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oops, typo on H's bio: Wendy Howe has been composing verse for THIRTY and NOT fifty yrs, *Thank you so much for the time and consideration you have invested in reading and contmplating my poetry. I was very touched by the beautiful poem you write about my verse on your Blog site. What lovely words and imagery. And I am most grateful for you bringing my work to the attention of others, especially other blog sites and some editors. I am a very modest person who feels that my poetry has substantial, artistic merit; Yet, I am always striving to perfect and hone my skills. It's an on-going process and my poetry (writing styles, voice, technique) evolves as I evolve intellectually and spiritually. ....your courage in journeying to Ireland to become a full time poet: I think takes a lot of determination and love of the craft, itself. Ireland is a place that inspires and fosters poets and their work. I think it draws people to its artistic and scenic climate because of the myth, the song, and the struggle that has defined the history of Ireland. Perhaps, that's why poets may be able to thrive in Dublin and receive the audience, respect and recoginition they deserve.* (obviously wendy doesn't practice in the warm pool of crocidiles, as jp D has it here) *You asked me about technique or a method of sanity to my writing. I have been composing poetry for over 27 years. Presently, I am 42. I started writing verse in my early adolescence. At that point, it was all about me and my struggle to understand life and my place in the universe. However, as I aged and became a teacher and mature poet, I developed some values that have always guided my work and defined its thematic essence. (1) I always write with the reader or the observer in mind. I try to make my images, my allusions and my messages accessible to people's sense of familiarity. In other words, I strive to employ words, metaphors and ideas that people have experienced or encountered in everday life. For example, I would not use references to tv shows, personalities, brand names that are typically American and only understood by an American audience. I want to be understood by all readers. (2) I try never to weigh down my sentences with multisyllabic words. I simplify my verse and use the smaller words. Also, I avoid placing too many modifiers in front of my nouns. Too many adjectives clutter the idea, take away from the clean lines of the poetic symmetry. (3) I always wait for inspiration to come to me randomly. A poem (for me) must happen spontaneously or it sounds too contrived. I go through periods of writer's block because of this concept but it's worth waiting for a good idea to come in the end. (4) Sometimes, a glimpse of nature, a scrap of conversation with a friend, a headline in the newspaper or reading another line from a poem, sparks an idea, an image. I always write these quick flashes of inspiration down in a notebook. They can be developed into poems sometime in the future. (5) I am not afraid to leave a poem unfinished. Sometimes I will start a poem and struggle with it for days. At this point, I leave it and come back when I feel I am equipped to complete it. And by length of abandonment, I mean anywhere from a week to even a year. There are three poems I have left up in the air for a year each and then returned in another year to complete them. Some people say how can this be done when the writer loses his continuity of thought or original intent over a prolonged absence from the text. I feel the poet can bring new perspective and insight especially if he or she has been away from the troublemsome verse for awhile. A break always gives the mind a chance to rest and re-invests its frarme of reference with new energy and stimuli. Those tratis can help to re-shape a half-finished poem and perhaps, lead it in a stronger direction. (6) Always trust your gut instincts and imagination. I have learned to be myself and trust what sounds right to me. After all who knows my own self or thought process better than I do. I am sorry if this sounds too didactic but I tend to define my methods in list form. And yet, I must say have no perfect or set formula for writing a poem. I mostly follow an idea and develop it into a storyline or an observation. I always try to keep my details and images unified. If I start with sea imagery, I stay within that context. If I use a bird, fire or water as my main source of meaning, my images and actions feed of that idea. I also love history and often find creative inspiration in the situations and challenges of people who faced great adversity or achieved something of worth in the past. It's hard to define how I write but I work at it with perseverance and imaginative diversity. Below are two links that describe my poetic working habits better. The first is an in... ---- Well, for now I have rambled on far too long. Again, Kevin, thank you so much for all your enthusiasm and kindness. I deeply appreciate it. I hope I have answered your question about my writing habits to a satisfactory degree. You know it's difficult for writers, artists or even musicians I think to define their own work and the impact it has. At least, it's difficult for me and I probably should not speak for anyone else. I do have to run but hope this has helped you understand my technique as a writer and my approach to poetry. And I agree, Baraka is stunning. His work is intense and powerful. I came across him in graduate school and found his work riveting and unique. I enjoyed reading that link to the interview. Thanks for sharing it. Best regards, Wendy