Clifford Liles has won, been placed or shortlisted in many poetry competitions. His work has been published in magazines and he is currently preparing his debut chapbook featuring a thematic selection from his over sixty sonnets.
Diction
La création de la poésie attire ceux qui adorent le langage. The writing of poetry attracts those who find great interest in the meaning of words, the look of them, their sounds, and their sometimes long and twisty history. I am once again faced with a blank page in my own writing and am led … Continue reading Diction
The Fourteenth Line
One of my recent blogs Attention! has covered the importance of first lines in seizing your reader’s attention, now I’d like to consider the last lines. Having set the reader’s expectations, you now must provide a pay-off. The last line, words or couplet should ensure a satisfying end to your work. They may carry real … Continue reading The Fourteenth Line
A Seamstress Considers her Options
A new poem explores the social impact of mass unemployment on an intimate scale. In the sonnet A Seamstress Considers her Options, I imagine a woman of the 18th century made redundant by the introduction of machines to her trade. But what else does this poem mean? What are the other possible readings? In this … Continue reading A Seamstress Considers her Options
Attention!
“Oi”, the dock worker stopped me, “where’s my money?”, his breath frosting out on “money” and stood solid before me in his grease-stained AC/DC T-shirt. This could be the first line of a thriller. It helps establish a setting without telling. It hooks the attention of the reader. Something that that may be difficult for … Continue reading Attention!
The Song of the Sonnet
For thousands of years poetry has endured as an oral expression, holding up a mirror to the human condition. From the early poets of ancient civilisations to a modern slam poetry session, the tapestry of sound rings out in performance. Spoken rhymes and rhythms facilitate poetry’s power to move. Between English poetry and Western music … Continue reading The Song of the Sonnet
