Today, 02:47 AM
I liked interpreting poetry in high school. It was kind of like puzzle solving I didn't really connect with it though. It felt archaic (probably because that's what made it into the curriculum).
I had a writer roommate after college who was struggling to write a sestina (another puzzle of sorts). I looked at the requirements sat down and wrote one. He got pissed off about it. Eventually, he settled down and showed me Sharon Olds, Bukowski, Louise Gluck, Lucille Clifton. I got hooked. I didn't realize poetry could be like that. I started reading a ton of poetry and then tried writing it. Writing it badly. Over time though things started to come together.
I had a writer roommate after college who was struggling to write a sestina (another puzzle of sorts). I looked at the requirements sat down and wrote one. He got pissed off about it. Eventually, he settled down and showed me Sharon Olds, Bukowski, Louise Gluck, Lucille Clifton. I got hooked. I didn't realize poetry could be like that. I started reading a ton of poetry and then tried writing it. Writing it badly. Over time though things started to come together.
The secret of poetry is cruelty.--Jon Anderson