching about glorious mental awakenings that result from spiritual soul-dances in the forests, I'll give you a straight-up list of ways to get inspired and pull yourself out of the ruts of repetition. PLEASE feel free to contribute your own ideas in the comments below!

10 New Ways to Get Inspired

-Take a freaking walk in the woods
-Find color names that inspire you (hit up some Home Depot paint chips)



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-Write in a different part of your house (sit in the chair backwards)

-Pretend to be someone you're not-- adopt his/her/its voice

-Look at something too closely

-Google sculptures and modern art

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-Listen to animal noises
-Listen to strange music (reggae, funk, mariachi bands-- something that's not your norm)
-Listen to nature sounds
-Listen. Just Listen


Leave any of your own methods of getting inspired below! Hopefully I'll see you next week for more poetry parenting? :)

Until next time-- enjoy loveliness and remember to muse!





...did I just say "until next time?" Anyways, update: Poetry Parenting will end on day 5. Just to keep ya'll in the loop.