[Shaun J. Russell]

Originally Posted by Jayne Osborn

As an aside, what about the days - of which there have been far too many recently, for me, (though unavoidable) - when you're not working on ANY poems at all?

Yes. Those days. Sigh.

I don't much care for the word "inspiration," so I'll just say I haven't been bothered to write a poem in a good long while. It's not for lack of ideas, but just for a general ennui when thinking about sitting down for a couple of hours to just write a poem. I've written a lot of essays and non-fiction material in the interim...it's just that for some strange reason, I have an aversion to writing poetry lately.

By the way, I'm not sure what the aversion is to a thread that asks a question. There may be nothing worth learning from the responses, but those responses may still be interesting and entertaining regardless. Personally, I find little personal details fascinating. I've always been amazed to read about poets who go on about what a struggle it is to write -- how much work and emotional turmoil it requires to coax out a poem. It's so foreign to me, and won't change the way I write, but I find it interesting. On an even more trivial level, I'd love to know what brand of tea Percy Shelley used to drink, for no other reason than learning a bit of trivia.

[Richard Epstein]

Annie,
A zucchini, I think.

[Charlotte Innes]

Shaun said:
"By the way, I'm not sure what the aversion is to a thread that asks a question. There may be nothing worth learning from the responses, but those responses may still be interesting and entertaining regardless. Personally, I find little personal details fascinating. I've always been amazed to read about poets who go on about what a struggle it is to write -- how much work and emotional turmoil it requires to coax out a poem."

Yes! Why not have a bit of fun conversation from time to time--especially about poetry?! Thanks, Annie. Love the "meow!" (Bob, sending more meows your way....)

I've just been reading (finally) that book everyone keeps mentioning, Now All Roads Lead to France: The Last Years of Edward Thomas by Matthew Hollis (great book), huge portions of which involve Thomas' struggles to write--so far, prose--as well as the amount of time it took him (most of his short life) to become an amazing poet. All of which I relate to...

I "became" a poet in my late 40s. At first, I wrote several a week. Now I'm lucky if I write one a week. I tend to go one at a time. But I'm learning--as others have pointed out--that sometimes you just have to let go for a while, and then come back to something that's not quite working. Sometimes just a night's sleep can do it, sometimes a couple of weeks. Occasionally, I come back to poems from, say, a year or so back, but not much has come of those, I have to say. I do tend to be mostly in the moment--that is, I write the poem and then it's more or less done, or as done as it can be. I sometimes wonder if that's because with each poem I'm developing as a poet? At least, that's a nice thought!

Charlotte

[Catherine Chandler]

Annie,
I can work on only one new poem at a time. And that's about one, or (if I'm lucky) two per month.

[Roger Slater]

Originally Posted by annie nance

"I just meant to say that we all have heard enough about the work habits of various poets"

Maybe not ALL of us, Roger. I want to know how you do it. Because I am curious. Meow.

Annie, your quote left out the rest of the sentence, which changes my point dramatically. The sentence says "I just meant to say that we all have heard enough about the work habits of various poets to realize that there's not just one way to go about it." You left out the part in italics.

There's nothing interesting or instructive about my methods. I sit down at my computer and try to think of something, and sometimes I do. Then I try to keep writing until I have something, then I read it over looking for ways to improve it, and at some point I decide it is done.

Needless to say, there is usually a great quantity of peyote involved, and sometimes I need to bounce up and down from the end of a long bungee cord, but in this regard I am sure I'm pretty much like everyone else.

[Shaun J. Russell]

I've heard a few unsubstantiated reports of poets who manage to write without the use of peyote. Personally, I think it's rubbish. I can't even begin to fathom where I'd be without my contact in Yuma.

[Jean L. Kreiling]

This is such an interesting thread--and reassuring. Like Charlotte, I find that my rate of production has slowed since I first got serious about writing. So Cathy, it's comforting to read your "statistics."

I get obsessed with a new poem for at least a few days, though I will usually tinker with a few older ones at the same time. When I don't have a new one to work on, I generally look at the last half-dozen or so and sometimes find I can do some productive revision. I'm continually astonished at how much revision remains to be done on a poem I thought was perfect six months ago. (And so I have learned through painful experience not to submit until at least several weeks past that period of "obsession.") My "in progress" file includes dozens of poems that may or may not be near "completion" (whatever that means).

Thanks for asking.

Best,
Jean

[annie nance]

Roger, you are very interesting. In a cynical, jaded, been-around-the-block-a-few-times, peyote-infused kind of way. I would like to see you bouncing at the end of that bungee cord for inspiration. Got pics?

[R. Nemo Hill]

Note: always contact Michael Cantor for any compromising pics of fellow members.
Though they will cost you.

Nemo

[Ed Shacklee]

Annie,

I think of it in terms of ebb and flow. Every now and then there are surges. The rest of the time I'm either tinkering with drafts -- they're all drafts, whether old or new -- jotting down what few words or phrases come to me, or sitting around with my head full of cotton. I've come to feel the ebb times are important. I'll often tinker with a couple of drafts at a time.

Best,

Ed