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Hi, I would like to give a plug for the forum Member Archives. I really wish all of the members would create a page with links to their poems. If you have a website where all of your work is already consolidated, you might just add that link to your page. But, if you don't this is a great place to consolidate your body of work for the reading pleasure of the rest of us. There are times when I think of a poem that one of you wrote in the past and want to go back and read it but it is really hard to find. If you had a page on which you added links to your work, we all could enjoy access to whatever poem we were thinking about. Sometimes I just like to read a few poems at one time, all written by the same person. If not simply for pleasure, it can also be a learning tool for me. I am always looking to see how poets put their thoughts together. And yes, reading published and or classic poetry helps in that direction, but I don't know those guys, I can't ask them questions.... I feel a connection to members of the forum and I truly believe that every poet here is every bit as worthy to be read as many of the touted greats. Not just when they add a new poem, the old ones should not just be forgotten when the group has commented. I just reread some of Aleks poems and she has such a gentle quality about her work, I just loved it. Each of you have your strengths upon which we all can draw on from rereading your poetry. I know Tony and Aleks would help you get it done. As would I up to my limited ability. So set up an Archive page and fill it with links or just one link to one poem to start. ~~Tink

OMG! Ok maybe I am just dense but it took a new member to show me the way! Thank you Jurit. The "topic tags" have purpose! Many of you do not have an archive page but wouldn't you still like a link to your body of work posted here? Just use the "topic tag". I didn't realize that if I simply put my name in the "topic tag" space below the Topic Title when posting, any other posts with my name in the "topic tags" would be linked. If you want to take the time to go back to your older posts and add a tag you need to go to full editor once the edit page is opened. Use a rainy day and enjoy going back and rereading some of your older work and in the process create this simple link between them. Note: You can set up as many as 10 "topic tags" for one post. Wow this is a great way of linking just about anything. If we all posted in the "topic tag" a word such as "love", "bomb" "loneliness" or any other word from your poem, then your poem would be linked to all other poems on the forum that also display the same word in the topic tag. I think we have all been overlooking this useful and fun feature. I would love to see links between poet's work and topics etc. Of course I would probably never get off of this site because I would be following link after link. ~~smile~~ Give it a try. ~~Tink

I know some of you occasionally scroll down to the reference section but naturally the primary focus here is the Member's Poetry which is as it should be. However, with the recent change of format at PMO, the reference section went through extensive "clean up" and a little reorganization. I am really pleased with how it has turned out. There is certainly more out there to research and I will add it when I find it. I am searching. adding, improving, clarifying all of the time. But I think most of whatever is out there about the craft of writing poetry has now been documented here. And I am always open to ideas, suggestions, corrections you may have, just let me know. So if you have some time and are so inclined, scroll down the page check it out.. Or if you have writer's block and need some ideas to jump start your muse the world of poetry is a treasure box of ideas, maybe a new approach to an old idea is just what you need. See how the cultures of the world approach writing.....Explore the Craft of Writing From Around the World ... Pick a genre, pick a culture, pick a structure, pick a technique or meter, explore! You might find it fun. Over 1400 Genres, Devices, Movements, Stanzaic Form & Verse Form - A - B- C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z - Also See Glossary of Poetic Terms A - B - C - D - E -F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W-X-Y-Z Alpha Index A-D Alpha Index E-O Alpha Index P-Z The Frame Epics & Odes Invented Forms Light Verse Sonnets African Verse American Verse Arabic Verse Chinese Verse English Verse French Verse German Verse Greek Verse Indian Verse Irish Verse Italian Verse Japanese Verse Korean Verse Latin Verse Nordic Verse Scot Verse Semitic Verse Slavic Verse Southeast Asian Verse Spanish Verse Tibetan Verse Welsh Verse ~~Tink

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Explication and critique go hand in hand. Explication is the close reading and breakdown of the components of a particular poem. A critique hopefully is given after an explication is made and often takes the explication to the next level to express an opinion and/or give advice. We can learn a great deal about writing through explication. Critique helps another see the poem through a readers eyes. I include here some notes I think important to consider before giving a critique and an explication template that I originally got from another who I only know as "Linda", while we were both taking an online class on Reading Poetry. I have modified it as I grew in understanding and it has evolved over the years.I have used the explication template to review my own work, if only to remind myself of elements I feel important in any good writing. Critique Notes: Read the poem several times before expressing an opinion or offering advise. (preferably do a complete explication) Critique the writing only, never the content. If at all possible, begin and end every critique with a positive comment about the poem, be specific. Simply being brave enough to write a poem and show it to someone else merits some reward. Be honest. When suggesting change, you might want to use phrases such as "I wonder if" , "Can I suggest" "In my opinion you might . ." Remember you are only voicing your opinon, others including the poet may disagree. The bottom line is, it is the poet's creation, not yours. You are only offering a different perspective to help the poet see the poem through a reader's eye. Explication Template Meaning and Themes: The poem is about …….. it is a . . . Structure:: what is the frame or structure of the poem? Is it a recognized stanzaic or verse form such as a sonnet, limerick, Villanelle or free verse etc.? Describe the elements of the frame such as strophic or stanzaic, # of lines, rhyme scheme, meter - appropriate use of form, does it fit the content, enhance or detract Title: what is its relationship to poem, will it draw a reader to the poem? Opening: Are the opening lines strong enough to grab the reader? Could a later line serve better as an opener? Tone: what is the tone is it somber, gay, reflective etc. Do the opening lines set the tone? Emotional Impact: At first read, what, if any, was the emotional impact the poem had on you? Words: Choice and placement:importance to the poem through selection, placement and use. Texture: is more about the topography of words and phrases. "the hot rock" vs "the solar glazed granite" both say the same thing, each with a different texture which involves rhythm and pitch that enhance the tone of the poem. Muscle: has to do with the type of words used, action verbs, passive verbs, multiple adjectives and/or adverbs vs no adj and or adv. High density of same syllable words, or repetition of any one effect. I see this as: the Camero screeching, skidded into the hair pin turn vs the car slid when it reached the corner. Sound Patterns: this is the good old standbys alliteration, assonance, consonance, sibilance, etc. Surprise: is exactly what the word means. A word or phrase the reader wasn't expecting. Imagery: described either as concrete ( to grow together - specific, grounded) or abstract (to pull away - floating around, difficult to grasp) literal image, describing the image in detail as it appears. figurative image, metaphor (transfer of qualities), simile (comparison of qualities), personification (human qualities to non human objects or thoughts), metonymy (identifying emblem substituted for whole), synesthesia (sensory object described by another sense), oxymoron (conflicting terms), synecdoche (a piece ) symbol, an image or action that stands for more than itself. Epiphany: Pivot, shift, tilting, manifestaion or realization of the main line of the poem. The Ah Ha! moment. Closure: Do the closing lines seem contrived or telly? Does the last line think for the reader or does it hand over the poem to the reader's own thoughts? Poet: When explicating, who is the poet, during what time and from where was the poem written … other factors which may have influenced the content Poem, line by line with comment:

