The Poetic Drift

We’ve all had the experience of reading a poem and not quite “getting” it. Before the written word, poets used certain tools that facilitated memorization and live performance, and also directed the reader toward "getting it." Early set forms of poetry were pleasing to the ears and their appearance on a page delightful to see. Today poems are still performed, but “writing poetry” has become the norm, and the forms more fluid and free. Formal or free, poems have certain elemen

I grew up watching PBS and hearing something like this, "This program is brought to you by [list of companies and organizations like the...

Honestly, punctuation in poetry troubles me. Not to the extent I lose sleep over it. But I have  gotten into bed wondering if I’d over or...

Finding a balance between meaning and song in a poem, while still considering syntax and form, presents a poet with a challenge often...