In his book on the neuroscience of music, Daniel Levitin states: “As the music unfolds the brain constantly updates its estimates of when new beats will occur and takes satisfaction in matching a mental beat with a real-in-the-world one and takes delight when a skillful musician violates that expectation in an interesting way.” As with … Continue reading Metre in Sonnets – Part Two
Sonnet
Metre in Sonnets – Part One
This is only a very brief introduction to the basics of metre and rhythm; enough to help you start thinking about sonnets and how to write their lines whilst paying attention to these aspects. First, we’ll look at regularity of rhythm and then, in part two, the effect of variation. People feel rhythm quite instinctively … Continue reading Metre in Sonnets – Part One
Success as a Poet
How do you judge your success as a poet? It is certainly not in terms of an annual income from your activities, nor the number of poems written per annum. I believe it is fundamentally about your work being read or heard appreciatively by your readership. It starts with positive feedback from peers and friends … Continue reading Success as a Poet
The Thin Veneer
https://youtu.be/WGxudzl2gJg or here: https://www.dempseyandwindle.com/cliffordliles My poetry collection The Thin Veneer is available now from Dempsey & Windle, good bookshops, this website and Amazon. The Thin Veneer is a distinctive collection that explores themes such as the fragility of our existence and relationships, the power of nature, the impact of technology and the climate breakdown using traditional … Continue reading The Thin Veneer
Sonnet Sequences – Part Two
In last month’s blog, I covered a range of definitions of where sonnets gather together in ones, twos and larger herds. Now let’s look at coherence between them. FAMILIAL TIES As with any creation in any medium there is a balance to be found within sequences between variety and coherence. Variety may be engendered through: … Continue reading Sonnet Sequences – Part Two
Clifford Liles 