teacher.

Designed and published by broadcraft press.

from the introduction:

“I teach many poems, and have, every week for many years. I live a life sustained and deepened by my relationship to the poems of others, and by my own efforts to write poems. It is as natural to me as breathing to read a poem written by another and to imagine myself in to the lines, the images, the possible meaning of that poem. It is natural for me to offer suggestions to my students, to suggest all sorts of possibilities — ways for them to create titles, find structure, track memories, follow a path of images to a place where they can be, and write their own poems.”

[ read the whole introduction ]

a small sampling of prompts from the book:

Make ten visits to the same window in real time. Write down your observations. Write your poem called “Ten Visits.”

Look for the poems in the world that seem to have been written so that you can write the companion poem.  Then write those poems.

Practice ranking. Worse than this love was his indifference. More beautiful than her lies was the truth. If you are willing to
rank, you are willing to judge. And lots of poets make their best poems from judgements, whether wrong or right.

What never lies? Write that poem, and nine more to go with it.

Consider the steps needed, to move brilliantly from one noun to another noun.  For example, what is the distance from tiger to prayer, from deceit to bridge, from graveyard to the river you love the most?  How can you design a path the reader follows, each step reflecting how correct your choices are — your sense of perception, of proportion, of structure all work together to create this poem, and many others. What has always been a relief to you?

inside covers:

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 The third edition of From Tiger to Prayer is sold out. Thank you.

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