"There are two men inside the artist, the poet and the craftsman. One is born a poet. One becomes a craftsman. . ." ~ ~ Emile Zola to Cézanne, 16 April, 1860 Poetry stirs the emotions as much by the manner of delivery as the message. The message comes from a poet's experiences, observations, imagination and most importantly, the poet's soul. The manner of delivery or craft comes from a poet's intellect and training. It is magic when soul and intellect work in harmony to touch the reader. Anyone can write a poem, the poet aspires to create the magic beyond the poem, something we call poetry. We write about what we know, feel, imagine or dream, we either have it or we don't. It is how we write that we can study, develop and fine tune. “All the fun is how you say a thing.” Robert Frost. I am a student of poetry, not an authority. I began recording the results of my study to help improve my own writing. I've researched the history and evolution of verse to better understand the craft by gathering a good cross section of resources. Several books as well as the internet were used in this quest and I try to use at least three concurring views to confirm my findings. Of course, what we read in a book or on the internet is not always accurate or complete. Often part of a puzzle is found in one source and a second or third part in another. With that in mind, I believe all of the sources used begin with a passion for poetry. Within this study poetic movements, technique, genre, stanza form, verse form, meter, grammatical and rhetorical devices are separated, categorized and identified as succinctly as possible. To avoid blurring of the lines, I attempt to use precise and sometimes technical language for which a glossary is also provided. However, having said that, literature has never had a universal-agreed upon standard. I try to use terms that I have found most often used by others. The rules or better, the tools of literature evolve, building on what has gone before. Poetry is all about stepping beyond the expected, but a good writer should know the rules before breaking them. In poetry the rules of good writing become tools to be bent, remolded and recreated. Unfortunately, I am limited to resources written in the English language and a little Spanish but I sometimes use examples in other languages. I may not know what the words say but I can count syllables and I can hear rhyme. I love it when a poet attempts to write using an ancient frame. It is not only a challenge to the poet's skills but it also connects the reader in a small way to the roots and evolution of language and literature. Variation of established structures happens all of the time even by the masters and stepping outside of the confines of rigid form is common place. Other than when I am specifically writing a poem as an example of a particular structure I believe the content always comes first, the structure second. But when a traditional frame can enrich the content it is a thing of beauty. Example poems are either provided with the permission of the poet, found in the public domain or were written by me. The material found in the public domain and included within the content of this research is done so on a non-profit basis for educational and discussion purposes only. I believe this qualifies as 'fair use' of copyrighted material as provided for in 17 USC § 107. I sometimes include a stanza from a longer poem in order to demonstrate the frame, particularly if I was unable to contact and secure permission from the poet. Regardless, the author and source is always identified. Also, direct quotes from other sources are credited. If you want to copy my work, you are welcome but please extend me the courtesy of acknowledging where you obtained the information. I appreciate the gracious acceptance and permissions from the poets I have contacted requesting use of their work. So far, none have refused me. A special thank you to Barbara Hartman and Rex Allen Brewer for initially encouraging this effort and assisting me in writing specific example poems and Ike Sarma who continued to challenge me to share this study with precision and clarity. I am grateful to all of the members of the now dissolved Poetry Patrol and Poetry Connection where my journey began. Also a big thanks to the members of Poetry Magnum Opus and Writing.com, notably, Phil Wood, Tõnis Veenpere, DC Martinson, Barry Carter, A Baez, Lucy Lu, David Parsley, Brendan Lyons, Frank Gibbard, Dave Schneider, Robert Murtaugh, Xiao-zhen, Aleksandra, Mike Montreiul, Fred Johnson, Rachel Hommel, Geoffrey Le Voguer, Lawrence Eberhart, Rohit Jain, Zoe Fitzgerald, Tammi, and Arthur Eckhart who have generously given me permission to include some of their work in these articles. And for all of countless hours of technical support in putting this forum together, THANK YOU SO MUCH TONY! Included in the bibliography are many of the sites and books used in this research. Herein are identified over 1000 genres, techniques or forms of poetry. I provide a Glossary of Poetic Terms as well as an Alpha Index to all Poetic Genres, Stanza and Verse Forms and grouping of forms by national origin or genre with links. This site contains the results of my research as it develops. Thanks for reading, Judi Van Gorder AKA Tinker Tinker1111@icloud.com