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Oh despair!

Just listened to Alan Ginsberg reading "Howl" again. Why do I do this to myself?

We all need to come down from our own egos now and then, I make myself read Shakespeare, Coleridge, Bukowski again and again I torture myself with the genius I will never be.

But try. I have to. "“If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad.” Byron. But I've never met a good writer for whom writing wasn't torture.

Bunch of fucking masochistic egotists some of us are.

Comments

"from the heart", Joe.

I just wrote an outline for a workshop on critiquing poetry and said, only half in jest, that if anyone used the phrase "from the heart" they would be immediately expelled from the workshop.

We all write from the heart if we write poetry, the trick is to use our head to write it in a fresh, original manner so that our readers can engage and maybe even learn.

I don't pretend to know all the answers, we will all learn from each other in these workshops. I can only offer suggestions on methodology and strenuously insist that we need to criticise, not praise each other in order to learn and grow.

And of course, read the masters.

There is a new series of 3 workshops starting soon, all with the same topic "Critique", covered at different levels of intensity. Mine will be called "The Shark Pool". I think you have more than sufficient testes to attend.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

author comment

I agree with what you said when you mentioned writing using one's head in order to come up with a fresh style and theme to keep your audience interested and on the edge of their seats literally when reading your work, for i believe that every poet's piece is written from the heart, otherwise why would he/she choose to write in this medium in the first place?

PS: do only those with "Testes" get the seal of approval on this workshop you will be hosting? ;-)

Good to see you here again Jess, i sure have missed the old gang from Neo....

Let life be your muse in all you do!!!

in fact I tremble in the face of ovarically inspired critique!

Hope to see you in "The Shark Pool on Critique", to be announced soon.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

author comment

any requirements for joining the shark pool?
(apart from the obvious ones)

or is it just dive in, and join the feeding frenzy?

will be posted soon by Dan

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

author comment

Large teeth and vast hunger.

;)

Respectfully, Race

"Laws and Rules don't kill freedom: narrow-minded intolerance does" - Race-9togo

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/Race_9togo

Have you seen the movie too? I listen to Howl, I read On The Road, youtube Anne Waldman with her beat readings and stand back thinking Wow..but 'stream' writing as in a 'stream of conscience is a great thing to try, I often do it, perhaps most of it means nothing but sometimes it comes out and parts are damn poet worthy. Perhaps workshopping for streams might be rather interesting in seeing the poets just 'let go' of their minds and write. We all have an ego, no matter how often we say we're humble poor writers. lol

Chez
"The perfect woman perpetrates literature as she does a small sin: as an experiment, in passing, to see if anybody notices it - and to makes sure that somebody does." - Nietzsche

writing are:
Turn off your monitor and just type.
or, this one produces some really wild results,
Walk down a long beach with your eyes shut and describe your "eyelid movies", record them with an mp3 player or recording walkman.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

author comment

When I hear someone else say it, I think poor stupid bastard. Then I look in the mirror and see myself.
Oh the agony of it, the repetition, and the stupidty I have to go on. I still wonder at times for fucking what.
To say that i'm a poet, When I really know it's not for me to say, but for some one else to explore.
I whole heartly agree with you.

LIFE ISN'T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS
IT'S ABOUT LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.
VIVIAN GREENE

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