• Let the reader decide what the poem means.
• Don't explain everything.
• Images are remembered.
• The more you read, the more you write. Write while you read.
• Keep a journal of language that you like. Maybe this is a sentence that a friend says, a combination of words heard on the radio, a sentence from a book. All of these things can be inspiring and used in your own work.
• Keep writing, even when you think you are writing bad poems.
• Write in different places.
• Read poetry. Don't close yourself off from certain styles of writing.
• Keep a running list of "lines to use."
• Edit, edit, edit.
• Poetry does not have to tell a story. Let the reader apply their own experiences to the language.

-Lisa Forrest, Reference Librarian, Buffalo State College



"Read as much as possible, of everything possible, and write every day. Set reasonable short-term goals for yourself--one page per day, one poem per week, etc.--and set aside a regular time each week in which you do nothing other than write."

-Jennifer Ryan, Assistant Professor of English Literature, Buffalo State College



"My advice to younger poets--read lots of great poetry, the established English and American poets first, from Chaucer to Keats to Dickinson to Williams to Langston Hughes to Lynn Hejinian, then move beyond our language and read the great poets from other countries--in the original languages, if possible, and then in translation. Write--of course--everyday, knowing that you'll probably only use about 5 - 10% of what you write. The purpose of writing everyday is to keep your mind on the poem and to stay prepared for those moments when the great lines and poems come. The more you read, the better you'll get at knowing what to keep and what to edit out of your own verse. Send your poems out and don't let the rejection letters get you down: to be a poet and stay a poet is to get used to eating lots of rejection. Publication is wonderful, of course, but remember that what ultimately counts are the poems themselves: be disciplined and patient."

-Peter Ramos, Assistant Professor of English Literature, Buffalo State College


Ideas

Bernadette Mayer’s Writing Experiments