I’ve spent the last few weeks blogging through Tania Runyan’s new book titled “How to Write a Poem.” I’ve written and revised. Now it’s your turn.
Chapter 8 is about sharing your poetry, getting it out there in the world. Like this entire book, it’s very practical. I especially liked what Runyan had to say about reading poetry aloud in a group setting.
But chapter 9 is where I’ve been hanging out for a month or so and will probably be in for the remainder of the year. It’s called “Get Your Exercise,” and it’s 25 poems, each with its own prompt to help you write a poem of your own. I’ve done the first five exercises. For Wallace Stevens’ “The Snow Man,” I wrote a poem that imitated his as closely as possible because I was so blown away.
Friends, if you have any interest at all in writing poetry, this is the book for you. It’s a workshop and an anthology rolled into one. The next time I have a poem that’s kind of meh, I’ll open my copy of “How to Write a Poem” and work on making it just a little bit better.
Thank you, Tania, and thank you, T.S. Poetry Press!
