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National Poetry Month
 
 


Isn’t it encouraging to see poetry showcased everywhere? (For 30 of the year’s 365 days, at any rate.) And isn’t it inspiring and energizing to take on one of the many poem-a-day challenges available this month?

Well, if you have taken up a daily challenge, I hope you’re doing better at it than I am. Eliot famously said, “April is the cruelest month,” but I think it’s more intimidating than cruel. This is a bad time to be in a poetic slump, a bad time to have epic hopes with only doggerel results. It’s a bad time to rack up rejections and see your most recent acceptances recede on the calendar.

Oh, I’m writing, but nothing to be proud of. How do you handle the poetic doldrums? Reading the poetry of others helps, but for me it tends to spur me into something that soon fizzles. I won’t bore you with examples.

Let me know how you’re doing, this month of months.

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Words You Should Know

Celebrated American poet Edward Hirsch knows a thing or two about writing poetry. With nine books of poems to his credit, he’s also written The Essential Poet’s Glossary, an excerpt of which appeared earlier this month in Literary Hub, my favorite email newsletter.

From Aubade to Epigram to Lyric, Hirsch provides thoughtful commentary and examples on many of the words and concepts important to poets. The one I keep returning to is his explanation of Inspiration. “In-breathing, indwelling. Inspiration is connected to enthusiasm, which derives from the Greek word enthousiasmos, or ‘inspiration,’ which in turn derives from enthousiazein, which means ‘to be inspired by a god,’” he begins, then goes on to discuss two views of the source of inspiration: “that it comes as a force from beyond the poet” and “that it comes as a power from within the poet.”

Whatever the source, it’s what the poet does with inspiration that counts. Hirsch ends his discussion by quoting Paul Valery: “A poet’s function—do not be startled by this remark—is not to experience the poetic state: that is a private affair. His function is to create it in others.”

You can read the entire excerpt here.
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Time to Step Up

Like many writers, I live inside my head, talking to my various selves, hoping a few others might hear. But these days, it’s time to step outside ourselves and step up for our imperfect democracy. Protests are blossoming not just in the streets, but also in literary journals as poetry regains its old role of social criticism.

How many wars, revolutions, and repressions must we witness, how many despairing refugees must we turn away, while we sit safe in our shining city on a hill, girded with oceans, lulled by a national dream as evanescent as any dream and as impermanent.

It’s time to step up for Freedom, Justice, and Equality. And for small-d decency, hand to hand, soul to soul, me to you.
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Such an Ugly Time

That’s what Rat's Ass Review, one of my favorite online journals, is calling its special theme section on the first 100 days of the Trump administration. I’m honored that RAR editor Roderick Bates chose to include three of my poems: Muslim Wife, Words for Dark Times, and Dark Feelings. You can read them here.
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Meanwhile …

For a poetry class on Buddhist influences in Jane Hirshfield and, improbably, Billy Collins, I experimented a bit with haiku. The form is more spare and controlled than I’m used to, but I’m intrigued. Here’s what I came up with first:

Finch flies from the wire
idea of bird remaining
      I imagine spring

How do you feel about haiku and its cousins tanka, haibun, and renga? Are they appropriate forms for English-language poets? Send me your ideas.

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What Are You Writing?

Why should we get all the bylines? Submit your latest poem—just one for now—and we’ll publish the poems we like best in an upcoming blog post. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know if the poem is accepted or published elsewhere. Send your poem, plus a few lines about yourself, in the body of an e-mail message to:
poetryeditor@RicherResourcesPublications.com

 

You Are Here

Welcome to But Does it Rhyme?
We're a small, but hopefully growing, band of poets who like to talk about our craft and share what we've written. We'll highlight favorite poets, review new books, and explore the process of writing poetry from inspiration to conclusion. (We might venture into essays and short fiction, too.) We hope you'll like our blog — and contribute your own thought and poems.

Sally Zakariya, Poetry Editor
Richer Resources Publications

Charan Sue Wollard (LivermoreLit)
Kevin Taylor (Poet-ch'i)
Sherry Weaver Smith (SherrysKnowledgeQuest)

books
Richer Resources Publications

 

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