Of Muse and Pen

I suspect most poets write poems about writing, and I am no different. When I was developing and refining my writing skills, I focused on writing techniques, the forms of poetry, the use of language and sound—the nuts and bolts of poetry. Although it was a useful exercise to write poems about writing, many of the results were mediocre or too egoistic to have much meaning for anyone else. Over the years, I have culled the worst of these several times, and the ones I couldn’t quite bring myself to throw away have found their way into this collection.

The poems range from general commentaries on writing to frustrations I’ve had in learning specific poetic techniques; the joyful burst of inspiration to lamentations when it fizzles to dust; the arduous, annoying process of submitting poetry for publication to the self-indulgent pleasure of having them accepted. In other words, it covers the broad spectrum of writing poetry.