What I look for in poems are distinguished by their sonic and semantic flexibility and range. They take on important subjects—racism, domestic, political and natural disasters, mortality and time, the contingencies of love, the vulnerabilities of flesh ("the soft parts of us...the first thing we give away,")—in language that feels both improvised and exquisitely controlled, highly cadenced even when it looks like prose. Their tone is nothing if not companionable, good humored, fiercely clear sighted, full of passion and heart wrenching wisdom.

Starting soon in the series of creating poetic history that Geezer and I have been developing we will start before the written word. You will be able to produce the beauty and art that the Neanderthals could not repdroduce.

We are not going backwards, we will be creating truly original work, untethered to poetic convention.

Impossible? Join and see Primal Poetry.
Staerting date will be announced soon.

The most dangerous, challenging and potentially rewarding workshop you will ever be offered.

This blog is just a teaser but do tell me, what do you think I might be offering?

please join me in giving congratulations to the May contest winner. The contest was so difficult to judge there is also an Honorable mention this month. Here are the poems:
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/poems/my-life-style-may-contest

My life style (may contest).
Submitted by Simon on Tue, 2019-05-07 22:39

Ever read a poem which inspired you to write another poem? Then this contest is for you. We're going to do an inspired writes contest this month. Hit contest tab for the rules and be sure to post your entry through said tab....makes it easier on the judge. So find that poem that inspires you and wet that ol' quill.........stan

Anybody up for a connecting through imagery workshop? We will explore connecting to readers by way of imagery use

It's such a shame that poetry books are hard to sell. Poetry is one of the most underutilized and underestimated art forms in modern culture.There is a magic in poetry . A poet can create a metaphor that rouses our senses and shines a light into the dark corners of our hearts. Poets try to reach out to people. They want to communicate a feeling or an idea and they do it in a unique way. For my 21st Birthday I was asked what I'd like as a Birthday gift.

What you feel as a poet, reading poetry, counts. So tell us. I have heard members say they don't feel qualified to give critique because they don't know much about poetry.

Some of the best critique I have ever received is from people who just tell me what they felt when they read the poem. You do not need to know anything about structure and form. You need to be a poet with the generosity of spirit to tell what you feel to another poet.

You may feel unqualified to comment on poetry but what you feel counts.

What you feel as a poet, reading poetry, counts. So tell us. I have heard members say they don't feel qualified to give critique because they don't know much about poetry.

Some of the best critique I have ever received is from people who just tell me what they felt when they read the poem. You do not need to know anything about structure and form. You need to be a poet with the generosity of spirit to tell what you feel to another poet.

OK folks, I know I posted a poem far too long for the contest requirement which state a MAX. of 20 lines. But I can't win the contest anyway since I'm contest director. In the event ya'll took my far too long entry as an OK to post a poem longer than the contest requires this is not so !....So Please, if your poem is more than 20 lines in length then you need to do as I just did and trim it down to a Maximum of 20 lines and preferably fewer.