Oh, What a Happy Find!
I love finding new blogs, especially blogs on writing. What a way to begin a week with a peek at juicy links for writers and readers. Do go and enjoy L.N. Holmes’ blog. I found her blog through a comment she posted on Kristin Lamb’s Blog. Visit and read Kristin Lamb’s Blog too, because she keeps up fun, witty and encouraging advice to writers. Be sure not to miss Lamb’s post “What Makes a “Real” Writer?”
Laughter and Poetry?
Due to luck and the pursuit of face to face a writers’ group, Monday has turned into a golden day. For about eight weeks now, I have met with a poetry critique group. I call them Monday Poets. What joy to find a dozen other writers. These poets not only love poetry, but they also read poetry and write it. As a group, we work to understand others poetry, not simply poems written by our group. We also suggest the strong and weak points in each others’ poems.
Revision of poetry does not come easily to me.
Usually, I feel I am the odd duck in any room. Now I’m the ugly duckling in a room full of other youthful swans. I find the sound of original poetry read aloud, thrilling.
A Positive Change in My Writing Life
After years writing poetry in private journals, I enjoy Monday Poets profusion of language and images. We give each other workshops on poetry forms and writing methods. A riot of exotic settings and historical periods, all made from a few words results from our efforts. By studying fiction for years, both by reading and writing plus in a critique group, I find myself in a field of dreams, writing poetry with others. I learn so much each Monday to feel inspired all week. Writing poetry offers an ultimate challenge. How to take my readers on adventures, to say the unsayable, to convey fleeting moments of being alive.
Poetry opens an ever-expanding world made of juicy word choices, hammering fresh metaphor and images, learning about line length, attending to tiny details of grammar, noting the time (while not becoming heavy-handed), plus a wide span of poetic forms.
Monday Poets, I hope we keep celebrating beyond our first eight weeks. What a joy to discover I have landed in a peer group of high spirits, high standards with a few former professors of literature. Today, we shared a great deal of laughter. Laughing loud and long, Monday Poets critiqued six poems today. For a group of amateurs, we usually accomplish our goals. Want to read more about Monday Poets? Read my post, Poets, Tides & Stil I Rise.
All Monday Poets joined Redwood Writers, the largest branch of the California Writers Club.
Wikipedia definition of amateur
An amateur (French amateur "lover of", from Old French and ultimately from Latin amatorem nom. amator, "lover") is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science in a non-professional or unpaid manner. Amateurs often have little or no formal training in their pursuits, and many are autodidacts (self-taught).
Top of the week to you, Deborah
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Paul Handover says
Some fabulous connect ions on offer. Will follow them up later on today.
dogleadermysteries says
Thanks for looking in Paul. Let me know which ones you like.
L. N. Holmes says
Thanks for the kind shoutout! I’m sorry I’m just seeing this now.