Yet in America, for one, there are far too many poets who have not got too far beyond writing poetry for their own personal pleasure. And don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with this. Then there are the poets or aspiring poets who have stumbled onto You-know-who.com, or any number of sites which popularize poetry but tend more to take advantage of the poet's desire to be published and read, and do not really reward the poet for her or his labours. So, it is to the poet who has decided that her (or his) poetry is worth sharing, or who wants to develop her poetry to the point that it will be shared and accepted, and will stop at nothing to get it published in the best form possible, and get the most reward possible.
There should be a balance between ego and total self-abnegation. While there are poets who let their selves be convinced that anything they write is good, there are also poets who have not enough confidence, maybe very little, and who therefore will defeat their selves long before they ever get to the point of submitting their work. And work is a skeleton key word,(1) for no matter what the style or the topic, a good poem will have involved some genuine work. Of course as with anything there are those few, those natural born geniuses, who somehow seem to do things effortlessly. But if this is the case with you, why are you reading this? Unless possibly you admit you might just learn something.
As there is already a vast body of poetry in existence, it might behoove the aspiring poet to learn something of what is already out there. Indeed, if you subscribe to the universality of human experience, then you can see how the same themes, the same plots, similar or same characters can crop up again and again. "There is nothing new under the sun." Then how can there ever be original thought? Perhaps the mystery of the creative act is that good poetry balances between the universal and the unique, being both and neither at the same time, striking a chord while somehow coming off the page or ringing from the vocal chords in a totally fresh way.
I asked some poets whom I consider role models for help in this essay, to share what advice they had in following the path to being realized as a poet. Claide reinforces the idea that we must educate ourselves through reading:
"First off, read. It can't be said enough, we learn to write poetry from those who first wrote it. Many people think that they can do fine without the literary grounding, but they do not understand the benefits. Our influences develop the phrasing, thought patterns, and tendencies of our own poetry. If we have none, likely our poetry - no matter what advantages we may think it has - is probably lacking in maturity and individuality."
What I've come to find indispensable in becoming a poet, and becoming one in good standing with the communities of poetry, are a few texts and publications, among which are The Poet's Market, Writers and Poets Magazine, and some good dictionaries, among them a rhyming dictionary, a thesaurus, and a good unabridged dictionary of the language of your choosing.
Claide also concurs on the importance of Poets Market: "Poet's market is basically a catalogue of publications (magazines, REAL anthologies, digests, pamphlets, etc.) that will publish poetry. There are brief descriptions beside each publication specifying what they are looking for. Try your best to find publications that closely describe whatever poem you're trying to publish. You have a much greater chance at getting published in a genre-specific publication than a publication that's open to all genres." Good news! The 2007 issue is now at the bookshelves at your store. Be aware that savvy marketers may want to still sell the 2006 copies, so insist on the 2007 when you go to the bookshop.
Some of you may be aware that there are several magazines for writers and poets. The number of them challenges the budget of the aspiring writer, but I would recommend you start with Poets and Writers Magazine, which is actually an institution, "founded in 1970, it is the nation's largest nonprofit literary organization serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers," as the website of this organization describes itself. To go to the website, copy and paste this URL:
www.pw.org/abo
I'd just like to stress that there are many, many people who haven't developed their talent, who might benefit from some incentive to improve their poetry, and who, if shown the path, might take that walk up the mountain to realize their dream. If that dream is simply to share a poem in the church bulletin, read their poetry at a city hall meeting, or even just spray it with graffiti on a drab urban surface, so be it. Yet there are publishers out there looking for gems to display. Might you be hoarding some of your own?
Are you still here? Get busy! Life is too short to waste even seconds! Get writing, revising, and find your way to being a recognised poet! Go on!
1. I use skeleton key rather than key because with a skeleton key you used to be able to open any door in the house. Of course they don't make locks like that any more, so maybe the phrase dates me. But whatever. I might get around to changing it. Yawwwnnn. Tomorrow. Maybe.
(This essay may be one of the most difficult I've ever written, because even as I write it, I'm taking my own advice but also sharing out my experience. I want to be as honest as possible, because I believe that authenticity is both honest and unpretentious. I feel I've started on the path to being a poet both real and recognized, which are not necessarilly the same thing. My poetry, of course, will speak for itself.)
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