If you found "Put THAT Thing Away!" helpful at all, or at least interesting, then you should know another one of my pet peeves is the use of the word "it" in poems. I only became a stickler for "it" in the past few years, and I think my writing has benefitted from "it"--or the lack of "it," that is.

Let me show with an example. (Again, these examples I use are not meant to win any awards. They serve as a way to see how playing around can produce different results.)

Version 1:

"Listening"

It's easier said than done.
It's so easy to let it all
fall apart whenever it makes
sense, like when somebody
wants to dominate it
all the time. I mean, is it
so hard to practice it once
in a while?

Ugh. That's some pretty "it"-plagued poetry going on there. And while I might be able to tell that the first "it" might refer to the title "Listening," I get totally confused after that. Here's a 2nd version after cutting some of the "it" clutter out.

Version 2:

"Listening"

Is easier said than done.
It's so easy to let conversations
crumble whenever somebody
wants to dominate the talking
time. I mean, is it so hard
to practice listening once in a while?

Ridding this poem of "it"s resulted in some language changes and 2 less lines. Concise is always nice in poetry. But there's still room to remove "it" completely.

Version 3:

"Listening"

Is easier said than done;
conversations crumble
when someone wants to hog
the talking time. I mean,
is listening so difficult?

So yeah, this won't win any awards, but the piece is even more specific and more concise as a result of cutting "it" out of the poem. Imagine if you had a really good poem with a couple "it"s lurking in the shadows: You could turn that really good poem into a great one.

"It" takes a little work and patience, but "it"'s totally worth "it."

Best,

Robert

In the mail last night, I found a package containing Words Dance 11. Edited by Amanda Oaks, this publication includes my poem "my sinister is sparking," along with poetry by many other good writers like Tammy Trendle, Pris Campbell, Luc Simonic, and S.A. Griffin--just to name a few. From the very first poem by Ray Sweatman to the very last poem by David Smith, it's a great read.

For more information, check out the Words Dance Web site.

***

On my way into work this morning, I sent out another submission--this time to The Sun, which is one of my favorite magazines. Based in Chapel Hill, this magazine always has stunning black & white cover photographs, engaging personal writing, and sometimes one of my favorite writers, Poe Ballantine, makes an appearance.

For more information on this magazine, go to The Sun Web site.

***

Of course, I should also mention that Nancy's Poet's Market is the best resource for poetry leads. The book is available at most local chains and online. Be sure to check out her Web site at http://www.poetsmarket.com and subscribe to her free biweekly newsletter.

...for anyone else interested in entering, but I submitted a manuscript for the 3rd Annual Burnside Review Chapbook Contest to be judged by Dorianne Laux. I'm pretty proud of the entry I put together, but I'm not expecting to win, since I know the competition will be fierce.

To check out the Burnside Review, click here.

Best,

Robert

Robert reminds me that I've been lax in promoting the Poet's Market newsletter. It's free and it's sent to your inbox every two weeks. You can go here to sign up. What's in it? Frankly, I'll probably be as surprised as you as each issue develops (we sent out the first one last Friday). One regular feature, though, is Take Their Advice, the wise words from editors and publishers who contribute their thoughts to the "Advice" section in the Poet's Market listings, a different quote in each issue. Come on by, we'd love to include you in the next mailing.

--Nancy

I don't know about you, but I was not exposed to a lot of contemporary poetry growing up. In junior high school and high school, I studied poets like Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Homer, and Robert Frost. In college, I studied many dead poets too.

In fact, it was only through creative writing classes in college that I began reading contemporary poets. As much as I love the late greats, how amazing it was to read Gwendolyn Brooks, Louise Gluck, J.D. McClatchy, Charles Wright, Donald Hall, Jean Valentine, and so many others. How liberating!

Suddenly, poetry took on a whole new meaning for me. There were so many new avenues I could travel upon to get to where my muse might be hiding at the time. It was incredible at the time, but it's also sort of depressing that it's so hard to find. Part of me felt kind of cheated and still feels cheated that others don't know how accessible and brilliant contemporary poetry can be.

So I do my small part by reading age appropriate poetry to my sons. I also write them little stories and poems that make them laugh and giggle. It's small, but it's something. I encourage you to try and make an impact--big or small--on sharing contemporary poetry with others--young or old.

Here are two recent articles where two people are doing just that:

"Their poetry screams to be set free," by Marc Cabrera, shows how poetry affects young men and women at the Monterey County Youth Center. Read the article at Monterey Herald.

"New poet laureate has a passion," by Meera Pal, is about a new local poet laureate, Martha Meltzer, who is also an elementary school librarian. As poet laureate she will try to spread the love of poetry to all, but she's in a unique position to help with children. Read the article at Contra Costa Times.