“In art the best is good enough”, Italienische Reise, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. At any awards season, I am impressed by those persons who garner their gongs or statuettes, particularly thinking of the process they would have gone through, with long periods of unrecognised effort, and their creative resources developed in very competitive environments. Especially … Continue reading The Spark and Kindling of Creativity – Part One of Two
Writing
Poetry Inc. – Part Two
Being a poet sometimes feels like running a manufacturing business. In last month’s Part One, I highlighted the necessity of building contacts and promoting yourself. In this section, I’ll look at some practicalities. To help raise your profile, establish your reputation, and sell copies of your poems, you may need materials or marketing collateral to … Continue reading Poetry Inc. – Part Two
Poetry Inc. – Part One
Being a poet sometimes feels like running a manufacturing business – but without the use of Swarfega to wash your hands at the end. From the normally cleaner raw material of thoughts and ideas a production line extends through drafting, editing, reviewing, and workshopping to the delivery of poems to magazines, literary journals, and competitions. … Continue reading Poetry Inc. – 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