National Poetry Month: How to Write Good Poetry

"To be 20 and a poet is to be 20. To be 40 and a poet is to be a poet." This quote by the artist Eugene Delacroix , born April 26, 1798, speaks to the drive that it takes to create good poetry. A poet works at their craft continuously over their lifetime. That is not to say that someone younger cannot write good poetry, because many certainly do. It is like anything else though, by which I mean if it is your passion you likely strive to perfect it. Many of us enjoy reading our own work and hope that others will enjoy reading it also, so here are some tips, some things I have picked up along the way that may help to improve your poetry. Some of you may already employ many of these things and if so then that is wonderful and some of you may have suggestions of your own and I welcome them as I am always looking to improve my own poetry too.

1. Write a poem as if you are reporting on an event, something you have witnessed or something that has affected you or your loved ones. This will give your poem personal as well as historical value.

2. Write a poem that is representative of your time or culture. This captures the human experience as it pertains to your lifetime.

3. Use well constructed metaphors and similes, avoiding clichés.

4. Use sensible alliteration within the lines of the poem to help give the poem a musical quality as well as to compliment the tone of the piece, i.e. happy or melancholy.

5. Avoid using too much end rhyme. End rhyme can often give a poem a nursery rhyme quality and will detract from what you are trying to convey.

6. Be introspective and contemplative at times. Many great poems are philosophical in nature and will delve into the question of our purpose or existence.

7. Avoid being overly preachy or presumptuous. A good poem will often allow the reader to discover their own feelings, memories or ideas, not dictate to them.

8. Use allusions or references to other works that are relevant to your poem or that will add to its complexity or mystic. You can use references to past poems, prose, films or art work to add association and depth to your work.

9. Expand on a subject or concepts found in another poem, but put your own unique twist on it or take it in a new direction. This adds your voice to the ongoing conversation.

10. Be honest in your poetry to both your audience as well as yourself and write poetry that you would enjoy reading yourself.

11. I had a professor once that said most of his students were afraid someone might "call their baby ugly." Ask for lots of input and don't be afraid of criticism or to revise your work. Join a blog or a coffee shop writers group for input.

12. Write every day. Even if what you write that day is garbage, what's garbage today may be gold tomorrow once the idea is revised. The more you write and re-write the better your poems will become.

Please feel free to expand on this list in the comments area. Thank you and best of luck in all of your poetic endeavors.