| Author | Message | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 28692 Registered: 11-1998 |
An excerpt from The Everything Writing Poetry Book by Tina D. Eliopulos & Todd Scott Moffett: "Before you write, you need to read. Pick up several books of poetry and read them again and again. Also, remember to read poetry slowly. It can be a complicated genre, and you won't be able to fully grasp most poems with only a single read. Also, the more poetry you read, the more familiar you wil become with different styles, forms, and subjects of poetry. The most important reason for reading poems again and again is that this will train you to compose your own poems. When discussing fiction, John Gardner once said that you can write only the stories that you have read. The same statement can be made about poetry. You will lose your motivation to read if your books remain on the shelves. To make sure that you pick up a book at least once a day, put them in different places all over your house. Place a book on your breakfast table, one on your windowsill, and even one in a kitchen cupboard. This simple reminder will reawaken your desire to read and to write." I fully concur with everything these authors have said. Don't even tell me that you don't like to read poetry. That will only make me ask, "Why would you want to write something that you don't like to read?" Buy your books anywhere. I don't care. However, do remember that Wild has a BookShop that lists some of our favorite titles and authors -- books not only of poetry, but on how to write poetry as well. Whatever books you buy there will benefit Wild. However, as I said, I really don't care where you purchase them. I just want you to have a love affair with books. Love, M (Administrator) | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 3332 Registered: 05-2006 |
Shoplifter's Entrance to BookShop Unofficial Forum Pariah recent victim of alien abduction | ||
| Laura Ring
Intermediate Member Username: laura Post Number: 757 Registered: 05-2007 |
Hi M (and thanks for nothing, Fred. Never again will I be fooled by pink text and underlining). When I read a poem I like on Wild, I often go to the poet's profile to see what poetry they especially like. Then I'll hunt down the book and read it myself. At the same time, sometimes I'm reading a book of poetry and I think, "Oh, this or that Wilder would really like this." I'm reading Paul Celan right now (translated by Michael Hamburger), and I keep thinking, Brenda would love this. I suppose one could start a thread for things like this - recommendations, etc. Oh, and by the way, M, I LOVED the Night Out anthology. One terrific read after another. Best, Laura | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 28693 Registered: 11-1998 |
Ah, Derf. Now I know where all Wild's vast fortune in book sale profits are going. I'm going to have to shake down everybody before they leave every night. I'm sure a few pieces of silver flatware will fall out of many a pariah's pick-pockets too.  Dearest Laura -- I am so glad you loved the Night Out anthology. I'm on my second time through. I think it's one of the best compilations of poetry I've read mainly because it includes so many different poets with so many different styles. As to starting a thread for recommendations, please do. Often people will post things they've found on their journeys. These things never go to waste because I store them away right here: Recommended Views and Reads Although now I'm probably going to have to put a lock on the door or Freddie will steal them all. Love, M | ||
| brenda morisse
Advanced Member Username: moritric Post Number: 1322 Registered: 04-2007 |
Hi Laura, You'll never guess who I'm reading right now, Paul Celan, how's that for synchronicity? I've had the book forever and just came back to it. Thank-you for thinking of me. Hi M, Mina Loy is in the bathroom, Paul Celan is at my desk, and Muriel Rukeyser is in the kitchen. Carver is in my bed. As soon as I get some moola, I'm going to buy some books from the Wild Bookstore. | ||
| Laura Ring
Intermediate Member Username: laura Post Number: 758 Registered: 05-2007 |
Brenda, that is truly wild!!! I'm gobsmacked and be-joyed. M, thank you for that link. Lots of glorious brains to pick! Best, Laura | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 28696 Registered: 11-1998 |
Dearest Brenda -- why am I not at all surprised that Carver is in your bed? No man can resist you, mi hermana. If only I had known your secrets years ago. I think Mina is done in the bathroom. Muriel needs to take a bath. Tell me what book you want most and I will bring it to NY in March. Dearest Laura -- you are most welcome. There are many good things in the WPF Library. I should advertise it more as not enough people know it's there. Remember to come up for air every once in a while. *grin* Love, M | ||
| Judy Thompson
Intermediate Member Username: judyt54 Post Number: 825 Registered: 11-2007 |
