On a train from Sydney to Melbourne, four family members each write a short poem with the same title.
Image-ine: Jewel of Winter
Maureen Doallas and Kelly Sauer turn up a sweet, juicy bit of visual poetry together.
New Year’s: Resolutions Poem
A resolutions poem from Anne M. Doe Overstreet for the New Year.
The Poetry of Riffraff
It’s not a new thing for a poet to take common everyday things, the riffraff of our lives, and use them to signify or explain something larger. Glynn Young reviews Stephen Cushman’s “Riffraff: Poems” with special attention to the unique ways Cushman makes something of the riffraff.
The Art and Music of “Four Quartets” by T.S. Eliot
“Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind / cannot bear very much reality.” Glynn Young recalls his first reading of Four Quartets, which T.S. Eliot wrote over six years, the last three poems during the London Blitz.
To Our Family (A Haiku)
There’s no single right way, but for those of us who scratch words, poetry–even haiku–can provide an outlet for working through our collective grief.
Holiday Haiku: A Poetry Prompt
Holiday favorite “A Christmas Story” provides a backdrop for this week’s holiday haiku poetry prompt with Seth Haines. Careful. You’ll shoot your eye out.
Dublin Doors: No 12 Lombard Street West
Welcome into No 12 Lombard Street West where Paul and Alma live behind their slate grey Dublin door. Listen in as they spin stories with Claire Burge, rich in texture and history.
Thanksgiving Poems: A Poet’s Thanks
A poet offers a word of thanks: “Something which says, you didn’t need to make room for this—the onions, the beets, the linen closet, the river and the copper…”
Make it a Poetry Holiday
At Tweetspeak Poetry, we’ve got a few easy ways for you to bring poetry to your holidays. 1. Watch for our upcoming Hanukkah/Christmas/New Year’s category at WordCandy WordCandy is a free, fun way to send holiday greetings. Lots of poetry quotes to choose from and pair with beautiful photography. (Check out some of our […]
Twitter Poetry: Of Shells, Fireworks, and Novellas 2
For a moment in our recent TweetSpeak Twitter poetry jam, it appeared that @sethhaines might divert the flow of words into a ramble about a two-foot-long earthworm. But the poets resisted, barely, and all we left was an earthworm memory.
Ordinary Genius: Rhythm, Rhyme and the Sonnet
Kim Addonizio says writing form poetry can teach you economy and structure and take you unexpected places. But what if you have no sense of rhythm? Can you still write a sonnet? LW Lindquist wraps up our Ordinary Genius book club this week with enough iambic pentameter to make you scream.
Sweeten the World with Poetry Words
Beginning November 1, a group of 100 bloggers (Facebookers, Tweeters) will be sweetening the world with poetry words. It’s simple. Once a month, for six months, they will: 1. share photo poetry quotes, with just 5 friends. Delivery is easy through our new WordCandy poetry-based app, via email, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest 2. post […]
Twitter Poetry: Of Shells, Fireworks, and Novellas
Glynn Young has five new poems from the recent Tweetspeak Twitter poetry jam, with prompts from the novella “The Novelist.”
5 Reasons Your Poems Get Rejected
A poem ought to be more than just a collection of assorted images. What is your poem doing? What does it add up to? How is it governed? • Five tips from the Indiana Review to help keep your next poem from rejection.
Poetry for Isaac and Ishmael
This is not the poetry of Mideast politics but the poetry of people – peoples – caught up in Mideast politics, whether the scene is set in the Auschwitz death camp or the Aida refugee camp.
The Writing Life: How to Be a Famous Author
The writing life should be simpler than this, right? No, it’s not easy, and it never will be. Because we want to be famous. And that’s good, and not.
My Last Villanelle
I admire a well-executed villanelle in the same way I admire a Baroque Tromp-l’oeil ceiling
I See You in There: the Villanelle
Like most poetry built on refrains, the villanelle steers away from narrative ideals, away from conversation and linear exchange
Donald Hall’s “The Back Chamber”
From the time I was 8 until I was 14, I spent a week each summer at my grandmother’s house in Shreveport. I would sleep in the second bedroom, which was always called “the back room” even though it and my grandmother’s bedroom formed the back of the house. It was the room with a […]