Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
~William James
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
TODAY'S WORD
CONSISTORY
1 : a solemn assembly :council
2 : a church tribunal or governing body: as a : a solemn meeting of Roman Catholic cardinals convoked and presided over by the pope b : a church session in some Reformed churches
3 : the organization that confers the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry usually from the 19th to the 32d inclusive; also : a meeting of such an organization
1 : a solemn assembly :council
2 : a church tribunal or governing body: as a : a solemn meeting of Roman Catholic cardinals convoked and presided over by the pope b : a church session in some Reformed churches
3 : the organization that confers the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry usually from the 19th to the 32d inclusive; also : a meeting of such an organization
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Place
Just as in novels and short stories, place has a central point in poems also. I like writing poems about my own neighborhood, a park, bookstore, or a restuarant. Making the readers feel a part of a particular place puts them in tune with the author.
There are some examples. In his poem 125th Street, Langston Hughes made me feel that I was strolling along side of him during that time. Jack Kerouac's novel On The Road took me on a crazy cross country trip. Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven was both scary and haunting. If I'm not familiar with a place I'll do some research about it. If the opportunity avails me I'll visit the place and spend time there.
Places aren't limited to time or space. I have written poems about the seasons. I have used rooms, a city, or country as backdrops. Going back to a particular time in history requires more research and accuracy in the facts. I love castle but have never visited one. In my mind there are some wonderful mysteries that a poem can present to readers.
Being creative is a consitent elemnt of any genre. Writng allows one to do whatever they desire. That's the beauty of writing. Dull places can be made lively. Some of the best poems written present elemnts of creativity and imagination.
There are some examples. In his poem 125th Street, Langston Hughes made me feel that I was strolling along side of him during that time. Jack Kerouac's novel On The Road took me on a crazy cross country trip. Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven was both scary and haunting. If I'm not familiar with a place I'll do some research about it. If the opportunity avails me I'll visit the place and spend time there.
Places aren't limited to time or space. I have written poems about the seasons. I have used rooms, a city, or country as backdrops. Going back to a particular time in history requires more research and accuracy in the facts. I love castle but have never visited one. In my mind there are some wonderful mysteries that a poem can present to readers.
Being creative is a consitent elemnt of any genre. Writng allows one to do whatever they desire. That's the beauty of writing. Dull places can be made lively. Some of the best poems written present elemnts of creativity and imagination.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Today's Word
POLYGLOT
adj. Expressed in r speaking several languages; multilingual.
n. 1. A polyglot book or person.
2. A mixture of several languages.
adj. Expressed in r speaking several languages; multilingual.
n. 1. A polyglot book or person.
2. A mixture of several languages.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Words Of Wisdom
He whose wisdom cannot help him, gets no good from being wise.
~Quintus Ennius, Roman Poet
~Quintus Ennius, Roman Poet
Reading Many Styles OF Writing
As I have written more poetry, I have also written short stories and commentarites also. I have been able to come up with words when I read stories or books. Sometimes it doesn't take much to generate a poem. My wife is amazed how I can write a poem after I think of one.
I just finished a book of ancient Greek poems. I have an interest in Greek and Roman poetry. In college, I studied Western Civilization and became fascinated with daily life in those societies. I imagined myself a citizen of those places. I've done the same with ancient Africa and Native Americans.
I don't believe that there's an exact science to writing poetry. There's so many styles and experiences of different authors. I never criticise other poets because every one has a story to share from their own experiences. Herman Melville, Langston Hughes, Edgar Allan Poe, and Sylvia Plath are some of my favorite authors. They were all so different and unique.
Reading so many different styles of poetry has helped me hone my craft. I have written about nature, gender, horror, a political poem, and redemption. This just scratches the surface of what I want to accomplish as I continue to evolve as a poet.
I just finished a book of ancient Greek poems. I have an interest in Greek and Roman poetry. In college, I studied Western Civilization and became fascinated with daily life in those societies. I imagined myself a citizen of those places. I've done the same with ancient Africa and Native Americans.
I don't believe that there's an exact science to writing poetry. There's so many styles and experiences of different authors. I never criticise other poets because every one has a story to share from their own experiences. Herman Melville, Langston Hughes, Edgar Allan Poe, and Sylvia Plath are some of my favorite authors. They were all so different and unique.
Reading so many different styles of poetry has helped me hone my craft. I have written about nature, gender, horror, a political poem, and redemption. This just scratches the surface of what I want to accomplish as I continue to evolve as a poet.
Friday, January 20, 2012
POEM
Explore I must
The need to expand and grow
I can’t stay where I am.
The road is open
There are mountains to climb,
And valleys to cross.
I rest awhile
Then pick up stakes.
My spirit is restless
The urge to explore and dream is strong,
And to pass on what I have discovered.
The need to expand and grow
I can’t stay where I am.
The road is open
There are mountains to climb,
And valleys to cross.
I rest awhile
Then pick up stakes.
My spirit is restless
The urge to explore and dream is strong,
And to pass on what I have discovered.
GENEVIEVE'S GEMS
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
~Mark Twain (1835-1910)
~Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
TODAY'S WORD
GRIOT, N.
A member of a class of travelling poets, musicians, and entertainers in North and West Africa, whose duties include the recitation of tribal and family histories; an oral folk-historian or village story-teller, a praise-singer.
A member of a class of travelling poets, musicians, and entertainers in North and West Africa, whose duties include the recitation of tribal and family histories; an oral folk-historian or village story-teller, a praise-singer.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Read Everything
I read quite a bit. I read everything from history to economics to science to mathematics. Reading expands our knowledge of the world and our base of what kind of stories and articles we write.
I'm amazed at how many genres can be intertwined. An example is novels which have been made into movies or plays. I'm working on stories that are poems. When I moved to poems a year ago, I read my short stories and concluded that some could be turned into poems, plays, or an essay.
I'm reading much about biographies of various authors. It has helped me to understand the mind and perhaps the heart of the author. When I feel that I have a basic idea of who the author is, I have felt that I'm walking beside the author or in the same room with them.
Read everything that you can. Challenge yourself by tackling a different genre from the one that you write.
I'm amazed at how many genres can be intertwined. An example is novels which have been made into movies or plays. I'm working on stories that are poems. When I moved to poems a year ago, I read my short stories and concluded that some could be turned into poems, plays, or an essay.
I'm reading much about biographies of various authors. It has helped me to understand the mind and perhaps the heart of the author. When I feel that I have a basic idea of who the author is, I have felt that I'm walking beside the author or in the same room with them.
Read everything that you can. Challenge yourself by tackling a different genre from the one that you write.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Today's Word
TRAVERSE
n. Something that crosses or lies across.
1. To go or travel across or over.
2. to move or pass along or through.
3. To extend over.
4. Swivel.
n. Something that crosses or lies across.
1. To go or travel across or over.
2. to move or pass along or through.
3. To extend over.
4. Swivel.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Monday, January 09, 2012
Today's Word
EQUERRY
n. An officer in charge of the horses of a prince or noble.
2. A personal attendant of a member of the British royal family.
n. An officer in charge of the horses of a prince or noble.
2. A personal attendant of a member of the British royal family.
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