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Welcome to the Bad Poet!

I started this blog to document my journey toward becoming a good poet. Besides bad poetry, I routinely publish posts filled with random thoughts. Thank you for visiting. I wish you the best.

Poet’s Picks

• Bedtime

  A shadow’s edge cuts (knife thin to a child
  Amidst the darkness, stone with claw scrape fear
  Of some dark man-thing scratching bedpost near

  And I recall those fetal shivers (piled
  Like refugees who fight to speak in wild
  Low moans that, save the boogie, none can hear)

  Those eyes tight [...]

• Poet’s Musings in the Shower on Love

  Blue spreads
  Like oil on tears,
  Flowing unheard down the drain
  (In moans,
  Wet, naked, and fragile,

  I await sparks,
  (oil catching to heat)
  Huddled in a s
  On the bottom of my bathtub
  Womb,

  But the blue spreads cold
  Like bathtub mildew,
  (Coats me like a pill,
  Molding and artificial,
  Grown plastic over my [...]

Recommended Reading for Aspiring Poets

• A Poet’s Guide to Poetry, by Mary Kinzie

Mary Kinzie’s book presents detailed yet understandable explanations of the major elements of poetry. She uses numerous examples drawn from the works of prominent poets. This book inspired me to start this blog. actually. Many of the poems that will appear here will be the result of my attempts to learn using this book. If you can spare the change, buy the book and learn with me.

• Sound and Form in Modern Poetry, by Harvey Gross and Robert Mcdowell

Gross and Mcdowell present a detailed analysis of prosody using examples culled from well-known poems. Their discussion of rhythm and meter will open worlds of meaning for you.

• Grammar as Style, by Virginia Tufte

Not a book strictly on poetry, but highly recommended for any creative writer. Ms. Tufte’s explanations of the stylistic choices good writers make when structuring sentences are thorough and eye-opening. Like the two books above, she also uses excerpts from famous works and presents a clear and understandable analysis. I can’t recommend this book enough. Unfortunately, the book is out of print. You should be able to find it in a university library, though. If you see this book for sale at a reasonable price, buy it. This book needs to be in your collection.

–Update: I just discovered Ms. Tufte has written a new, updated version called Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style. For more information, please see http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_vt.