Bruce Cohen, author of two sublime poetry collections–Swerve and Placebo Junkies Conspiring with the Half-Asleep–delivers a credo of writing advice, infused with his characteristic wit and charm, via LitBridge: “I write my first draft like there’s no tomorrow & the time bomb strapped to my chest is ticking madly away & I revise like I will live forever, that the world is in a continuous & all inclusive game of freeze-tag. I constantly remind myself: no subject matter is taboo—avoid “poetic” topics as I find they often handcuff me & I am petrified I will slip into the predictable. I find it useful to try to trick myself, to drive into strange neighborhoods & let language guide me until I get to some other landscape within my brain. I have an advantage as I am horrible at reading maps & I don’t own a GPS. It’s rare…
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Here’s the link to the original post. It’s pretty good. http://www.litbridge.com/2012/11/01/characteristics-enduring-poem/
Fabulous, I’d say–thank you! A vital, visceral list to keep in mind. I think if you could achieve all 25 in one piece, it would be…a poem that words would fail to touch…