im always surprised and saddened by people who don't own books, who refuse to clutter up their houses with them, or hide them away in cupboards and close the doors. Mine are all over the place; on the kitchen table, on the nightstand, I have a stash under the bed for when I finally break both legs and cannot move for six weeks, a small stash in the bathroom (tub books), and the current read tucked away in my purse so I'll have something to read in the restaurant besides the menu and the dessert list. | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 28697 Registered: 11-1998 |
Dearest Judy -- I am glad to know I am not the only one who stashes books under the bed (and not even the dirty ones). I am afraid to count all my books (I cannot count that high). steve says I do not have to buy every book I see; there are libraries (imagine! men, what do they know?). I just now counted only the books I have that teach you how to write poetry. I have 22 (no lie). You would think with that many, I would write better than I do. *LOL* Love, M | ||
| Judy Thompson
Intermediate Member Username: judyt54 Post Number: 827 Registered: 11-2007 |
three years ago, as a xmas present to ourselves, we took a trip to Home Depot and invested in modular shelving. Three days later we had put together a ten foot long seven foot high set of shelves of different sizes and capacity, stretching along one wall of the bedroom. Three days later the shelves were full. If we ever have an earth tremor, they will find us buried under a LOT of books. I haunt book sales, library sales (April is National Library Month) and used book stores. You beat me, I have fourteen how to books. and yes you do have to buy every book you see. you might need it immediately someday, and then where will you be? | ||
| Ron. Lavalette
Intermediate Member Username: dellfarmer Post Number: 725 Registered: 05-2007 |
There's How-To books? Hmmmm... No wonder I'm no good at it. I gots me lotsa other books, though, and I read most of them once already. --Ron. Eggs Over Tokyo | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 3338 Registered: 05-2006 |
I'm intending to purchase a Kindle in the next couple of weeks. Fred Unofficial Forum Pariah recent victim of alien abduction | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 28698 Registered: 11-1998 |
Dearest Judy -- you would love Powell's bookstore four blocks from me. I think it is the biggest bookstore on the planet -- it is one large city block square and four stories high. Whenever steve can't find me, he calls Powell's. They say, "She is in the rare book room, smelling books." They know if they disturb me, I will bite them (the clerks, not the books). Dearest Ron -- I have read three-quarters of my books backwards and half of them upside down. The rest of them I just fondle. Dearest Derf -- how many times do we have to tell you not to set your books on fire? We will buy you kindling if you need it. Love, M | ||
| Judy Thompson
Intermediate Member Username: judyt54 Post Number: 830 Registered: 11-2007 |
smelling books, M, is half the fun. I go into a library and just inhale. Half the pleasure of a book is the smell of it, the sense of paper and ink. | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Moderator Username: garydawg Post Number: 22454 Registered: 07-2001 |
A couple of years ago, my wife took me to Powell's and told me to buy whatever I wanted. I could not decide... She did the same the year before at Elliot Bay, Seattle's premium bookstore. I decided there, but in both cases only bought 7 or 8 books. I've never seen a bookstore I didn't like. Though I have read a few books I could not finish. At any time, a half dozen or more in various stages of read. Smiles. Gary | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 28702 Registered: 11-1998 |
Dearest Mr. B -- I'm surprised you made it out of Powell's at all. I think I want to be buried there. Did you know that two people are? No lie. They asked to be buried under the column outside and Powell's permitted it, though they won't release their names. Ah, yes, Judy, the smell of books. Best perfume I've ever experienced. I would lick them too, but it ruins the pages. I have often bought books simply because I like the weight and texture of the paper, not because I was necessarily interested in the contents. A certain weight and feel of paper can set my heart to pounding. Oh, and I am absolutely in love with the literary-size paperback with the semi-flimsy cover (this is the one that most often has the paper I crave). I sound like an addict, don't I? That's OK -- I am. Love, M | ||
| brenda morisse
Advanced Member Username: moritric Post Number: 1324 Registered: 04-2007 |
Dear M, You almost got away with it, thought I wouldn't catch your slip of the lip. So, you're back to book biting? I thought we broke you of that habit. When you first told me about it, I heard you say you were a book binder, Well of course, Hermana is a poet, a book binder of the highest caliber, But then we went on a book binder mission, and lo and behold, the girl bites books. I didn't know what to say, At first, the vendors thought it cute, to see a woman merely sniffing, but you left bite marks. Word gets around, They took to calling you MB, Mighty Bite, or MMB, MS. Mighty Bite, Jeez hermana, I can't take you anywhere. You have bitten, just to name a few: Carver's spine, Audre Lorde's unicorn, Borges' garden, Neruda's socks, and numerous collected tables. You have even gone so far as to graze on Whitman's leaves of grass. What am I going to do with you? I give up. love, brenda (Message edited by moritric on February 17, 2008) | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 28707 Registered: 11-1998 |
