What’s So Good About Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration Poem “The Hill We Climb”

What’s So Good About Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration Poem “The Hill We Climb”

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "This is a larger debate about speaking truth to power versus racial illiteracy in literature... "  - dimitrireyespoet.comAmanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem, “The Hill We Climb” is a sensation. Countless people in the media and on my feed are singing the praises of this poem by this 22 year old black woman. With strength and grace, she delivered a poem America needed to hear, on a platform where we were listening. She was pushing unity, success, and equity. She also raised the bar in how the world is seeing and feeling poetry.Recently there has been criticism for the work rearing its ugly head in the corners of the internet with message boards abound breaking down the “craft” and “content” of “The Hill We Climb” and of course,…
Read More
Improve Your Poem Instantly: In 3 Easy Steps

Improve Your Poem Instantly: In 3 Easy Steps

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "Being a poet is a job of utility and creativity— using what makes up their entire being in order to make a living. "  - dimitrireyespoet.com These are poetry tips I give every poet in my Patreon community and my clients. Now you can benefit from these lessons as well! Consider signing up for a virtual class or working with me 1-on-1! Learn more about Virtual Classes Learn more about Patreon Improve Your Poem Instantly in 3 Easy Steps 1) Purpose Each poem needs to run its course and add to a conversation whether that’d be conversational, theoretical, emotional, etc. This means even more when looked at amongst your other poems, either in a submission or even a book. This allows the reader to “get a…
Read More
I Made $30,000 as a Poet in 2020

I Made $30,000 as a Poet in 2020

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "Being a poet is a job of utility and creativity— using what makes up their entire being in order to make a living. "  - dimitrireyespoet.com So with my most recent 4-Year YouTube Birthday I made the announcement that I just got monetized! I’ve also had a successful year with virtual teaching, paid publications, & paid performances. So the question stands— Can You Make Money As a Poet?The short answer is yes, but the follow up question is how much? It isn’t simply writing a few poems and collecting a check. Being a poet is a job of utility and creativity— using what makes up their entire being in order to make a living. Many will say the money poets make in poetry is supplemental, and my…
Read More
Lying in Your Poetry: The 60:40 Rule

Lying in Your Poetry: The 60:40 Rule

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "Generally, if your poem is heavily based on a real-life experience you can ask yourself, 'Is my truth (my perspective) obstructing what this poem is trying to say?'"  - dimitrireyespoet.com In my Halloween YouTube video where I read some of my older work, I discussed what some of the issues were. I spoke about voice and self discovery while I also made a notion to my 60:40 rule— something that I have never mentioned on my channel or blog but something I mention often while working with different clients or students.  The 60:40 rule is supposed to work as a barometer, keeping a close eye on just how much of the poem is both real & fiction. One can argue that even the most surreal poems…
Read More
Christmas/ Holiday Gift Ideas for Poets

Christmas/ Holiday Gift Ideas for Poets

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "A Poet's 2020 Gift Buying Guide."  - dimitrireyespoet.com 1) Pens You’ll want to buy a pen that makes your writer want to write. For instance, my wife tried to get me an early Christmas gift (and failed because the box looked SO COOL!) of Harry Potter wand pens. She ended up giving them to me early as she said that “I couldn't contain myself.” You can watch me swish and flick one of them in my "Spooky Reading" Halloween YouTube video. Harry Potter Pens Previous Next Lo and behold, I’ve used every opportunity since feasting my eyes on those pens to scribble poems, post it notes, to-do’s, and shopping lists. No blank piece of paper is safe from my 10 ¼ inch Willow with a slightly pliable…
Read More
How To Find Your Poetic Voice: 3 Things to Consider

How To Find Your Poetic Voice: 3 Things to Consider

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "As I continued writing, I gradually began to blend the best & most vulnerable characteristics of each of my voices together."  - dimitrireyespoet.com Looking back at my other videos this can be considered just one of the blogs in a very important set of discussions. If you are struggling with having a “voice” I would first encourage you to revisit one of my first blogs, “Be the Speaker Not the Writer” that really breaks down how we should think about the voice speaking in the poem. The next blog, “Let’s Talk About Voice in Your Poem” discusses how we should consider how we use voice in a poem. I really needed to write on this subject because even more than usual, I’ve been receiving messages and…
Read More
How to Pick a Poetry Topic

How to Pick a Poetry Topic

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "Significant memories are also entryways to a poem."  - dimitrireyespoet.com At this point, I’m hard-wired to know what brain matter makes good material for a poem but several years ago, that wasn’t the case while I was discovering what worked for me. In other blogs, I’ve often discussed my beginnings of being in search of a “voice”— in a way for writing to come “naturally” to me. This has caused me in my own discovery to write as if I was several different poets until I finally found an energy that sounded like me. Now, you can put my poem among several other poets’ work and you can point out which one is mine. As well, I tell the poets I work with all the time…
Read More

4 Secret Poetry Tips

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook-f Youtube Pinterest "If you are always kind, people will want to collaborate with you/ help you with your own artistry."  - dimitrireyespoet.comAs a content creator still trying to become monetized on YouTube, I often return to Why I’m a Poet and why I’m committed to engage with you all. The creation of Dimitri Reyes Poet derived out of the need for poetry resources on the internet. So much of what is learned in the literary business is simply through experience and communicating with others— asking and growing from professionals with more knowledge and know-how about that space. I’m not ignorant to the fact that countless writers— good writers— passionate writers— those who write to understand and/or save themselves— don’t always have access to programs, mentors, and burgeoning art scenes…
Read More

5 Performance Hacks to Fix Mistakes On Stage

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "Words have the power to change moods instantly, and because of this, we should respect their importance."  - dimitrireyespoet.comSeptember is usually a busy reading season for me because of back-to-school and Hispanic Heritage Month, even this year when many of my usual shows got cut because of public gathering. This year in particular they were all bunched up into what seemed like 1 weekend (it was actually a 5 day spread.) What was special about this experience was that it reminded me of how gigging was before COVID where life was fast-paced. These days it has been slower, at least with travelling and meeting in person, though I’ve kept myself busy online!In the same vein, what I learned about reading this past weekend was that “if you…
Read More

Poetry Card Came

Uncategorized
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "We are always learning, synthesizing, and applying new thought patterns as we grow."  - dimitrireyespoet.comIn a recent workshop I discussed writing schedules with students. Mind you, this is a conversation that comes up often as we always seem to be chasing that carrot of balanced time between our social lives, work, possibly school, and our hobbies which include writing and I always have a different way of arriving to the same answer of commitment. But commitment is a 9 letter word and if my commitment was a cat that started life over each time I’d pick up and drop a schedule, well— I wouldn’t have a cat anymore.But I did mention that when I fell into a groove I lived in that groove and enjoyed it…
Read More