28Nov 2020 by admin
Lying in Your Poetry: The 60:40 Rule

Lying in Your Poetry: The 60:40 Rule

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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…
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05Jul 2019 by admin

Revising Poetry: The Purpose Triangle

Tips, Writing Process
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "If you’ve considered the general purpose, audience’s purpose, and the speaker’s purpose, I promise you that your poem will immediately become cohesive. You may even want to try this hack with a poem you are stuck on."  - dimitrireyespoet.com A lot of the writing process could and should be with revising and editing. These are the stages where your poem can change dramatically and truly become something cohesive. There are many ways in which people decide to edit and while some take the more natural approach poem to poem, some form a methodology— steps to the editing process that the poet does poem to poem. Whether you are a Type A or Type B personality, the editing should always revolve around the purpose of your poem. Therefore,…
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03Jul 2019 by admin

5 Reasons to Title a Poem

Tips, Writing Process
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "One can be tooling over the mechanics of a great poem then throw it away with a generic or safe title... the title is another way to add a certain depth and complexity to the piece. It can be the bearings for your readers or it can lead them astray."  - dimitrireyespoet.com Titles are the first impression of poems because this is usually what jumps out at your readers. For one, the title usually looks different in size or line weight. It is also most likely on it’s own line, creating its own distance from the rest of the poem. Even so, with beginner poets, titles can be one of the most overlooked things in the poem. One can be tooling over the mechanics of a…
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23Jun 2019 by admin

6 Ways to Share your Poetry with an Audience

Professionalism
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "...you should ask yourself what your poetry serves. Being aware of the spaces you take up when you are penning poems gives you an idea of just what you have to offer in other spheres besides literature."  - dimitrireyespoet.com Just yesterday I ran into an older conversation while finding pictures on facebook for the YouTube video that compliments this blog and it was on the topic of book sales. A long time New Jersey poet, and recent compatriot expressed that he was on his sixth published book he’d only sold a total of 30 copies throughout this extensive writing period. Now this pains me as an artist, especially when I know how much of ourselves go into our work— and I’m not even talking about our experiences…
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21Jun 2019 by admin

Are You Ready for an MFA?

Professionalism
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest Save and print this checklist for your use! Getting into an MFA program gives one an excellent opportunity to study their craft, learn about themselves as a writer, make excellent connections, and put a great accolade under their belt. Sometimes there are even perks like scholarships, being able to attend a program for free, and gaining useful experiences as an assistant or lecturer. With an MFA being an excellent opportunity, it remains highly competitive and upon acceptance, the 2-3 years of work is very strenuous and time consuming. Here are 15 questions to ask yourself when applying to an MFA program. Are you ready to write daily? Are you ready to have fresh material to hand in every week? Are you ready to read multiple books…
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21Jun 2019 by admin

Be The Speaker, Not The Writer

Tips, Writing Process
Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "The entity in the poem solely exists on the page and through performance. It can contain pieces of us or others in our lives, but “the speaker” is an interpretation.."  - dimitrireyespoet.com A common mistake I find in writing communities (even those that have been practicing for awhile) is when people talk about the poem and they address the voice in the poem as “the poet” or “the writer.” This is to be avoided. The entity voicing their observations are having thoughts that are obviously created by the writer, but the one who pens the poem also has the poetic license to create and change the story. Therefore analyzing the poem as if the character is speaking solely about themselves is a false analysis and isn’t the…
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