Dearest borrachita -- Did I tell you my second husband was the Great Gatsby? I bit him repeatedly, mostly at inopportune moments and in inopportune places. Ask Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. There is nothing that escapes his persistent stare -- he sees everything. Is it any wonder Gatsby left me for Daisy? I am base, I am crass, I am unrefined. My deepest flaw has been revealed -- I have an overbite.  Yes, mi hermana, just what are we going to do with me? Do you know the name of a good dentist? Love, M | ||
| Ava South
Advanced Member Username: avasouth Post Number: 1048 Registered: 05-2006 |
I have been reading novels, not poetry lately. But I used to get a certain amount of inspiration from fiction, especially historical novels or love stories. And I watch an awful lot of old movies from the 30s and 40s. I suppose that doesn't count as reading, especially with my habit of falling asleep on them. Makes for funny dreams though. Ava | ||
| Kathy Paupore
Moderator Username: kathy Post Number: 7813 Registered: 12-2003 |
I was born with a book in my hands! I cannot read enough, bring it on. Never a day goes by that I haven't read something. In recent years I have become a collector of poetry books, all my nooks and crannies are filled. The shelves in my computer desk stuffed. This happened partly because the libraries in different cities I have lived have a very minimal selection of poetry, most old english verse, sigh. But, I love books, so it doesn't hurt at all to purchase them. No less than 2 at a time, usually 4. I'm usually reading 3-4 different books in the same space of time. I'm another who hasn't met a book store I don't like. I'm in heaven in B&N. So many shelves of poetry books I don't know where to start. Books are sunshine.  KYou're invited to: Wild Flowers This above all, ask yourself in the stillest hour of the night: Must I write?--Rilke | ||
| brenda morisse
Advanced Member Username: moritric Post Number: 1326 Registered: 04-2007 |
Dearest Swinikita, You are not crass. You are not base. You just have the habit of poking people with your brain. Sometimes, they call you Hairball because you force your readers to clear their throats. That's what happens when you write without censors. Everyone begins coughing and rubbing their eyeballs. You make people dizzy. love, swinka borrachita. (Message edited by moritric on February 18, 2008) | ||
| LJ Cohen
Moderator Username: ljc Post Number: 8917 Registered: 07-2002 |
I had to laugh--my 11 year old is in Oregon visiting his best friend. They took a pilgrimage to Powells and my definitely NOT a morning person son called me at 9 am Portland time to tell me he was standing in the bookstore and he thought he had died and gone to heaven. I am worried about what his suitcase will weigh on his return journey home. Once in a Blue Muse Blog LJCohen | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 3346 Registered: 05-2006 |
When I was 11, my parents graciously installed a peephole in the cellar door so I could look out. Unofficial Forum Pariah recent victim of alien abduction | ||
| Ron. Lavalette
Intermediate Member Username: dellfarmer Post Number: 730 Registered: 05-2007 |
When I was 11, I read all about parents who were kind enough to install peepholes in cellar doors. Inspired, I have tried to read every day since that time. At least a word or two. It's difficult, though, with all these voices warning me about my hair catching fire. --Ron. Eggs Over Tokyo | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 28715 Registered: 11-1998 |
Dearest hermana -- yes, I know I make people dizzy. My mother has told me this many times. Well, really what she says is, "Do you have to be so aggravating?" I think this means the same thing. This summer, I am going to rent myself out to the carnival that comes to town. I will spin all the children around in circles till they cough up hairballs. Children love to spin in circles until they get sick, so you see -- I am using my powers for good, not evil. As for poking people in the brain, I have to do this. It is the only way I can get any good ideas. Dearest Lisa -- I think the only thing you need to worry about is if Freddie should happen to climb into your son's suitcase. Then I would highly recommend not opening it under any circumstances. This risk of this is slight, though, since Freddie does not normally hang out in Powell's. But one never knows, so be careful. Dearest Freddie -- have you cleaned the peephole since then? Dearest Ron -- my hair caught on fire once. I will not tell you under what circumstances because it does not reflect well on me. Suffice it to say, people were kind enough to stamp my head out. Although the whole experience was a bit scary, it was not as bad as you might think. Not that I recommend it, of course. Your voices are wise. I would listen to them, if I were you. | ||
| brenda morisse
Advanced Member Username: moritric Post Number: 1327 Registered: 04-2007 |
(Message edited by moritric on February 19, 2008) |
