A Poem A Day

Try reading a poem before your write ,and preferably out loud. This suggestion comes from Ray Bradbury’s wonderful book, Zen in the Art of Writing in his chapter entitled “How to Keep and Feed a Muse.” He writes: “Read poetry everyday of your life. Poetry is good because it flexes muscles you don’t use often enough. Poetry expands the senses and keeps them in prime condition… It keeps you aware of your nose, your eye, your ear, your tongue, your had. And above all, poetry is compacted metaphor or simile. Such metaphors like Japanese paper flowers, may expand outward into gigantic shapes. Ideas lie everywhere through the poetry books…What poetry? Any poetry that makes your hair stand up along your arms" ( 36-37). Consider creating a collection of your favorite poems in a file, or better yet, printing them and making a book for reference when you need ideas and inspiration. A great online source for poetry: The Poetry Foundation.